MUG MAGAZZINI GENERATIVI

VEM Sistemi: Technology Partner of MUG – Magazzini Generativi

A project by Emil Banca driven by innovability, MUG is a multifunctional, cutting-edge technological hub that highlights VEM Sistemi’s role as an Augmented System Integrator.

VEM Sistemi is the technology partner of MUG – Magazzini Generativi, a project through which Emil Banca Credito Cooperativo has created an innovation hub in Bologna. The space features highly technological, multifunctional environments, coworking stations, meeting and workshop rooms of various sizes, an auditorium, and the bank branch of the future, for which VEM handled the entire technology component—from design to implementation.

Magazzini Generativi was born from the redevelopment of a former warehouse of over 1,700 square meters and now takes the form of a smart working area with modern architecture and an advanced technological infrastructure. MUG is a home for startups, the third sector, open innovation, young talent, and all those who aim to contribute to change—building enterprises and developing high-impact ideas and projects with special attention to environmental and social sustainability.

‘The creation of this innovation hub is a demonstration of how much Emil Banca cares about the work of young people in particular, and therefore how important it is to dedicate time, resources, and space to those who intend to build their own future, to young people who want to think, and to create value for their communities.’ Says Daniele Ravaglia, General Manager of Emil Banca, who continues: ‘I am certain that in this place new ideas will be born, there will be the possibility for young people to confront each other, to contaminate each other with ideas and projects for the future so as to create a better society, a society that cares for the environment, a society where ideas are really developed to do the common good.’

Stefano Savini, Responsabile direzione personale e organizzazione Emil Banca racconta l’anima di questo progetto a stretto contatto con il territorio:” La relazione fa sempre la differenza, se supportata dalla tecnologia. Gli spazi e gli strumenti digitali possono incidere sulla creazione di team dinamici e sulle idee del domani, soprattutto in un momento storico in cui lo smart working può trasformarsi in opportunità.. Con il progetto MUG Magazzini Generativi abbiamo voluto costruire una community sulla base di una filosofia ben precisa. Emil Banca vuole restituire a Bologna e all’Emilia-Romagna uno spazio storico che rischiava di restare inutilizzato per farlo invece diventare un punto d’incontro fra startup, banca e imprese. Altro punto fondamentale per noi è l’innovability, ovvero l’unione fra sostenibilità e innovazione. Per questo abbiamo trovato un partner ideale in VEM Sistemi, il player tecnologico del progetto.”

The Technology

The Cisco-Meraki network in the first place is the digital skeleton enabling all of MUG’s technology. ‘A network shared by several types of users had to be intrinsically secure and allow differentiated access by profile, which is why we also implemented CISCO ISE, which allows a dynamic and automated approach to policy enforcement. In addition to the data network, we coordinated facility management, climate control, lighting, access control, and video surveillance.’ Explains Marco Bubani Innovation Director of VEM Sistemi.

MUG’s flagship is the Auditorium, an automated room where the essentials are invisible to the eyes, but the power of technology makes very concrete results possible. In the control room, the Schneider data rack houses a Cisco 9200 PoE switch that not only powers the endpoints but also routes multicast traffic for the video matrix. The Cisco Codec Pro station enables video calls, webinars and complex online collaboration sessions, with lighting and presentation scenarios controlled by the automation system in the control room. The presenter himself can control the system from the stage, to fully engage the audience.

Light management is particularly innovative: it combines the technological revolution of automation with the most reliable standard technology. The two systems DALI and POE coexist, exchange information and are controlled by a single Interact software from Signify. The luminaires with RGBW technology in the square and auditorium can create scenic effects of coloured light to emphasise events and presentations.

All information and services travel over the wired network using CAT6A Panduit cable connecting the core of the MUG with all the various sub-systems/end-points.

The further step of innovation lies in management and use: all services are available in the palm of one’s hand. With a single app, in fact, MUG users can subscribe to a membership, interact with the building and the community, and pay through Emil Banca systems for the services they use. It is a mobile and desktop app that guarantees the most complete integration with MUG’s technology: with wi-fi, access control, with the printers in the building, and with the payment system. It makes it possible to quickly purchase services and products offered by MUG, as well as to manage payments and invoices issued through the system following subscriptions. All in absolute security.

“MUG è il luogo dove possono fermentare nuove realtà, dove una startup può nascere ed evolversi. Qui talenti e competenze globali lavorano insieme per la crescita del nostro territorio, perché è la contaminazione delle idee a favorire lo sviluppo della cultura d’impresa emiliano-romagnola. Ecco perché MUG è uno spazio aperto a ogni stimolo, a tutte le persone, imprese, organizzazioni che abbiano il desiderio di creare innovazione e dare vita a progetti ad alto contenuto tecnologico o impatto sociale. “ Conclude Vittoria Sanpietro, Responsabile MUG.

The work done for Emil Banca represents a marked evolution in VEM sistemi’s path as a technology enabler, towards Augmented System Integration, which, thanks to software integration and development, is able to add value to partners who choose to work with the company.