The Business Case For ELearning [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Cisco Case Study: A Role for Content-Delivery Networks in Internet Learning

As Internet learning evolves to encompass more high-bandwidth applications and content, the role for content-delivery networks in the enterprise network infrastructure will increase. Organizations are more likely to use content-delivery networks (CDNs) for e-communication and e-training. A CDN is different from content management because it is a solution that is applied at the network infrastructure level.

A CDN ensures that learning content is available and accessible to any learner at anytime in a rich media format including voice, video, and data, no matter where in the world that learner might be located. The benefits of CDN are evident in the low-cost access to video, animation, and audio files. If an organization spends $5 for duplicating, packaging, and mailing a CD-ROM or videotape to 1000 sales employees every month for a year, for example, the organization could conceivably save approximately $60,000 per year by delivering content virtually.

A CDN offers the necessary infrastructure to cost-effectively bring learning and communicationslive or on demandto employees, partners, suppliers, and customers globally. The solution makes the learning process more engaging for learners and more cost-effective for the organization.

CDN offers the opportunity for developing a range of content choices for users at Cisco over a learning portal. As the Cisco sales force prepared for a changing marketplace in the first half of 2001, developers at Cisco created a learning environment that catered to diverse learners. (Some learners might prefer to listen to or watch an audio- or video-on-demand module, others may prefer reading a white paper or flipping through a PowerPoint slide.) The options made available through the delivery systems enabled learners to pick a learning modality of their own choice.

Challenge

Cisco needed to train a worldwide specialized sales team on a new solutions strategy, products, and implementation. The company initially considered flying all 300 members of the specialized sales team, training presenters, and coordinators to Orlando, Florida, for training. The total cost of this one-week training effort would have been significant. With a rental fee for the training venue, airfare to Orlando for attendees and presenters, and a week of hotel accommodations, food, auto rentals, and other expenses, Cisco estimated the total cost at about $750,000 or roughly $2500 per person.

Cisco, historically a frugal company, felt an even greater need to reduce expenses in a challenging economy. However, training the sales team without sacrificing the quality of the learning experience was still a priority. The company knew that using its own CDN solution to deliver more than 40 hours of interactive training could be done at a fraction of the cost of traditional training methods.

Solution

Using the Cisco CDN solution, Cisco delivered a live, four-day, training broadcast via Cisco Broadcast Servers in March 2001. In addition to serving the sales team, the training was also marketed to all sales organizations inside Cisco. An estimated 500 to 700 simultaneous IP streams were running per day, with a total viewing audience of nearly 2000 Cisco employees worldwide.

The Cisco Broadcast Servers streamed video programs to PC users over an enterprise network, enabling Cisco to deliver training directly to employee desktops. Between 10 and 30 sales specialists watched the live stream at each of the 16 regional offices throughout the United States and South Americawithout incurring a venue rental fee.

Subject matter experts presented the training via a live video feed broadcast from a TV studio at Cisco headquarters in San Jose, California. To deliver the content effectively, the Cisco Broadcast Servers encoded the analog streams to digital streams and used IP multicasting technology to distribute the content throughout the regions.

Desktop participants tuned into the programming using the Cisco IP/TV Viewer directly at their desktops or at a designated classroom training facility. When launching the viewer, participants chose the appropriate speed in which to watch the live video feed. They then watched the presenter, listened to the audio feed, viewed the presentation, and asked questions simultaneously.

The live event was recorded each day to capture the content for VoD playback at a later date, and to create a web-based training archive for Cisco employees.

Benefits and Results

The effort demonstrated the following outcomes and benefits for the program:

$600,000 cost savings The total cost of the 4-day, content networking training was approximately $108,000a cost savings of more than $600,000 compared to the original estimate of $750,000 to train only 300 sales employees. Using IP/TV technology, Cisco actually trained nearly 2000 Cisco employeesa larger audience than originally intended. If Cisco had trained all 2000 employees using traditional methods at $2500 per person, the company would have spent roughly $5 million. Using its CDN solution, Cisco delivered this training to 2000 employees for less than $55 per employee.

High satisfaction ratings Although Cisco significantly reduced the training cost, the company did not sacrifice quality. By using high-quality bit rates and MPEG-1 media, Cisco generated high satisfaction ratings. Cisco surveyed participants of the training to measure training effectiveness, and preliminary results indicated that on a scale of 1 to 5, more than 70 percent of the attendees rated overall effectiveness between 4 and 5.

Wider audience reached In addition to saving Cisco training, travel, and lodging costs, the Cisco ECDN training provided reusable content to reach a wider audience.

Learning library built Any Cisco employee can download the 40 hours of reusable contentany time, anywhereto receive training on the content around products and strategies.

The VoD was used for training new sales employees on how to deliver a product or solution pitch, and specific segments could be turned into sound bytes or video clips for use at Cisco seminars. The PowerPoint presentations and the VoDs were reused for channel and customer training. This reusable content also enabled Cisco employees who attended the training to review specific training segments and capture information they might have missed the first time.

Cisco captured all the participants' questions during the week and included this content in a searchable Q&A database, which was made available on the Cisco internal website. This Q&A database was an important resource for Cisco employees who were researching content networking products or strategies.

In addition to sales and marketing information, Cisco also delivered highly technical product information to systems engineers. One of the greatest benefits derived from delivering training using this method was the real-time, interactive, open forum for systems engineers and product management throughout the broadcast.

Using the Cisco IP/TV Question Manager, system engineers could click a question icon located on the IP/TV Viewer, type in a question, and click the Submit button. The presenters could then take the questions live and provide answers, making the training truly interactive for all participants. Not only did this provide product managers with direct customer feedback on technical product specifications and enhancements, but it also enabled product managers to solicit real-time feedback on future product road maps.