One of the biggest issues state governments face in their day-to-day governing is the sheer size of the state itself. Even in average sized states, it can take quite some time to get from place to another, and it's particularly burdensome for state government workers who live and work in cities far from the state capital. It can be difficult to effectively communicate with other employees in the capital and in other cities, and employees spent precious time and money traveling all across the state.

One such state with this issue is Alabama. The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) manages all forms of transportation in the state, including one of the longest navigable inland waterways in the nation, six commercial airports and a large seaport on the Gulf of Mexico. To ensure these multiple forms of transportation run smoothly, ALDOT has over 5,000 employees spread out across the state. Its large number of employees and their geographic sprawl, however, meant ALDOT was having trouble getting everyone to meet in one location for mandatory training sessions.

While training was the main issue, ALDOT generally needed a more sustainable way to host meetings with employees scattered across the state. Years ago, ALDOT division chiefs from distant corners of the state would have to drive to Montgomery, Alabama, every Monday to attend one meeting, which was not a productive use of time and incurred costly travel expenses. Clearly, it needed a cost-effective solution to make it easier for the department to host trainings and meetings for its far-flung department.

Their answer? Cisco video solutions. Cisco was able to provide both visual communications at the desktop and room level, as well as the ability to capture and distribute videos for later viewing. Cisco worked with its partner Technical Innovation, which provides video-centric communication solutions to state government agencies, to make deployment a reality. To share video solutions with all of its employees, ALDOT installed more than 50 of the Cisco TelePresence System EX Series video endpoints in more than 25 locations across Alabama.

These video solutions gave ALDOT an easier way to hold meetings, helping them save money and improve work productivity. Workers who cannot attend meetings in person can follow along in real time via video, and those with scheduling conflicts can watch the recorded meeting or training session at a later time. Time that used to be used for travel can now be used for more productive work, and ALDOT estimates that it will only take about three or four years for the videoconferencing system to pay for itself.

Cisco video solutions helped improve productivity for ALDOT's workforce, reduce costs expenses for calls and travel, and enhance the efficiency of their employees -imagine what it could do for your state! To learn more about how Cisco TelePresence can help you public sector agencies, click here. And to read more in depth about how the Alabama Department of Transportation deployed video solutions in their state, check out the case study here.