Category: Connectivity

As smart technology advances, connecting devices while they’re on the move is becoming a priority within the Connectivity industry. On Episode 12 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we spoke to Rafet Lakhdar, the Vice President Quality & Operations at Rolling Wireless, about how they are solving connectivity issues in the automotive space. Here are his insights: 

What specific things do you have to do to ensure that a connectivity solution meets a car manufacturer’s quality standards?

The automotive industry is often said to be requesting military quality levels for a consumer price, which means that you are going in two opposite directions to hit those targets. This is where you need to differentiate yourself by making the big jump between low cost and extremely high quality – which is where the matter of quality becomes so critical. 

The first pillar of quality is reputation. These car manufacturers need to protect their reputation – they cannot afford to be in the newspaper for recalls or that they have poor quality and so on because the consumers are very sensitive to that. This applies to the whole ecosystem behind the connectable technology. This is where we are proud to say that we have reached what we call a 10 PPM level, which means that we can guarantee that out of 1 million units you will not see more than 10 of them having an issue, which is about what the automotive segment is looking for. You have to be reliable to sell to automotive companies. 

The second pillar is financials. If you have a good quality standard you are optimising your production and you don’t have yield loss, so you could become competitive. If that is not the case you will be beaten by the competition because they could provide a better price. You need to be sure that you have made a superb optimisation of your production so that you run it at the lowest possible cost. If you look at the financials, you could say that quality is part of sales, because when you go to the competition, you will be matching your competitor to a penny. What will differentiate you is the quality level that you can bring on the table when things are the same price. 

The last pillar is innovation and expertise. If you think about quality, that means making sure we follow the processes during fabrication to ensure that every product meets those standards. We have to set specifications, but if you limit yourself to this, you miss a big part of what you can do in this industry. However, we have transformed quality into expertise. We provide expertise to the designers and optimise our cost. We provide expertise on how to make our product more reliable, so that the carmaker could use our product for 5, 10, or 15 years without suffering issues, and not having issues with the long range. That is what is important when you think about quality – it lasts. We provide a quality service by providing expertise to the company for a long time, rather than just giving them one product and limiting ourselves in that way.

What does tomorrow’s connected car actually look like? 

I think the car of the future will be safer and more environmentally friendly, and the VTX will participate in that future. It will generate softer driving behaviour because cars will be able to anticipate things, therefore reducing brutal acceleration or massive brakes, because people pick up the information at the last minute. Also, it will become much safer. The VTX creates more alert systems which should also help reduce collisions and traffic jams. 

Some people say cars will become a computer on four wheels. I think it will become an entertaining mobility moment. We’re trying to reduce the hassle of driving that makes people tired of it, and allow them to enjoy a mobility ride with infotainment, watching a movie or listening to some nice music, but also with the ability to get information on your destination while you drive. The car can point out things that are happening on your trajectory or relieve that stress by going into autopilot while you focus on preparing for your arrival. It will make driving far more entertaining. 

To learn more about connectivity in the automotive industry, tune into The Connectivity Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

IoT has been around for over 30 years. Recently however, we have begun to see new applications for this technology, which we unpacked with Shaun Stewart, the VP of Product at Infogrid, on Episode 11 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast. He talked us through his decade of experience in the area and shared his insights on the future application of IoT technology. Here’s what he said on the topic:

What’s your take on the current state of the IoT industry? 

In IoT broadly, there’s a lot of exciting stuff happening. Every industry goes through the initial hype cycle, and then things get oversold and people get disappointed. When the technology starts maturing, that’s when you see the most promise. That’s where we are now. 10 years ago there was a lot of promise in this industry, but not a lot of delivery. There were a lot of great ideas that are only just now being realised as the technology stacks mature alongside industry standards. 

As someone who’s been in the industry for a long time, I’ve been through a whole process and evolution with IoT. Now the industry feels a lot more mature than it did when I first started to get into it. There are more agreed upon standards and more mature tech stacks. Everyone’s so much more mature in the industry, they can move faster and innovate quicker. People understand the use cases a lot more. Overall, I think where we’re at today is really exciting. And we’re finally starting to realise our goals in a scalable way. 

We’re on the cusp of IoT crossing over into other industries and niches within the industry, such as process engineering, major asset protection and management etc. There’s a huge range of applications that we’re just on the cusp of, with IoT now becoming much more widespread.

Where would you say the biggest use cases for IoT are?

