Filipa Preston (Software Optimisation Services)
Another operational challenge for Software Optimisation Services has been locating staff that go above and beyond.
“For example," Preston said, "you can get a technical engineer to implement some of the tooling, but sometimes to get that technical engineer to go beyond just installing a tool and to spot that the customer's told us one thing, but the environment and the data is showing something completely different.
“So, have we missed an environment? Have we not scanned something? Why is that? So just trying to get some people to go beyond just what we've asked to them is sometimes is a challenge," she added.
Another challenge related to staff that Preston has faced has been trying to get more women getting excited about working in technology businesses, as she sees “so much lip service” about women helping other women and is striving for an environment where actions are taking precedence over words.
As a sign of pushing past that lip service, Software Optimisation Services currently has a 97 per cent female workforce.
“Some of the interns I've got at the moment, they're at university and one of them has studied engineering. I just love showing her what's possible, because at university, they're not seeing these possibilities,” Preston said.
“They're absolutely seeing the possibilities of creating an application that can show glaucoma, but they're not seeing, in my limited experience, the power in being a change influencer to organisations to say: 'Look, if you're moving to Azure right now from a NextDC, there's a bunch of change that has to happen and education for your service desk team.'”
Some early hires have also been an issue for the business, and while Preston conferred with an external board, some decisions were made in a hurry that seemed right at the time.
“I believe in people and I believe in their potential and sometimes the people that I've hired, they didn't see that for themselves, but they couldn't pivot, they just couldn't be what I was hoping they could be with the right drive, with the right vision,” she said.
“There's a few people that I would have loved not to hired and also wasted so many cycles and months when you knew after the first month, ‘I don't think this is going to work,’ but then I've listened to external accounts and then think, 'She could be okay,' because those are very expensive mistakes.”
Staying true to yourself
Preston believes the key to all of Software Optimisation Services’ success lies in clearly defining what the business does and doesn’t do, and the CEO thinks more advisory firms and MSPs should be doing the same.
“I just stayed relevant, I've watched the trends, and making sure that the business didn't wake up too late, that the business evolved early and that saw what was coming and because we're nimble and we small, we could do that,” she said.
Preston recalled a conversation by a customer where they claimed they didn’t want a big named system integrator to assist them, they wanted a niche independent partner instead.
“I just feel that there's so much a flood of everyone doing everything, but what about doing a niche area really well? Stay focused and not get distracted by: 'Oh, yeah, sure we can sell you mice and hardware'. 'You guys have a cyber firm, why are you selling mice and hardware?' That's just crazy. The customers want experts.”
“I often I speak to partners and you're talking about something that they're supposed to be so niche in and yet, they say, 'Well, we could do that,' but you go: 'Oh, but I thought you guys are the SharePoint guys,' or, 'I thought you guys were the Azure specialists,' or, 'the AWS specialists,'” she said.
“I'm very clear on the business that I'm in, and the business that I'm not in.”
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