Overview | Details | Trialware | Support | Buy It | Our Index | Back

Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.

Atlanta, Georgia

The Company Commercial Audio Systems is an Atlanta-based developer of specialized professional sound and communication systems. In addition to custom sound systems, Commercial Audio also develops customized audio/visual presentations. Two of the company's more prominent projects are a new interactive audio tour recently designed and proposed for installation at Mount Rushmore, and the completed system for the spectacular Olympic Rings Fountain at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta.

The Problem

"We developed the Olympic Fountain to run continuously from 8:30 in the morning to 9:00 in the evening, with periodic fanfare shows choreographed to music," said Cole Harrison, president of Commercial Audio. "After the Olympics concluded, we found that the periodic fanfares were perfect for casual visitors to the park, but there was a growing need to do on-demand shows as dignitaries visit, or special events happen. The entire fanfare is controlled by computers on-site at the park, so to modify the preprogrammed schedule someone from my staff had to jump in the car and drive across town just to perform a simple ten minute change on the computer. If we didn't have sufficient warning, the event could wait as long as an hour before we could get to the park and start the on-demand show." Commercial Audio needed a way to remotely access and control the on-site system at the park.

The Solution

"We chose Symantec's pcANYWHERE to give us remote control of the fountain's control system," said Harrison. "Our hardware vendor originally suggested pcANYWHERE and we've been very happy with it. I have the product installed on my office PC, my home computer, and my laptop. So, whenever we need to modify the fountain's schedule or do a custom show I simply dial-in to the system. I can perform the change from anywhere anytime. It only takes me ten minutes and requires no travel."

pcANYWHERE gives Commercial Audio dial-up access and control of the computer system at the park. It also allows Harrison to monitor, modify, and control the computer systems at any of the company's projects throughout the country.

"We even use pcANYWHERE to perform routine system maintenance," said Harrison. "We no longer need to drive across town or fly across the country every time a system needs new software, updates, or simple troubleshooting. pcANYWHERE even lets us remotely monitor the fountain over our video system. We have video cameras installed that are integrated with video cards in the on-site computers. If we want to see what is happening at the park we simply dial in through pcANYWHERE and then switch over to video."

pcANYWHERE32 7.5 is latest version of Symantec's award-winning dial-up remote access, remote control, and remote monitoring package for Windows 95 and Windows NT (versions 3.51 and 4.0). As a 32-bit-optimized solution, this most recent release offers maximized performance and optimal transparency. Under pcANYWHERE32 7.5, file transfer and setup is 20% faster which increases productivity and minimizes connection costs.

"We've been using pcANYWHERE for more than nine months and it always runs flawlessly," said Harrison. "With the number of things that can go wrong in our complex environment, pcANYWHERE is very forgiving. It supports a wide range of modems and provides all the flexibility we need for our odd configuration. No other product I'm aware of could run as transparently and flexibly under Windows 95 with the robustness necessary to support our projects throughout the world. pcANYWHERE also gives us powerful security options. Through passwords, and scaleable rights I can give some employees full rights while limiting others to `monitor only' rights." "Thanks to pcANYWHERE we are more responsive, more flexible, and that means more profitable," said Harrison. "When a call comes in, I can immediately change the fountain's program. I no longer need to drop everything, drive down to the park, and make changes just so someone can see the fountain at work. Now, no matter where I am or what time it is, I can quickly and easily modify the program. This ability greatly enhances the fountain's benefits, makes the city happier, and gives me my life back. There is no way I can measure pcANYWHERE's return on investment, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

N. Cole Harrison III,
President
Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.

Back To Commercial Audio

Symantec creates leading software products for professionals who need to stay in touch and do business from remote locations. Products with the Work Virtually Anywhere logo offer the promise that when you are out of the office you can be just as productive as if you were still there. Symantec will make working away from the office easier, more reliable, even more rewarding.