In an effort to improve communications between its 2,000-plus employees spread across three continents, audio and video company D+M Group has adopted Cisco’s (News - Alert) cloud-based Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) – giving the company the ability to roll out collaboration applications and services through the cloud.

In addition to enhancing communications, D+M Group is also able to optimize IT resources, reduce operational costs, seek out talent regardless of location, and globalize its IT, human resources and finance functions, according to John Jackson (News - Alert), vice president, global infrastructure and vendor management at D+M Group.

“We’ve always wanted technology that would help us reduce silos across the company by increasing collaboration. At D+M, we deliver premium audio solutions around the world. In order to be successful, exceptional collaboration between our more than 2,000 globally dispersed employees is key,” Jackson said. “We looked for a hosted solution that’s scalable, secure, reliable and expansive. Working with Cisco partner, West IP Communications (News - Alert), we have implemented Cisco’s HCS and are already seeing the cloud-based technology drive cultural change at our company.”

HCS capabilities include IP telephony, telepresence, contact center and Web conferencing. Cisco partner West IP Communications is providing HCS services to D+M Group, company officials said.

Cisco’s partners offering HCS include service providers, systems integrators, wholesalers and resellers. Partners can also offer also a version of HCS called HCS-LE (Large Enterprise) that supports private cloud deployments. This deployment option is often suitable for large companies seeking an “IT-as-a-Service” model, but would prefer not to utilize a public cloud option.

“We know that a company focused on providing top quality video and audio solutions to their customers expects the same from the collaboration offerings they deploy inside their organizations,” added Eric Schoch, senior director and general manager, Cisco Hosted Collaboration Business Unit. “We are delighted D+M Group has chosen Cisco cloud collaboration, delivered through West IP Communications, to facilitate outstanding collaboration among their employees around the world.”