Since 2017, Cajun Broadband has been providing high-speed internet to rural, southern Louisiana. It was born from the frustration of its founders, Chris Disher and Jimmy Lewis, as they struggled to find reliable and fast internet service for their own homes.

After using fixed wireless technology from nearby towers to connect their homes, neighbors began asking to be connected as well. Word spread quickly, and soon, Cajun Broadband was supplying internet and phone service to thousands of customers across seven Louisiana parishes. Customers appreciated the company’s fair pricing and unmatched, local customer service.

By 2019, as demand for bandwidth skyrocketed and new technologies emerged, Cajun Broadband’s owners knew it would have to evolve, too. They began to look into new ways to serve their customers, and an opportunity soon became available in the form of the Granting Underserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) grant program. Cajun Broadband applied for the program and was awarded $20 million to implement new fiber-to-the-home projects throughout southern Louisiana.

“We saw the opportunity of a lifetime,” Disher said. “We knew we had to make this work, and we’re giving it everything we have.”

Building and operating a fiber network would require new knowledge and skills, and Disher and Lewis knew it would be important to surround themselves with experts who could help them learn all the ins and outs of the new technology. It would also require a fundamental shift for the Cajun Broadband team, as the company became process-based in order to scale operations effectively.

Disher and Lewis saw Vision Software as the tool to help accomplish that. After talking to the Fibersmith team at a trade show, they knew Vision’s workflows and automation capabilities would be tools for Cajun Broadband to install new customers consistently and get to market faster. Vision would also help employees focus resources on network expansion rather than repeatable, impersonal tasks such as sending invoices or turning off services for delinquent subscribers.

Vision would also enforce the tracking of outside plant records for the new fiber network. This would position Cajun Broadband to better serve its customers in the event of an outage or natural disaster by immediately identifying those affected and quickly communicating with them.

Since Disher’s corporate background was centered around being process-oriented, he understood that this shift would be critical to Cajun Broadband‘s future success.

“Ultimately, you can’t scale without process,” he said.

So the company began the transition to Vision, as well as becoming process-based. Workflows were built to mirror Cajun Broadband’s specific business practices for customer installations, billing, troubleshooting and more. It was a new mindset for staff members, but the team understood where the company was going and why the changes were necessary.

“Our employees believe in the direction we’re headed,” said Disher. “So they were on board with the transition to Vision, because they knew it would help us get there.”

Cajun Broadband moved its wireless customer base to Vision just a few months prior to beginning construction on its new fiber network. The expansion project included 90,000 feet of fiber to connect more than 500 previously underserved homes and businesses.

The network expansion continued the growth Cajun Broadband had experienced since it was founded a few years earlier. In 2023, the company was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list, landing at #603 with 3-year revenue growth of 974%.

Cajun Broadband’s transition to Vision, and to becoming a process-based company, occurred at a critical time to set the company up for rapid growth and the ability to connect more customers quickly. That pace has continued as Cajun Broadband manages its growing network and parish expansion projects.

“There’s no handbook to this,” Disher said. “When we got Vision, it was a big piece of the puzzle.”

Vision has helped Cajun Broadband become more efficient in all aspects of the business. Its team eagerly embraces new tools in the platform, such as online signup and postcard mailing tools to increase take rates and add new subscribers.

As subscriber numbers climb, Disher is thankful he has Vision in the company’s corner and looks forward to more network expansion projects to come.

“We needed a partner who shared our same vision and was eager to help our local community,” Disher said. “The Vision crew is on our team.”