Sutherland Global is a worldwide provider of business process and technology management services. It offers customers analytics-driven back-office and customer-facing solutions to support rapid innovation and scalable business transformation. The company prides itself on being a business process transformation company serving a wide range of industries, including healthcare, banking, communication, and technology.
Sutherland Global had relied on Cisco and Webex to enhance internal and external communications for years, but the team realized improvements could still be made. That’s when Chris Koelling, Principal UC Architect at Southern Global, worked with Webex to implement changes that would help the company meet the demands of a rapidly evolving workplace. By integrating the full suite of Webex tools like Webex Calling, Webex Meetings, Webex Messaging, as well as Vidcast and Webex Go, the team is able to take more meetings and consolidate workflows.
Identifying redundancies and inefficiencies
Like many organizations, Sutherland Global adopted multiple collaboration tools during the pandemic. This worked for a time, but ultimately caused inefficiencies and redundancies that prohibited the team from scaling. On top of that, these several solutions lead to fragmented communication systems due to overlapping functionalities, inconsistent user experiences, and increased support complexity. The organization needed to standardize on a single, unified platform that could address the diverse needs of its global workforce, streamline processes, and improve overall efficiency.
One of the most daunting tasks was transitioning over 60,000 users from Microsoft Teams to Webex. This migration required meticulous planning and coordination to avoid causing major disruptions or bottlenecks in daily operations. It involved not only technical integration but also reconfiguring workflows and retraining teams across various departments—all while maintaining data integrity and business continuity throughout the transition.
Sutherland Global was also going through the time-intensive process of moving from on-premises solutions to cloud-based Webex Calling, which was a significant operational and technical shift. This shift demanded changes in infrastructure, security protocols, and IT management practices. Ensuring a seamless cutover while maintaining service reliability and compliance standards was a top priority.
Lastly, user adoption was an important factor in the success of the platform change. Encouraging employees across multiple geographies and business units to embrace Webex as a primary collaboration platform was critical to a successful migration.
Consolidating solutions
While Sutherland and Cisco’s relationship started long before Koelling, started at Sutherland Global, he was brought on to level-up the partnership from just on-premise calling to the full Webex suite to take care of the problems multiple disjointed tools caused. He had worked with Cisco at past companies, so he was the right man for the job, especially because he knew continuing with Webex was the perfect opportunity for the company.
“We were trimming the fat and consolidating to one platform,” said Koelling. “And Webex was the choice for that platform because of its feature set and pricing.”
To move all operations onto one platform, the team implemented the full suite of Webex tools, including Webex Meetings, Webex Messaging, and Webex Calling. By deepening its relationship with Webex, Sutherland Global has seen rapid cloud migration that’s ensured scalability, reliability, and a seamless user experience.
The company moved all in-person calling to Webex Calling to allow teams across geographies to offer similar experiences for clients. With employees increasingly relying on mobile devices, Webex’s mobile functionality is critical to ensuring seamless communication, regardless of location or device.
Additionally, Sutherland Global participated in Webex Experts, Webex Insider, and Webex Beta programs, enabling the team to gain on-demand assistance from subject matter experts across various fields and industries. This also has enabled Koelling and other Webex users to provide critical feedback to the Webex team, ensuring they have a hand in the system’s design and user interface.
“Our Webex account team has been fantastic in supporting us. The communities I’m part of, like Webex Experts and Webex Insider, are all very important to our success,” said Koelling. “All of those items are necessary to crowdsource your needs and ideas and give feedback. And Cisco does listen.”
Streamlining communication across teams
Consolidating services onto one platform and moving previously manual or in-person tasks to the cloud has given Sutherland Global the leg up it was looking for. It’s also enabled the team to be more forward-thinking, considering how technology innovations could improve processes now and into the future.
The company was an early adopter of the Cisco AI Assistant platform, helping team members reduce manual labor and maintain consistency throughout their days.
“The feedback we’ve gotten, especially on the summarization tool, has been huge,” said Koelling. “People really like it, especially our PMO office. They eat it up because they don’t have to write notes on every single little thing. That tool has been widely praised.”
With less time spent on unnecessary tasks and more tools designed to simplify workflows, Sutherland Global has provided its team members with the freedom to do their jobs with as little stress and interruption as possible.
The results of this transformation speak for themselves. It’s seen high adoption rates, already having migrated over 60,000 users to Webex and 15,000 more to go. And the platform has been well received, with employees appreciating its intuitive features and reliability.
“There are always opinions on every platform,” said Koelling. “But overall, people are really comfortable and have adopted Webex pretty well.”
On top of widespread adoption, the team also noticed extensive usage. During a 30-day period, they recorded a total of 127,000 meetings, 7.6 million meeting minutes, and 20 million messages sent.
“By consolidating our communication systems, enabling seamless collaboration, and leveraging cutting-edge features, Webex has empowered our teams to work smarter and more efficiently,” said Koelling.
Sutherland’s relationship with Webex going forward
Looking ahead to the future, the Sutherland Global team plans for Webex to remain a cornerstone of their collaboration strategy.
“The future of Webex at Sutherland is solid,” said Koelling. “It is, by policy, our standard meeting platform and our standard messaging platform. And we’re expanding our adoption every month.”
One of these adoptions is the continued migration to Webex Calling for the remaining team members still using outdated solutions. On top of that, Sutherland Global is also exploring emerging features like Vidcast and Webex Go. Whatever the future holds for this global team, Webex will be there with the team each step of the way.
“The support we’ve received from Cisco, including our account team and the broader Webex community, has been instrumental in our success,” said Koelling. “And we look forward to deepening this partnership.”
Want to experience this type of digital transformation for your company? Contact our team to see how Webex can streamline your organization’s communication and operations.
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