“The bottom line is we have a way to connect all your applications together”: CloudMills

For many Human Resources (HR) organizations, the move to cloud-based software delivery is inevitable. Cloud is already living up to its promise for many companies’ by empowering HR to be more strategic and employees to be more productive. So it comes as no surprise that with the rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions, we’ve seen a proliferation of innovative companies and entrepreneurs bringing new platforms and technologies to market. This has created some interesting challenges for employers and vendors alike…how do we get all these cool new applications to share data…seamlessly and inexpensively. Well, it can be said that CloudMills observing the growth of cloud –based software delivery and the challenges it created for its adopters took as the crux to create their business. The company was established in 2014 with a mission to provide solutions to efficiently and inexpensively integrate these various HR applications employers use today.

A backdrop of CloudMills

As the adoption of cloud-based continues to grow, so have the vendor’s development of API’s. The introduction of API’s was supposed to simplify these “point-to-point” connections to share data. However, in the HR sector employers have very different and unique business rules they operate under to manage their HR functions and API’s must interpret these client-specific rules. CloudMills was formed to address this shortcoming by becoming the translation engine with pre-built business logic to transform HR data in the cloud. Applications have their own rules and formats but the transformations of that can be complex business rules that don’t live in either system.

CEO’s words

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Solution Provider or Employer, integrations with multiple applications is a must in today’s world of HR. Regardless of the application (ATS, Payroll, Assessments, Background Check, Performance, On-boarding, Benefits, HR) they all need to communicate seamlessly for your organization to thrive.”

A talk on the solutions proffered

“The bottom line is we have a way to connect your applications together, whether it’s API, CSV files, Web Services or your own interface. All managed and maintained by CloudMills so you can focus on managing your most important asset, your people.”

The company’s data integrated platform works on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) for increased security, speed, quality, and quick execution of services and integration.

Using the five highly integrated service modules, the platform

• Synchronizes, transforms, extracts, updates and adds data between applications
• Applies logic based on fixed or variable information, execute dynamic event scheduling, and generate alerts
• Manages governance between all data, users and applications
• Accesses and delivers data in multiple formats (Web Services, XML, HTML, spreadsheets, CSV, etc.)
• Offers a complete set of tools to manage the platform

Customers review of the company

Some customers have said thank goodness CloudMills exists because their own internal IT resource was so swamped with Revenue Generating or Compliance projects. Both of these have inspired the company to continue to grow and add more connectors where we are THEIR team on both knowledge and resource.

Company assets

Understanding the HR environment, 180+ years combined knowledge

It employee “out of the box” thinkers, because integrating unrelated application requires putting puzzle pieces together without a picture to start with

Partnering with vendors who understand integration is a business of its own. They allow the firm to do the integration work and they can work on making their application the best it can be

The ability to have key players work virtually from anywhere. The firm gets the best people in the timezones we need them without full brick and morter requirements.

An outline of the prospective product

“We call it a GapLet. It fills the gap between two applications where there is no single field to field correlation. However, by applying business process rules form disparate pieces of data that elements can be derived for proper translation. Sometimes we are pulling from four sources to make one data field that is accurate going into a target system,” says CEO.

Words of wisdom

It is a start up where employees work with enthusiasm and give their complete energy for the growth of the company. As the organization grows the management oversight and processes must harden a bit and new people take on more specific roles.“You don’t want to lose the culture but you need more definition as folks join the organization.”

Contribution to global IT platform and society

“Working with our vendor partners we are able to provide guidance on best practices on how APIs should work. We see many different APIs and do “work-around” when the API doesn’t support the client’s needs,” says CEO.

Greet the giants

Dianna Sheppard, CEO: She is doggedly passionate about the “clear mission at hand” and employs accountabilities tactics with intense focus on “process efficiency and breakdown risk mitigation”.

With over 20 years of experience in various HR sales, management, operational and marketing roles, Dianna has a demonstrated ability in unique product positioning, problem solving and building motivated teams, both on the explosive growth and the downsize sides. She has effectively worked on both the buy and sell side of acquisitions/divestitures.

Bennett M. Reddin, CTO: A technologist at heart, with a true passion for revolutionizing information delivery to transform HR into corporate innovation catalysts, consulting directly to client enterprises, he helps them lay the strategic and technological foundations for emerging innovation in HRIS.

He comes to CloudMills with 25 years of HRIS expertise ranging from early PC-based HR systems through current Service Oriented Architectures. He has engineered and deployed several HR and Payroll architectures for service bureaus and ERP vendors, improving toolsets and practices for implementation in the process.

Bradley Rhine, CIO: Those who work with Bradley say “he is relentlessly driven to provide high quality, creative solutions to complex business challenges…and can ‘sling code’ when circumstances require.” His philosophy is one of “rigor without frills” – paying close attention to the essential details without becoming enmeshed in overly ornate processes.

Bradley’s experiences include architecting, building, and supporting operational SaaS applications provide a practical perspective on the real-world challenges of complex, multi-system integration chains.

“That’s why we founded it – To set the data free and give companies choice to have their own business’ thrive.”