Caplan selected for leading Model Metrics’ extraordinary business growth over the past year

CHICAGO – May 18, 2011 – Model Metrics, the leader in cloud computing services for the enterprise, today announced that Adam Caplan has won the 2011 Illinois Technology Association (ITA) CityLIGHTS award for CEO of the Year. The prestigious award is presented to the CEO who has led extraordinary business growth of their technology company over the past year. A panel of more than 40 judges, as well as votes from the business community determines the winner. 

Accomplishments include

• Caplan has led Model Metrics to become the go-to solutions provider for businesses looking to understand how to successfully leverage cloud technologies – from custom mobile solutions built in the cloud for the iPad and other devices, to service and support solutions, customer and partner portals, and strategic business process work.
• The company has completed more than 1,500 cloud implementations for businesses of all sizes and industries including local companies such as Abbott, Aon, The Boeing Company, Groupon, Merchandise Mart Properties and Walgreens, and enterprises such as Allergan, L’Oreal, MasterCard, Morgan Stanley and NBC Universal.
• As a result, Model Metrics has achieved 80 percent year-over-year revenue growth and continuous profitability since inception.
• Caplan’s vision for founding a different type of company that includes transparency, technology innovation and integrated philanthropy has resulted in the company’s ability to attract the best team in the industry.

Comments on the news

• “I am humbled to receive this honor of being named CEO of the Year in the 12th Annual ITA CityLIGHTS Awards,” said Adam Caplan, CEO of Model Metrics. “Our success is only possible because of the amazing team of people at Model Metrics who not only deliver cloud innovation to our clients every day, but who have also created the unique culture of openness, transparency and philanthropy that is behind our success."
• “We congratulate Adam for being recognized for his achievements in Model Metrics’ success,” said Fred Hoch, ITA president. “Model Metrics is a great example of the innovation coming out of the Illinois technology community. Its work enabling local companies and enterprises around the world to experience the power of cloud computing is putting Illinois on the map of this massive technological shift.” 

About the 2011 ITA CityLIGHTS Awards

• The ITA received a record number of nominations in 2011, an indication of the burgeoning local technology community. Winners in each of the eight award categories were determined by a composite score of 50 percent community voting and 50 percent from the ITA’s panel of 40 judges, with the exception of the CityLIGHTS award, which was determined solely by the ITA Board of Directors.
• Winners were announced at the ITA’s awards gala on May 12, 2011, at Union Station in Chicago and attended by more than 700 people from 400 organizations including business owners, investors, legislators and policymakers.

About the ITA
The Illinois Technology Association (ITA) is a driving force behind the growth of Illinois' vibrant technology industry. We are relentless in championing the development and application of technology, from start-up companies to industry leaders, leveraging the transformative nature of technology to revolutionize industries. ITA uniquely capitalizes peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and access to experts across the breadth of business to cultivate the Illinois technology industry. The unique and powerful integration of these valuable and experienced resources differentiates the ITA as a source of accelerated growth for the technology industry of Illinois. For more information about ITA, please visit www.illinoistech.org. 

Contact the ITA at headquarters@illinoistech.org, follow the discussion on Twitter at @itabuzz, and visit www.illinoistech.org to find out more about how ITA supports the growth of the local industry.

About Model Metrics
Model Metrics, enabler of the Model Enterprise, delivers solutions and services at the cutting edge of the cloud computing industry. Since its founding in 2003, Model Metrics has become one of the most diversified and respected partners of salesforce.com, Amazon Web Services, Adobe, and Google. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Minneapolis and Dallas, Model Metrics’ customer base spans all industries and includes enterprises such as Abbott, Allstate, Aon, Cars.com, CME Group, Honeywell, InfoUSA, MasterCard, Medtronic, and Orbitz.

With a focus on mobile and call center technology, business process and change management innovation, and custom development, Model Metrics has completed 1,500+ salesforce.com implementations for mid-sized and Fortune 1000 companies. Its world-class application development skills using Force.com, Adobe Flex and AIR, Amazon Web Services, Google and the Apple iPhone enable the creation of custom applications featuring multimedia-rich user experiences. To learn more, visit http://www.modelmetrics.com/ or follow us on Twitter at @modelmetricsinc.

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Contact:
Kelly Indrieri
Kulesa Faul for Model Metrics
(650) 340-1983
kelly@kulesafaul.com

I hate cloud computing. There, I said it. OK, maybe it’s not cloud computing I hate, it’s the buzz and hype associated with the term.

Whenever a technology acquires a sexy new term, companies that have nothing to do with it use the term in order to be associated with being hip or cool. This concept is on painful exhibit with HD Sunglasses. You mean to tell me I’ve been seeing everything in VHS-quality my whole life and all I needed was sunglasses to get my 1080p? Ridiculous, right?

And just like that, a term that used to have meaning becomes diluted, and people who aren’t early adopters become disillusioned.

Gartner has recognized this trend with cloud computing, calling the hype "deafening." This is a real problem for IT and business professionals alike who want to learn what cloud computing is and what it can do for their business. The problem is in the signal to noise ratio. Too much BS, not enough substance.

My message to people who are legitimately trying to learn is this: as someone whose career has always been in tech, cloud computing is very real. Organizations who do not embrace the technology are going to get steamrolled by those who do. If you’re not moving forward you’re getting passed – that is the way of business.

