Configure Your Platform to Deliver the Optimal Value: Cloud Optik, a Cloud Insights Platform for Service Providers, Harnesses the Power of Your Data

Cloud Optik uses license optimization to create tailored feature bundles while focusing on customer education and data utilization to enable upsell/cross-sell opportunities: Michael Sterl.

Cloud analytics and business intelligence platforms that can responsively scale to support a company’s evolving business models are replacing on-premise reporting systems. Cloud platforms provide easily-customized user interfaces, self-service, and prototyping tools that legacy systems lack. Companies of all sizes today are challenged to scale their new business models and initiatives while keeping existing operations running as efficiently and responsively as possible. As a result, cloud analytics platforms are closing the gap between what legacy systems provide and what enterprises need to compete and grow.

The bottom line is that the scale, speed of deployment, agility and ability to rapidly prototype analytics workflows on cloud analytics platforms is winning out over more costly and time-consuming alternatives that require IT’s time and attention.

In light of the above mentioned, we are delighted to present Cloud Optik – a cloud analytics platform that is engineered to connect business intelligence data with proprietary data models to identify and unlock new sources of value for service providers and channel partners. The platform generates insights across the business, from operational improvements to enhanced customer profile information and new sales opportunities.

Cloud Optik was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. 

Interview Excerpt: Michael Sterl, Co-founder/CEO

Why was the company set up? And how did you expand your company and its offerings over the years?

After 12 years of owning and operating a successful service provider, we noticed some critical gaps in the industry when it comes to using data to uncover customer insights, so we set out to address them. Using big data and business intelligence, we developed a platform that helps providers and channel partners dive deeper into their customer base and target opportunities to better engage with existing customers. We genuinely believe better insights from data leads to a superior customer experience for both service providers and end users.

How successful was your first project roll out? Share the experience.

Our original plan was to connect Call Detail Records (CDR) with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and billing platforms for service providers. The challenge we faced was – not all data was created equal and most data was dirty, meaning it wasn’t the same throughout the data sources, and in some cases was missing. We had to regroup on our approach to work with service providers.

About adaptability, how do you stay relevant to the consumer interests and needs in this highly volatile market?

Telecom/cloud solutions aren’t going away anytime soon, but we understand the shift in the market toward more ‘cloud apps’ being added. We continue to monitor not only the service provider and identity management platforms, but also the most commonly used Cloud Apps. This allows us to focus on the offering available today, and also the roadmap for both service provider and end customers (SMC, Mid Market, and Enterprise). Our foundation doesn’t change, but the layers of the technology stack evolve.

For a company to be one the most ‘innovative,’ its employees must think like innovators; employees need to feel they have a decent outlet for sharing their observations and ideas. Is this true with your company?

Our innovation energy is created through both the freedom to explore, as well as individual mindset. As a company, we believe that the freedom to explore allows us to pursue technology and business problems that are challenging, interesting, and will make a difference to the industry. Individual mindset is all about intellectual curiosity. We believe that topics which stoke each individual’s curiosity create a powerful energy that can be harnessed to identify and drive new ideas. When taken together, this innovation energy enables us to bring new ideas to the market faster.  

Do you have any new products ready to be launched?

We recently released SmartProfile for Netsapiens and we are focused on our release of SmartProfile for MetaSwitch and Kandy.io. This will allow us to expand our offering (Cloud Insights Platform) to support the top four Telecom/UC Platforms in the market. We will focus on enabling indirect/channel partners to leverage the same platform.

As a question on sustainability, where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Our vision is focused on three pillars:

• Service Providers (which we focus on today): We will continue to build our platform to support other Telecom/UC platforms that develop in the market.
• Indirect/Channel Partner Focus: Our goal is to provide the ‘Optik View’ for channel partners to manage customer health from prospect to close. Provide them with the tools to continue to be the ‘trusted consultant’ and deliver best of breed solutions to their clients.
• End Customer: Ultimately we want to assist the end customer with information/insights that supports their strategy around IT and their IT roadmap.

Meet The CEO

Michael Sterl: Michael Sterl, co-founder, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Cloud Optik.

“Using big data and business intelligence, we developed a platform that helps providers and channel partners dive deeper into their customer base and target opportunities to better engage with existing customers.”