an oer where price is paramount and Hospitality In-room Entertainment by Nonius.

1. ,Q5RRP 7HFKQRORJLHV SMARTreport commercial content
It All Comes Down to IP
Nonius Successfully Turns the Corner from Being a Simple HSIA
Provider to Offering Full IP TV Services
Since presenting their in-room entertainment solution at HTNG
2009, we have been curious to see just how Nonius, originally a
High Speed Internet Access Solutions provider for the hospitality
industry, came up with their IPTV solution. We spoke with Leonel
Domingues, one of the founders and CTO, who explained to us
how Nonius made the transition from HSIA to IPTV, along with the
strengths their unique background bring to the table.
Nonius was created as a communication offering the hotelier tools to communicate
systems manufacturer to leverage our better with their guest, optimise costs and
founders’ experience with manufacturers create new sources of revenue. In terms of
like Lucent (UK), Ericsson (Sweden) and LSI technology, we are prepared. For example,
Logic (UK). This experience represented a we have adopted virtualisation for all our
solid base upon which to build a company. servers as they are all now on VMWare
We have been migrating from HSIA to IPTV ESXi4.1. We also have highly capable
– from the data centre to the guest room middleware and STBs that allow for Web 2.0
Leonel – and soon we will present more products
that will make our hospitality offer even
applications to be developed, considerably
enhancing the guest experience, while
Domingues more complete. allowing hoteliers flexibility on the content
that they want to present to the guests.
CTO and Founder What makes you well placed to address
Nonius and respond to hotel needs? Can you describe your NiVo’s advanced
Leonel Domingues is Nonius’ Co-founder and Guestroom technologies can greatly in-room platform? What makes it
hands-on Chief Technology Officer with 16 years influence the guest experience, though particularly attractive for hoteliers?
of experience in telecommunications products manufacturers need to be able to deliver NiVo is a state-of-the-art, in-room
RD.Leonel has also worked as RD Team
Leader and Architect at Alcatel-Lucent UK, as a technologies that are reliable, energy entertainment platform, which combines
senior engineer at EFACEC. He also worked in efficient, with good usability, well integrated all the features that offer a great guest
the specification of the architecture of the UMTS- and at a good price. Going beyond that experience in one integrated system. NiVo
RNC and in the layer 2 and Layer 3 development.
means enhancing guest experience and combines TV and radio channels, video
Leonel is a member of HTNG.
on demand, Internet access, and a broad
selection of games, all accessible through
a remote control and/or wireless keyboard.
Hotels with NiVo can provide their guests
with a Full HD experience accessible
through a fully customisable Guest-User-
Interface. Access to the latest Web 2.0
content is simple because NiVo features
a fully functional integrated web browser.
In addition, the platform gives guests
access to a wide variety of information and
© Nonius
complimentary services, such as booking
32 Hotel Innovations Technologies SMARTreport / European Edition N°11 / March - September 2011

2. © Nonius
We have created
an o er where
price is keeping in mind that not only the CAPEX
needs to be low, but the system operation
Can you tell us about Nonius’ future
plans?
should to be very low too. Major effort was I see more technology that is now available
paramount and put into creating features that would reduce to residential users moving to hotel rooms.
hotel operation costs, like an efficient So this means more personalisation, better
Return-on- messaging service to the guest that saves and richer interaction with smart phones
staff time. We went even further by offering and tablets, and a focus on offering the
Investment a platform for sales on TV integrated with TV as a means for guest to display their
the Hotel PMS. This focus on using the TV own content, and the content that they
has been a major as a base to sell services and to efficiently
communicate with the guest will persist
subscribe to online. Nonius is working
on making all the above possible and
selling point. in everything we do and new features will
be developed in the future to increase
always paying attention to guest and
hotelier feedback. We want to contribute
direct revenue for hoteliers. We will also be positively for that unique, personalised and
a spa treatment, shopping or checking working on reducing the cost by lowering great value experience with our HSIA and
flight schedules. NiVo’s advanced in-room cost of hardware and, more specifically, Interactive TV solutions.
platform provides hotel guest with a high by leveraging new hardware platforms that
broadband wireless Internet experience. have been introduced to the consumer
Moreover, set-top-boxes have embedded market.
wireless access point technology saving Guests, nowadays, frequently travel with
hotels from investing in additional Wi-Fi their own devices. So, we have partnered About NONIUS
Founded by three business partners with more
infrastructure equipment. Seamless PMS with Teleadapt to address the “viewing area
than ten years of experience each at multinational
and video on demand integration ensures gap”. Now, all that guests need to do is to technology firms, Nonius began by offering High
that hotels can leverage their existing connect their gadgets to the media hub in Speed Internet Access Solutions to the Portuguese
order to enjoy their content. Because not hospitality industry. After becoming the country’s
investment in IT infrastructure. Mounted
largest supplier of HSIA solutions, with revenues
behind the TV set and completely fan-less, every hotel guest keeps up the latest trends doubling each year, the company expanded to the
the NiVo set-top-box is designed to be in mobile computing, VOD will remain a rest of Europe, Africa and South America and it
unobtrusive, and like all Nonius products, critical component in hotel’s entertainment has been growing ever since.
it is constructed with energy efficiency in offering for years to come. However, the
CONTACT
mind. better question is how does the hotel
Rua Eng.º Frederico Ulrich, 2650
make the most out of its VOD offering? 4470-605 Moreira da Maia
The industry has faced some setbacks The answer is simple – offer the best Maia, Portugal
content possible. We have partnered with +351 220 301 520
concerning declining in-room profits.
sales@noniussoftware.com
How will your solutions counteract this? Airwave to deliver the one of most current
We have created an offer where price is and widest selection of blockbusters and
paramount and Return-on-Investment classics, which will ensure that hotels
has been a major selling point. We have can continue to enjoy additional revenue
designed NiVo and every other product streams for VOD sales.
cleverhotel.org Hotel Innovations Technologies SMARTreport / European Edition N°11 / March - September 2011 33