PGH Networks

Why One of the World’s Most Successful Financial Institutions Trusts LifeSize

Time is money, as the saying goes, and in business, the company that’s able to make the best decisions the fastest is the company that comes out on top.  But effective communication – and therefore effective decision making – can be tough for multinational companies, who may have half a dozen employees spread across as many time zones.  How can these companies communicate efficiently whenTime is money, as the saying goes, and in business, the company that’s able to make the best decisions the fastest is the company that comes out on top.  But effective communication – and therefore effective decision making – can be tough for multinational companies, who may have half a dozen employees spread across as many time zones.  How can these companies communicate efficiently when even executives are on the road and away from the office?

With the help of LifeSize, global financial giant BBVA recently found a way.  Founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain, BBVA is one of Europe’s largest and most responsible financial groups, and a recent focus on international expansion has led to offices in more than 30 countries across the globe.  Given the amount of money investors have entrusted to BBVA, the institution’s international presence, and its commitment to integrity, sustainability, and best practices, peerless long-distance communication is a must.  That’s why decision makers had already implemented a sophisticated video conferencing system in their main offices.  But at a company in which executives routinely travel between different franchises and even different countries, office-based conferencing solutions simply weren’t enough.

That’s why BBVA IT executive Jose A. Salmerón Torres set out to find an HD mobile video collaboration solution, one that would allow instant communication between far-flung coworkers while also offering the superior security required by a company with assets that total in the hundreds of billions of Euros.  Another important criterion was interoperability; between company-supplied equipment and personal smartphones and tablets, BBVA needed something that could support iOS, Android, PCs, Macs, and more.  The search led them straight to LifeSize.

LifeSize ClearSea’s battery of security features – which includes built-in NAT/firewall traversal, embedded media encryption, and more – made it attractive to Salmerón Torres and his team, but what really put it across were its interoperability and its ease of use.

“With our executive staff always on the road, mobile support for video conferencing was a necessity, and it had to be easy enough for them to use on their own with little IT support,” he said. “LifeSize ClearSea works that way. All of a sudden, your phone rings and you can connect over video. It’s just that simple.”

Salmerón Torres and his IT team outfitted both BBVA-owned devices and employee-owned smartphones and tablets with the LifeSize ClearSea client, providing login and passwords for each individual.  Communication improved immediately, as even individuals who work remotely or from home are able to collaborate with ease.

At the end of the day, the success of even the largest global financial institutions comes down to the company’s ability to foster client trust and to communicate quickly and effectively.

“The way we see it, face-to-face communication is always better than any other method,” Salmerón Torres summed up. “With audio conferencing, participants can tune out and get distracted. Video enables more engaging, productive conversations.  I’ve worked with video technology for the last 10 years, and I’ve watched it become more and more mainstream. LifeSize ClearSea is the best mobile client I have come across.  I find it surprising that a solution that is so feature-rich and works on so many different devices is so simple to use and manage.”
even executives are on the road and away from the office?

With the help of LifeSize, global financial giant BBVA recently found a way.  Founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain, BBVA is one of Europe’s largest and most responsible financial groups, and a recent focus on international expansion has led to offices in more than 30 countries across the globe.  Given the amount of money investors have entrusted to BBVA, the institution’s international presence, and its commitment to integrity, sustainability, and best practices, peerless long-distance communication is a must.  That’s why decision makers had already implemented a sophisticated video conferencing system in their main offices.  But at a company in which executives routinely travel between different franchises and even different countries, office-based conferencing solutions simply weren’t enough.

That’s why BBVA IT executive Jose A. Salmerón Torres set out to find an HD mobile video collaboration solution, one that would allow instant communication between far-flung coworkers while also offering the superior security required by a company with assets that total in the hundreds of billions of Euros.  Another important criterion was interoperability; between company-supplied equipment and personal smartphones and tablets, BBVA needed something that could support iOS, Android, PCs, Macs, and more.  The search led them straight to LifeSize.

LifeSize ClearSea’s battery of security features – which includes built-in NAT/firewall traversal, embedded media encryption, and more – made it attractive to Salmerón Torres and his team, but what really put it across were its interoperability and its ease of use.

“With our executive staff always on the road, mobile support for video conferencing was a necessity, and it had to be easy enough for them to use on their own with little IT support,” he said. “LifeSize ClearSea works that way. All of a sudden, your phone rings and you can connect over video. It’s just that simple.”

Salmerón Torres and his IT team outfitted both BBVA-owned devices and employee-owned smartphones and tablets with the LifeSize ClearSea client, providing login and passwords for each individual.  Communication improved immediately, as even individuals who work remotely or from home are able to collaborate with ease.

At the end of the day, the success of even the largest global financial institutions comes down to the company’s ability to foster client trust and to communicate quickly and effectively.

“The way we see it, face-to-face communication is always better than any other method,” Salmerón Torres summed up. “With audio conferencing, participants can tune out and get distracted. Video enables more engaging, productive conversations.  I’ve worked with video technology for the last 10 years, and I’ve watched it become more and more mainstream. LifeSize ClearSea is the best mobile client I have come across.  I find it surprising that a solution that is so feature-rich and works on so many different devices is so simple to use and manage.”