New EasyApps Resonate Well with Employees, Improve Productivity, Simplify Business Processes

Our business applications, which we call EasyApps @Work, have really caught on at Cisco. We track growth in usage by comparing legacy systems vs. the new applications and the results are compelling – Cisco employees far prefer the ease of use the new apps offer. Today, the two most popular apps are My Approvals and My Paid Time Off (PTO).

In particular, the My PTO app brings a sense of fun to the process, is fresher and reduces the steps required to request PTO from 15 to three. We offer it on both our collaboration platform, WebEx Social, and on mobile devices (iPhones and Android). 

In addition, the number of transactions in the My Approval app grew tenfold in the last five months – with an all-time high of 85% in My Approvals adoption rate for November and December. My Approvals centralizes the approval process, eliminates email clutter and is viewed as a lifesaving “on the go” app.

Here are just two unsolicited comments we’ve received:

• “The Approval app is AMAZING! It has improved my productivity from having to go to multiple places. Given we live in a world where every minute counts and there isn’t enough time, you have made my day!”
• “The My Approvals app is magic!”

One of our most compelling apps planned in the future is Cisco Maps. Cisco Maps will allow you to locate and book available work spaces and conference rooms, book meetings, navigate the Cisco campus and locate specific employees. 

Even more exciting is our Cisco TV Mobile app that is in development. Cisco produces many company meetings that are broadcast worldwide which, up to now, have required employees to join from their laptops. The new Cisco TV Mobile app will allow employees to attend these virtual events using their smart phone or tablet, and enable them to interact with the same streamed chat, polls and question-and-answer sessions that they could join from their PC. We know this will be an extremely popular app for our very mobile global workforce!

We expect existing apps like My Expenses, My Timecards, My Employment Info and My Team to gain more traction as employees become more familiar with them.  Function-specific apps like those for our Engineering audience have just been introduced. While we don’t yet have hard data on usage, the anecdotal feedback has been very positive.

The more I talk to customers, the more interest I’ve found in the area of enterprise apps and developing a centralized eStore. So, a few words of guidance: make it easy for your employees to find apps and services that can simplify business processes and increase productivity. Create your own app center and eStore where you can house a combination of your own and third-party applications.

We plan to launch our Enterprise Store or eStore this spring. Our vision for eStore is to be the source for employees to find recommended applications. Here they can tailor their work experience with varying apps, and can use them to be more efficient and productive. More details on that soon.

Happy Collaborating!