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Case Study
Effective video meetings are a vital pillar, a true non-negotiable for a hybrid workforce. And so it came to be, that Rakuten decided to upgrade legacy conferencing systems, no longer up to the job.
The Client
Rakuten Group, Inc. is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. In Japanese, Rakuten means optimism, a philosophy that underpins the success of this 25-year-old brand. Rakuten Group’s huge portfolio spans more than 70 services, across 30 different countries. Whether you’re looking for media, entertainment, finance, e-commerce, operations or mobile communications, this dynamic global innovation company has it covered.
The Challenge
Of course, innovation relies on gold-standard communication, between all of Rakuten’s talented teammates, across a range of different departments and beyond. Effective video meetings are a vital pillar, a true non-negotiable for a hybrid workforce. And so it came to be, that Rakuten decided to upgrade legacy conferencing systems, no longer up to the job. In their place, they needed devices that could deliver more immersive, life-like video collaboration. Devices that could put humanness back into online meetings, to truly unlock the potential of hybrid working.
The Solution
Historically, ‘face-to-face’ communication has been used to refer solely to ‘in-person’ communication. In light of the workplace revolution though, Rakuten understood it was time to breathe new life into this phrase.
Their search led them to discover Neat, to devices that promised to mimic real-life conversation more authentically. How? Through sharper imaging, higher-fidelity audio processing, and patented video collaboration features. It was a breakthrough. For the first time, Rakuten could envisage a hybrid working culture, without compromise; where ‘face-to-face’ could credibly encompass meeting virtually too.
Statistics
Zoom together with Neat, is helping us explore not only where we work, but how we work. Absolutely we can justify our investment, it’s accelerating our virtual global collaboration. I’m looking forward to other products from Neat.
Yasufumi Hirai, Group Executive Vice President, CIO & CISO.
The Results
Their day-to-day communication has been elevated, making it a ton more satisfying, not to mention productive. They also appreciate how straightforward Neat devices are to set up and use. In fact, the IT department immediately noticed a drop in queries when they switched to Neat, saving Rakuten time and money.
For the final word, Yasufumi Hirai, Group Executive Vice President, CIO & CISO shares his reflections on Rakuten’s flexible working journey. For Yasfumi, it’s clear that the benefits of a more richly, seamlessly connected workforce are being felt far and wide. Rakuten is currently using Neat Board, Neat Bar and Neat Pad.