Without missing a beat

A move to a new location often presents an opportunity for companies to start again from a technical perspective. For some organisations, that opens the door to entirely new systems and workflows. For others, it introduces a different challenge: how to replicate a familiar and fully optimised environment without disruption.

When Omani energy company OQ Group made the decision to relocate its headquarters from Muscat Grand Mall to a new purpose-built facility in Madinat Al Irfan, the move represented far more than a change of address. However, the company was also not looking to rebuild its AV infrastructure from the ground up. As one of Oman’s largest integrated energy companies, the organisation operates across upstream, midstream, downstream and petrochemical sectors, placing significant demands on the communication infrastructure supporting its operations.

At the centre of the transition was the relocation of the company’s extensive audiovisual estate. More than 200 meeting rooms, conference spaces and collaboration areas outfitted with communications equipment needed to be dismantled, transported and reinstalled at the new headquarters, alongside digital signage systems and meeting room scheduling infrastructure. Muscat-based systems integrator Pixel Solutions was tasked with delivering the migration within an ambitious one-month implementation window.

The Pixel team was brought into the discussions approximately three months before implementation began. While the project initially focused on relocating existing systems, the scope soon expanded as the client identified opportunities to enhance certain spaces.

A defining requirement of the move was the need to maintain operational continuity at the existing headquarters until the final working day. OQ’s teams continued using meeting rooms and conferencing systems at Muscat Grand Mall without interruption while the relocation plan was finalised. Once the transition began, employees temporarily shifted to remote working, creating a narrow window in which the team could complete the dismantling, transportation, reinstallation and commissioning of the systems at the new Madinat Al Irfan site.

The scale of the move also extended beyond a single organisation. OQ Group comprises multiple subsidiary companies, each with its own AV equipment and room configurations. As a result, Pixel had to catalogue and track assets across different entities, ensuring equipment was correctly identified and redeployed in the appropriate spaces within the new building.

To avoid misallocation, Pixel implemented a structured relocation model supported by parallel teams working across both sites. “We shifted equipment from every three rooms in a single trip, then offloaded and directly positioned it in the designated rooms,” explains Pixel Solutions founder and CEO Anas Alkurdi. “We also had a team in the old building and another in the new building. With this setup in place, there were no misallocations.”

The existing audiovisual infrastructure itself was largely based around Yealink video conferencing systems integrated with Crestron meeting room scheduling panels. A typical room consists of a video conferencing setup with camera and audio capabilities based on the size plus local presentation solutions for non-video conference meetings. Yealink MVC kits, meeting bars and BYOD conferencing setups formed the backbone of the meeting room environments, while Samsung’s MagicInfo platform supported the building’s digital signage network. Most of this equipment was reused as part of the relocation, although certain elements were upgraded, including the digital signage infrastructure and selected flagship spaces such as the boardroom and exhibition area where Yealink MVC kits have been replaced with the latest models.

Delivering the migration within a compressed timeline required tight project coordination and oversight. Pixel structured the project with a team leader responsible for monitoring daily progress alongside an operations manager who maintained constant onsite supervision. The operations manager verified installation quality and provided regular updates on project status.

Communication between stakeholders was handled through continuous coordination with OQ management, including the use of a dedicated messaging group to allow real-time updates and escalation where necessary. Close collaboration with the client’s IT teams was also essential during the final configuration stages as audiovisual systems were integrated with the building’s network infrastructure.

Despite the large number of devices being relocated and the absence of original packaging for many displays, the project was completed without any damaged equipment. Pixel transported the systems using its own vehicles, enabling tighter control over handling and reducing the risks associated with third-party logistics providers.

“We were realistic about the possibility of minor damage during dismantling and transportation,” says Alkurdi. “From the outset, we assured the client that we would do whatever it took to restore or replace any system and ensure uninterrupted operations.”

He continues: “Since the number of rooms in the new building was slightly lower, we also had extra equipment as a buffer. This gave us flexibility and ensured immediate replacement if required.”

In addition to relocating the existing AV estate, Pixel was also responsible for installing several new LED displays within the Madinat Al Irfan headquarters. These included a number of LEDMAN screens positioned in key public-facing areas of the building – a 3.58m x 2.3m indoor terrace display with a 2mm pixel pitch, along with a curved LED display in the building’s exhibition space measuring 4.48m x 2.72m alongside an adjacent 3.2m x 2.72m display, both with a 1.8mm pixel pitch. A further 4.48m x 2.72m LED screen has been installed in the main reception area.

The curved LED installation required specialised modules but did not significantly alter the installation process compared with the flat displays. Instead, the primary challenge lay in coordinating installation with ongoing civil and decorative works within the building to ensure the displays could be mounted at the appropriate stage of the construction schedule.

To manage this coordination, Pixel relied in part on a new internal capability. The company established a dedicated fit-out department at the end of 2025 which has allowed the integrator to manage both AV installation and certain construction elements in-house. According to Alkurdi, this integrated approach greatly improved coordination between disciplines and reduced reliance on external contractors during the final stages of the project.

Once completed, the relocation saw more than 200 meeting and collaboration spaces fully operational inside the new Madinat Al Irfan headquarters, together with the installation of four new lobby LED displays and the renewal of key presentation environments such as the group CEO boardroom and exhibition areas. For Pixel Solutions, the project has represented one of the most significant corporate AV migrations ever undertaken locally to date, cementing its role as a systems integrator capable of delivering large-scale enterprise infrastructure projects.