When Cisco Systems held its annual summit this month for its top 3,100 executives, no one hopped on a plane to the group’s San Jose headquarters. Instead, staff in China, India and the UK gathered in front of high-definition screens in conference rooms and communicated via instant messaging.

As expected, the US maker of communications equipment saved millions of dollars that had been racked up on previous retreats. But more surprisingly, Cisco found that interaction improved.