Seamless Transition: How We Changed Our Workflow and Culture

StreetSmart's mission is to "enable each individual to thrive and increase the number of people who find joy in their work," and we support companies in introducing and promoting the use of cloud tools. This time, we interviewed TBS Television, Inc., which introduced G Suite in the winter of 2017 and has been supporting them through everything from building the system environment to training. We asked them about the measures they have implemented to promote the use of G Suite since its introduction and the results they have achieved.

Introduction to TBS Television, Inc.

Founded in March 2000 as a wholly owned group company of TBS Holdings, Inc., which was established in 1951. Our corporate philosophy is to create content and services that are loved by people all over the world across the ages, and to contribute to the realization of a society filled with hope and respect for diverse values. As a comprehensive media group, we are engaged in broadcasting, video, culture, and distribution, and we play a role as a leader in broadcasting culture.

This time, we spoke with Mr. Inagawa of the Information Systems Bureau's System Development Department and Mr. Minematsu of the Infrastructure Security Department, who are leading the promotion of G Suite.

Unlimited storage capacity was the deciding factor in adopting G Suite

You have been using G Suite Business since the winter of 2017. Please tell us how that came about.

Minematsu : At the time, people were starting to talk about groupware and work style reform, and the email service we were using was due for renewal. So, rather than just updating emails, we heard from the field that they wanted an information sharing tool within the company, and we wanted to create a new environment that would allow people to work anytime, anywhere as part of work style reform, so we decided to introduce groupware.

Inagawa : At the time, it was common to work at the office, so many people were concerned about security, asking questions like, "Is it secure to access files from outside the office?" and "What happens if you take your computer with you and lose it?" I remember spending a lot of time trying to get them to understand.

Why did you choose G Suite out of all the groupware options available?

Minematsu : We compared various groupware options, and because our company handles large files, such as videos, due to the nature of our business, the unlimited storage capacity was the most appealing option . Also, the lightness and smoothness of the experience when using it was completely different from other products . When we tried collaborative editing on Google Docs, we tried other products but there was a lot of lag, so we thought G Suite was different.

Was the decision to use G Suite made by the Information Systems Bureau?

Minematsu : Because opinions from the field are important, we had a wide range of people use it and make decisions, including those in the news, dramas, and sales departments. We also had technical people in charge of dramas say, "The file sharing flow during video production is not suited to the times, so we'd like you to do something about it," and the fact that we were already using Google Cloud at the time was also a big factor.

From the physical, linear communication of motorcycle couriers to the data and circular communication of G Suite

Earlier you said that the current flow for video production is not suited to the times, but what has the production flow for dramas been like up until now?

Minematsu : First, after recording, we move on to the editing process, but because the editors, CG, audio, and sound effects are all different companies, we had to hand deliveries. For example, if there's a scene with thunder outside a window, the CG company sends us the CG of lightning entering the window frame, which we then fit into the scene. But that's just the image of thunder, so we hand the CG of thunder to the sound effects company and have them add the sound that matches it. Because so many companies are involved in creating even one scene in a drama, it would have been difficult to use the analog method of physically handing things over to them.

So many technology companies were involved in the scene I was casually watching. I can easily imagine how difficult it must have been.

Inagawa : That's right. We weren't in the same building, so we would often bring something to the other party but they wouldn't be there, which meant we had to wait. Nowadays, there are more and more services that allow you to send data over the internet, but that alone isn't enough to achieve "collaborative production."

What does that mean?

Inagawa : Simply sending data is a one-way, linear exchange, so it doesn't allow for the communication necessary for production. In that respect, G Suite not only allows you to share files, but also makes it easy to communicate with them using the comment function within G Suite or Google Meet (hereinafter referred to as Meet). If you were to send a file and then comment on it using a different tool, it would be very inconvenient, but with G Suite, everything can be done within one tool, which is very convenient.

In addition, files can be collected on Google Drive and shared between staff members as they like, staff can collaborate without needing to be in the same place, and Google Calendar invitations make it easy to plan events . This comprehensive communication makes collaborative production smooth .

Also, since you only need one account for all of these tools, you can use them seamlessly without the hassle of incompatibility between tools or forgotten passwords, which is great.

The implementation plan was excellent, and I didn't feel like I had any difficulties with the implementation.

I imagine it was difficult to introduce G Suite and get it adopted within the company.

Minematsu : To be honest, I didn't feel like it was difficult or challenging. If anything, it was fun, and I think that's because StreetSmart's implementation plan was so great.

StreetSmart taught us wonderful things, such as "Rather than spreading the word thinly and evenly to many people, the quickest way is to develop people (influencers) who are knowledgeable about each site," "Teaching within the company should be done by people close to you in the same workplace," and "It has to be done by managers." Thanks to this, the way of thinking within the company began to change, and even the corporate culture changed.

I'm honored to hear you say that. How did you decide on the influencers for each location?

Inagawa : There was always someone at each site who was knowledgeable about computers, or someone who people around them would often ask about things they didn't understand about computers, so we asked those people.

Have you come up with any ideas for promoting this?

Minematsu : We thought it was important to ask influencers to do this as an official job, so with the cooperation of the company, we created a project team, issued appointment letters, and made the information known within the company.

Inagawa : We also have some of our accepted applicants who work as "part-timers" while they are still in school before joining the company, and it was a great idea to ask them to provide internal QA support and potentially become influencers in the future. They are highly motivated, and many of them are already familiar with IT. Also, although it will take a certain amount of time for them to become fully-fledged in their regular work after joining the company, they can immediately contribute to IT support at each site, so even though they are new employees, they will become relied upon within their department, and they will be able to work smoothly using G Suite, so I thought it was a win-win situation.

A total of 16,723 Google Meet meetings were held in May 2020, with a total of 84,438 participants.

How much use has G Suite had in teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Minematsu : We looked into the usage of Meet within the company and found that while there were approximately 100 video conferences held in December 2019, there were 16,723 in May 2020. The total number of participants was 84,438.

16,723 times! That's an incredible amount of usage.

Minematsu : We were surprised too. When we thought about it, we didn't hold any information sessions on how to use Meet, but I think everyone was able to use it because of its simple design that even first-time users could understand.

Nowadays, it's common to hold meetings on Meet and share files on Drive, so there's no need for USB memory sticks or external hard drives, and it's wonderful that you don't have to take anything home. Thanks to this, I was able to create an environment where I could work anywhere before the COVID-19 pandemic, so I was able to continue my work even during the pandemic without any impact .

Inagawa : The usage rate of the file transfer service that was used before the introduction has now decreased by 92% since the introduction of G Suite, indicating that the frequency of use of Google Drive has increased.

It was fun to work with you on the implementation, and I would like you to implement other systems as well.

What are your future challenges and prospects?

Minematsu : We would like to introduce it to all group companies. Of the 28 JNN affiliated stations, only six have not yet adopted G Suite, so we would like to expand this to include them.

There are still many systems within the company that operate only in on-premise environments, so we would like to consider making good use of the G Suite platform for standard systems or migrating them to Google Cloud Platform.

Finally, could you tell us your evaluation of our company?

Inagawa : It's too good to be true. (laughs)

Introducing a new system can often be difficult, but the implementation with StreetSmart was a real pleasure . Their user education is excellent, and I'd love to see them do the same with other systems. I'd love to consult with you again!