Cisco streamlines collaboration for Haufe Group

The world runs, partly, on expertise, making software program options and guided coaching important for corporations to function efficiently. That’s the place Haufe Group thrives. Haufe Group is a number one B2B supplier of built-in enterprise and office options headquartered in Germany. The household enterprise helps folks and corporations of their enterprise improvement and in efficiently shaping transformation processes – with content material, software program and coaching.

Right now, Haufe Group employs round 2,500 folks at ten areas. The Haufe Group’s best-known manufacturers embrace Haufe, Haufe Akademie and Lexware, and over a million prospects from the DACH area depend on the providers of Haufe Group – from solo freelancers to all DAX 40 corporations.

As an organization targeted on digital transformation, Haufe Group is frequently looking for methods to reinforce its inner operations, figuring out companions that allow all staff to carry out at their greatest. Which means changing older programs which are now not serving the staff with new ones that carry out the job effectively. That is the story of how the staff partnered with Cisco for streamlined Microsoft entry and room units in all their places of work.

Fragmented collaboration and machine incompatibility

Again in 2015, Haufe Group started its relationship with Cisco, securing its first Cisco video convention units in about 30 completely different rooms. Over the following few years, the corporate continued rising and implementing different units, ultimately using Webex instruments for numerous facets of each day operations.

In 2020, Haufe Group made the choice to standardize on Microsoft Groups. As they evaluated the market they’d two key concerns i) as they refreshed their video property with new endpoints, they wanted to have the ability to proceed to make use of their current Cisco units till their end-of-life, and ii) Whereas the vast majority of conferences could be on Groups, they nonetheless had a big variety of Webex conferences occurring. Haufe Group needed to make sure they may present a terrific expertise on no matter assembly platform, and on any machine.

That is the place Cisco had a bonus over different options – Haufe Group might put money into the most recent Cisco Room Bars, Board, and Kits working a completely featured, native Microsoft Groups Rooms app expertise AND be part of totally featured Webex conferences on the identical machine. They may additionally leverage Cisco’s Video Integration for Microsoft Groups (VIMT) service – to assist each Groups and Webex conferences on their older units. And with Webex Management Hub – they may handle their complete property of units from one place.

“After we moved from Webex to Microsoft Groups, we needed to maintain our current Cisco units as a result of they nonetheless labored completely,” stated Thomas Biechele, Haufe Group’s foremost Collaboration Specialist. 

One other foremost concern was scalability and suppleness. As a result of every of Haufe Group’s numerous areas and places of work has completely different makes use of—like boardrooms, collaboration areas, and versatile tables—it was difficult to seek out video and audio instruments that may work alongside Microsoft Groups to make sure high-quality finishes and crisp readability. This didn’t make for a great long-term repair, which means the staff was caught with an inconsistent expertise throughout outdated and new units.

The final downside was operational effectivity. Biechele is Haufe Group’s foremost Collaboration Specialist, managing the way in which staff use expertise each day for work-related duties. As a result of he’s managing video infrastructure, he wanted an answer that supplied easy setup, administration, and troubleshooting. And with solely two different folks employed to help, it was essential that the instruments he chosen would allow him to have a full view of all programs getting used throughout the firm areas.

Cisco video infrastructure integration

To make sure that Haufe Group might proceed utilizing Cisco room units whereas being a Microsoft Groups firm, the staff determined to combine legacy Cisco endpoints with Cisco CVI gateways. This allows full Groups interoperability, guaranteeing each machine can work seamlessly with Microsoft programs.

“Cisco’s Groups-native units had been a no brainer—higher integration, simpler community administration, and solely 10% greater than competing choices,” stated Biechele.

Haufe Group’s places of work characteristic a mixture of units, with every house delivering the identical intuitive expertise: one-touch be part of for Microsoft Groups conferences, clever digital camera framing, and in-person-like audio powered by Cisco’s Ceiling Microphone Professional and Desk Mic Professional items.

The corporate additionally adopted Cisco Navigator Contact Panels as in-room reserving shows, serving to staff immediately see room availability and begin conferences with a single faucet. “Individuals simply stroll into the room, faucet the display screen, and begin their assembly. There aren’t any issues,” stated Biechele. “The standard is nice—audio, video, and the general assembly expertise are very constant, even throughout completely different areas.”

Behind the scenes, Haufe Group depends on a complete Cisco networking and safety stack—together with Cisco Switches, VPN, Cisco DUO, Umbrella, Firepower firewalls, and Cisco ISE for certificate-based entry. This basis ensures safe connectivity for each assembly and seamless integration between units, networks, and customers throughout all areas.

Seamless Microsoft Groups expertise

Haufe Group’s transition to Cisco’s Groups-integrated video ecosystem has remodeled collaboration throughout its places of work. What started as a problem to unify hybrid conferences has develop into a versatile, scalable system managed nearly totally by one administrator, Biechele.

With greater than 80 Cisco video units deployed and related to Microsoft Groups, staff can get pleasure from a constant, one-touch be part of expertise, whether or not they’re in Freiburg, Berlin, or Zurich. By means of Management Hub, Biechele will get an accessible, fowl’s-eye view of all programs in place, eliminating the necessity for on-site intervention and guaranteeing minimal downtime.

“Management Hub is very easy to make use of. It’s rather more user-friendly than different platforms,” stated Biechele. “With it, I can configure or replace any room from my desk and get notified robotically if one thing isn’t working—and that saves me plenty of time.”

The mixing of Cisco’s CVI gateway extends the lifetime of Haufe Group’s legacy Room Equipment and Room Equipment Plus programs, permitting them to affix Groups conferences with out substitute. In the meantime, new Groups-native Room Bar and Room Bar Professional units ship high-quality video and audio in a glossy, easy-to-manage package deal.

“Now, with Cisco’s Groups-native units, the mixing is even smoother,” stated Biechele. “It’s only one button to affix, and every little thing works proper out of the field.”

This improved consumer expertise offers staff members with extra time again of their days to deal with value-adding duties, slightly than trying to troubleshoot assembly issues on the fly. Plus, every particular person can depend on safe video communication, irrespective of the place they’re becoming a member of from. This makes certain staff have what they should greatest serve their prospects.

As Haufe Group continues to modernize options and select partnerships that serve inner and exterior teams alike, Cisco shall be there to customise instruments for the corporate’s particular wants.

Wish to discover scalable expertise options that may enhance operations and assembly high quality at your group? Join with a Webex staff member to study extra about our programs and units.