TruVista isn't the kind of company to let a small thing like a global pandemic slow it down. The Chester, SC-based cable provider dates all the way back to 1897, and is proud of its long history of connecting people across South Carolina and Georgia. In 2020, its use of Cisco Webex enabled it to pivot seamlessly to remote working post- COVID-19, and business hasn't missed a step since.
Industry: Telecommunications
Headquarters: Chester, SC
Employees: 180
Products used:Cisco Webex Meetings, Cisco Webex Boards, Cisco Webex Room Kits, Cisco Webex Teams
As a business with many moving parts, a lot of TruVista's success is down to how it communicates internally. That used to be done by email and in person—but as Sam Fitzgerald, TruVista's Senior Director of Engineering and Design, explains, the business was looking at ways to speed up its own communications.
"We would have meetings where we would whiteboard our discussions, and then take pictures of it with our phones and email them out to everybody," recalls Sam. It worked after a fashion, but he knew the business could be more efficient.
While TruVista was continually expanding geographically, its approach to collaboration needed to keep up. Expansion generally meant buying a local provider and adding it as a remote office. But with seven offices and counting, getting everyone to feel like one connected team was tough.
TruVista Switches Seamlessly to Remote Working with Cisco Webex and Quaversal
There had to be a better way of working, and Sam Fitzgerald knew it didn’t involve email or walking around trying to find people. In his previous company, employees had used instant messaging to communicate, and Sam was on the lookout for a similar solution for TruVista.
Inspiration came during a virtual meeting with Cisco, one of TruVista’s key suppliers. Cisco had invited Sam to meet via Webex, and he was instantly impressed with its functionality.
“I thought Webex was really cool. It was easy to use, very intuitive, and really slick,” he says. “I loved the messenger, the virtual whiteboard, the fact you can save a whiteboard drawing into a team room to refer back to later. I saw how we could leverage all aspects of it to get work done faster.”
Sam was convinced, but he had to win over the rest of the company. As it happened, TruVista was in the process of switching to Quaversal as its new Cisco partner—and Quaversal were keen to help get TruVista’s 180 employees on board with Webex.
Training leads to instant adoption – and true digital transformation
The Quaversal team organized multiple trainings: one-on-one for senior executives, group sessions for users, and in-depth sessions for IT admins. As well as installing multiple Webex Boards for employees to get their hands on and multiple Webex Room Kits to convert otherwise unused office space, Quaversal set Webex up on each employee’s laptop and walked them through how to use it and how to get the most out of it.
The impact was huge and immediate. “People instantly started using Webex,” says Sam. “It blew me away how quickly everybody adopted it. I was anticipating getting push back from some departments, but that didn’t happen. People were all in.”
“It blew me away how quickly everybody adopted Cisco Webex. I was anticipating getting push back from some departments, but that didn’t happen. People were all in.” – Sam Fitzgerald, Senior Director of Engineering and Design, TruVista
The adoption led to nothing short of a digital transformation, with teams across the business using Webex to meet, collaborate and be productive. It was soon embedded as the new way of working for teams across Engineering, Sales, Marketing, executive leadership, and more.
Specific functions, such as safety training, have been transformed: “TruVista takes a lot of pride in its safety training,” says Sam. “Every week a safety trainer would physically come in and deliver the training. Now they’re doing it remotely—and it’s recorded, so if you miss the training, you can go back and watch it.”
The results: A seamless switch to remote working during COVID-19
The Webex-led transformation stood the company in good stead when, in March 2020, the state of South Carolina went into lockdown.
“When COVID came, everyone was sent home literally overnight. But because of Cisco Webex, and the work ethic of the people at TruVista, we didn’t skip a beat,” Sam says. “We could still interact, projects were still getting done on time, and revenue held up. It actually accelerated projects and timelines because it was easier to get hold of people, share ideas, and get feedback.”
“We didn’t skip a beat when COVID came. Because of Cisco Webex, and the work ethic of the people at TruVista, we could still interact, projects were still getting done on time, and revenue held up.”
– Sam Fitzgerald, Senior Director of Engineering and Design, TruVista
Sam was convinced, but he had to win over the rest of the company. As it happened, TruVista was in the process of switching to Quaversal as its new Cisco partner—and Quaversal were keen to help get TruVista’s 180 employees on board with Webex.
A chance to improve productivity, happiness, and speed
Productivity wasn’t the only thing that improved during lockdown – employee satisfaction increased too. “Employees tell us their stress levels have plummeted, and they’re genuinely happy,” says Sam. “People volunteer to help out. We’ve not only given our team a way to remotely collaborate; we’ve energized our whole team dynamic.”
And employee satisfaction isn’t the only benefit. Webex also creates new opportunities for talent acquisition. The successful switch to home working suggests that some new recruits could work remotely rather than having to move states. That would significantly widen the available talent pool, and be less disruptive for new hires and their families.
Lastly, Webex could make further expansion much swifter. As Sam explains: “We could set up a new remote office overnight. We could order a Webex Room Kit, drop it in there, load some licenses on a laptop, and boom — we have an instant remote office. I think that’s huge.”
TruVista and Quaversal: The transformative power of partnership
While Sam and Webex have been the driving forces for change at TruVista, Sam is quick to credit a lot of the success to its partnership with Quaversal.
As well as installing Webex and providing in-depth training, Quaversal have been helping TruVista to get more value from its existing technology and adopt new tech where it makes sense.
“Quaversal have done an amazing job keeping us up to date with the latest goings-on in technology,” says Sam. “They’ve brought software packages to us that I didn’t even know existed – which allowed us to better manage our Cisco SmartNet contracts, our code revisions, and keep us abreast of Cisco updates.”
In Quaversal, Sam and TruVista have found a truly customer-centric attitude that’s been lacking in some past partners. “With Quaversal, we’ve discovered what it’s really like to be taken care of by a technology partner,” says Sam. “They don’t sell you a bill of goods and walk away. They take time to understand everything you do, and help you get the most from your technology.”