Case Study: Cisco Systems
Anytime, Anywhere Training and Product Knowledge Sharing
"We traditionally delivered new product introduction training to our field sales and support staff through live classroom seminars conducted in various parts of the country and the world,” stated one training manager. “This was a logistical nightmare to organize and very expensive to conduct. It's tough for our key product marketing and engineering staff to take time out of their crazy schedules to travel around to teach these seminars, and it's equally inconvenient for our field staff to attend multi-day training events in person. We wanted a vendor who could streamline our new product introduction training with a fast, cost-effective web-delivered solution.”
To alleviate this burden, Cisco hired Altus Learning Systems to record and digitally post-produce events, enabling fast knowledge searches for hundreds of engineers and product managers. "We selected Altus Learning Systems to produce a pilot program in 1998 to help launch the AS5800 product. They did everything back then from video recording the presenters and synchronizing the encoded video with slides and transcripts to providing the user interface and setting up our streaming servers. That program was a big success, and we have used turn-key technology and production services from Altus to transfer knowledge to the field for every major product launch and product update ever since-which now totals hundreds of programs and thousands of hours of content."
As this function grew in popularity, Cisco faced the difficult challenge of producing and delivering more than a thousand hours of content per year. So, working with Altus, the company introduced a dedicated on-site service center, reducing production costs, meeting Cisco’s demanding delivery deadlines and significantly reducing internal staff involvement.
Implementation of the initial service center worked so well that Cisco expanded its outsourcing contract to support the technical readiness of their large sales engineering group. Altus replaced three separate vendors, supplemented existing video equipment with its new production system and took complete control over the facility’s operation and maintenance. Altus now records, produces, broadcasts and webcasts more than 20 weeklong meetings each year for on-demand training and performance support.