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Daft Punk’s lyrics are more than catchy; they have a ring of truth that resonates now more than ever. There’s a constant need to thrive and drive growth in today’s corporate world. Whether that’s to provide a better customer experience or to beat the competition, second place is not an option. So the question becomes, how? How does a company deliver high growth at an efficient cost?

SMB research specialist Techaisle compared strategies across small and midmarket businesses and found one of the keys to succeeding is video.

 

In the digital age, staying connected is critical to success. Whether with customers, partners or employees, face-to-face connection can prove invaluable. According to the study, 71% of high-growth organizations prefer to meet face-to-face whenever possible. These face-to-face experiences lead to five meaningful benefits:

  • Faster decision making
  • Improved employee productivity
  • More personal interaction experience
  • Seamless exchange of ideas
  • Better teamwork

Video adoption is proven to be a savvy strategy for businesses, especially those that want to rise to the category of high-growth. In TechAisle’s report, 75% of high-growth businesses use video-enabled collaboration. However, deploying technology doesn’t automatically equate to growth. You must actually adopt and use the tools to reap the benefits: High video adopters grow two times faster than low or non-adopters.

 

One such high adopter is Explorer Pipeline. As a key player in the oil and gas industry, Explorer Pipeline moves fuel over a 1,830-mile span and its several hundred employees stretch just as far. With headquarters located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Explorer faced the challenge of how to connect its workers. The organization wanted a solution that would empower and engage the employees wherever they were located; whether at a regional office or one of many remote sites.

Explorer also has a mission to expand the company and needed a more efficient way to interview job candidates. “Traditional communications didn’t allow us to leverage the diversity within our organization and bring everyone together,” says Todd Golla, director of Explorer Pipeline IT. “We wanted to make employee communication more of a conversation, instead of a one-way broadcast.”

Explorer found all it was looking for, and more, through Cisco Business Edition 6000. The results were evident in increased productivity and reduced travel costs.

“The telephone is not the same as face-to-face collaboration,” says Golla. “Our employees benefit from a more personal connection, and we can solve problems quickly without flying people around.”

Being able to make real-time decisions, or share critical information, shouldn’t be constrained by the locations of employees. With the integration of Cisco collaboration tools, employees can schedule and execute meetings and connections with just a few clicks. “People are discovering the power of collaboration,” says Golla. “It’s changing behavior, increasing engagement, and saving time and money.”

“More than ever
Hour after
Our work is
Never over.”

–Daft Punk

Our business environments no longer adhere to the 9-5, so why should a business use the typical collaboration software? By implementing Cisco unified communications technology, you’ll build a stronger business, and you’ll find yourself working better and faster, but not harder.

Check out more from Techaisle’s “Video-enabled Collaboration and Business Growth: The Winning Combination” report:
View the infographic
Download the report

And in case you need a little soundtrack to go with your reading, here’s Daft Punk’s Harder Better Faster.