Cloud computing is by and large cheaper than on-premise applications, adapts more quickly to the needs of your business, and is far more extensible than traditional apps. It is not the answer for everything, but it can make your business much more nimble.

I recently had a conversation with the VP of Sales at a large manufacturing company.  For the purposes of this discussion, I will call him John.  John and his sales organization have never had a centralized, collaborative CRM system before and they are about to begin a salesforce.com implementation.  Among the goals of the project is the need to consolidate the many point solutions they have used for managing their customers over the company’s 40-year history.   They recognize the need to establish consistent processes for the sales team and want to leverage workflow capabilities to improve communication.  After a series of fruitful meetings, John mentioned that he is working with IT to purchase mobile devices for the sales team because he has received a lot of demand from the team, and wants them to be as productive as possible with the new CRM tool.

The scenario described above is very common.  The benefits of leveraging mobile technology for a sales rep include increased productivity, more timely information, access to real-time data at the point of contact, and access to information without the overhead of lugging a clunky laptop.  All of this is theoretically sound, but don’t let your mobile strategy define itself without thoughtful consideration of questions that are sure to be raised as part of your implementation.  Addressing these issues proactively will allow you to separate fact from fiction and apply a mobile strategy that fits your organization and your users so that you can realize success.

Who are your users?
The diversity of the user base is a great place to start in defining a strategy.  It is common to have a mix of technologist and technophobes within the same sales team.  The technologists tend to demand all of the latest and greatest tools and technology as a means of making themselves more productive.  Without it, they claim that their efforts are diluted and they are bogged down with administrative overhead required to access information or log calls.  On the other hand, the technophobes will resist any sort of change, especially when it comes to technology, by claiming that the time spent to manage all of these new tools and gadgets will negatively impact the time they spend in front of the customer.

When it comes to mobile, you are wise to know your audience.  If your team is not accustom to using mobile technology for email and basic calendar management, you may want to take steps to introduce the device before you make it a critical component of your CRM strategy.  Users who have leveraged these tools in their personal lives or at a past job will be much more comfortable in adopting this technology as part of their work.

When it comes to people, it is also important to note that strong demand for a Blackberry, iPhone or other device from users who do not currently have these products, may be a red flag.  The grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence for those who have bought into the idea that these tools will make them more effective.  I recently worked with a sales group that insisted that they needed offline capabilities because they weren’t always “connected.”  Once we provided the offline functionality, they demanded mobile devices because they found it cumbersome to “lug around heavy laptops.”  Once they received the mobile device, they complained about the small screen and the difficulty of entering data with a small keyboard.  This is exactly the type of situation we want to control by proactively managing a mobile strategy.

How mature are your processes?
As the saying goes “Process before technology.”  Change management is a key component to any CRM implementation.  The introduction to new systems represents a disruption, and optimizing or changing processes will require that users have a clear understanding of their role and expectations.  The process of change must be managed deliberately to ensure that users are not left behind as they adjust to their new way of working. 

If process change is part of your implementation, it is common (and a good idea) for the mobile implementation is postponed to a second phase.  It is important that users are familiar with the goals they are trying to achieve before they take on learning how to manage multiple entry points. 

What do users need to do to get their job done?
It may seem obvious, but it is critical to give objective consideration to what your users need to accomplish using their mobile device.  A clear definition of use cases serves as the basis for streamlining key processes and maximizing efficiency for end users.  When defining mobile needs, many companies make the mistake of setting an expectation that anything that can be done with a laptop should be possible with a handheld, and this is simply not realistic.  Use case definition should help to separate fact from fiction when it comes to defining what functionality needs to be available.

The reality of a handheld is that the physical size, speed and ergonomics are significant challenges for some users.  These factors make processes that require consuming or reading data better candidates than those that require entering data.  This is especially true of complex data entry processes where there are many fields or pages to navigate.  This is not to say that call logging or data entry are not candidates, but scrutiny should be applied to processes that required extensive typing or scrolling as users will become easily frustrated. 

A failure to keep it simple when it comes to mobile will also likely equate to poor or incomplete data.  Typing on a small keyboard can be time consuming.  Moreover, navigating multiple screens can make a simple task daunting.  The resulting behavior for end-users is to cut corners, enter the minimum amount of data required, or neglect to enter anything at all.

What device suits your needs?
Mobile devices are not all created equal and there is no one answer to which is the best.  The strategy established must be consistent with the goals of the organization and the tools must be right for the job.  A thorough analysis of the right device should include alignment with the mobile use cases, feature functionality of the device, device-specific feature support offered by your CRM software, customization capabilities, and the service network.

How will security be maintained?
Finally, the need to secure your data and protect the intellectual property of the organization must be considered.  Users may demand access to ALL data through their mobile device, but the strategy must consider the risk of a lost or stolen device.  For ease of use, most systems do not require that users enter a password each time they are accessing their CRM application on the mobile device.  For this reason, it is important that data is evaluated by sensitivity so judgments can be made about what will and what will not be accessible.  Furthermore, a password policy on the device itself should be mandatory if there is risk of a breach.

This is not an exhaustive list of mobile strategy components, but does represent some key points of consideration.  The cost of implementing a mobile solution is not insignificant, so these basic questions will help to proactively plan rather than having to backtrack and repeat.