IoT can be applied to any interaction between the physical and digital world. Think smart cities, smart buildings, smart infrastructure… Here in New York City there’s been a lot of incremental gains over the years in our transportation infrastructure. Bringing IoT into our transportation infrastructure and making that data available will make it easier to see where a bus is, where a train is, where the metro is. IoT will improve accuracy within those systems. We’re going to see an improvement in infrastructure that’s not necessarily connected but it is smart. That’s an area where – particularly in the urban landscape – you’re going to continue to see new applications for IoT in terms of making devices smart, and then creating an urban mesh network of all these devices. 

To learn more about the applications of IoT technology, tune into Episode 11 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

At neuco we’re at the forefront of recruitment for the connectivity industry. On Episode 10 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we spoke to Virtyt Koshi, the SVP and General Manager for EMEA at Mavenir, about the struggles of attracting talent to the telecom industry. Read on to hear his insights on talent attraction in the sector.

Why do you think talent isn’t being attracted to the industry at the moment?

We really have to look at what’s motivating them and what they are excited about. What new areas are 18-25 years olds excited to join? We have not seen much happen in the telco industry for the last 10 years. However, there is an opportunity to establish something new. There is still capital around, there is still innovation happening and we’re seeing young people establishing their own businesses as a result. That’s very encouraging, because you see a lot of entrepreneurial skills and ideas coming from that. 

The telco sector itself is really guilty of not approaching top students in the market or driving the conversation and it becomes a vicious circle. If you don’t drive attraction top down then the results would be mediocre. I’m a strong believer that top down will always bring good results. There’s also a bit of a stigma with a legacy perception in the industry. 

What can be done to attract more talent to the telco industry?

Create a talent development function in the business. That function is absolutely critical for any success going forward. The HR function has had a stigma against it for years, but it is a critical role in any organisation, especially when it comes to the talent development and talent acquisition process. Having HR colleagues who really understand the vision we’re trying to achieve can help us understand how to go about it. If your people function is well organised and highly performing, everything else becomes easier. Talent Acquisition and talent development are absolutely critical for the performance and sustainability of the businesses going forward.

How important is retention to talent attraction? 

Talent has to enjoy what they’re doing and be compensated adequately for the difference that they are making to the team. In the same way, people are ambitious, and that ambition drives the team’s performance as well. They need to know what’s next, whether that’s within the company or outside the company. The company needs to foster happiness amongst their employees and make space for personal development. Your talent should know that by staying with the organisation they’ll have an opportunity to develop and reach the next level, otherwise they’ll look elsewhere. Happy people will stay in your company and make room for more junior hires, increasing positive attraction. 

To learn more about talent strategies in the connectivity industry, tune into Episode 10 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

Autonomous robotics has become a popular topic in the industry. On episode 9 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we were joined by Nicholas Zylberglajt, Co-Founder and CEO of Unmanned Life to talk about the advances the company is making in the autonomous robotics space. Nicholas is a leader with more than 15 years of international experience, and with a focus on the technology and entrepreneurship space, he has been shortlisted as one of the 12 Most Impressive CEOs in the autonomous vehicle space, while Unmanned Life has been shortlisted as a top company in the same category. 

What’s your take on the current state of autonomous robotics?

The autonomous robotics industry is booming. Where we are today, post COVID, social acceptance has totally changed the narrative around autonomous robots. People were saying ‘robots are going to take my job’, but now the narrative is that robots are helping us solve certain problems, making work safer in areas that we cannot reach etc, etc. Combined with the economy needing to become more efficient, and robots becoming more cost efficient, the robotics market is booming. For a company like us, now is a perfect moment for the rollout of autonomous robotics. So social acceptance, pricing of autonomous robots going down and improvements of the overall infrastructure has allowed a massive deployment of robotics. Even with the tech downturn that we saw last year, the valuations for robotics companies did not go down, they went up. All these trends are happening at once, so the robotics market really is booming.

What’s more important for the growth of the sector, social acceptance or proven technology? 

Social acceptance always needs to be there. Let’s take the example of drones. We have very interesting data coming from regulators, saying that they want drone delivery to be used more widely, but they want this to be done safely. If we are deploying drones, we are always abiding by the rules and regulations. Although they are cumbersome, these will allow us to become much more socially accepted. For me, social acceptance always needs to come first. The trend in terms of the market being ready and the deployment infrastructure, that’s something that we cannot force. It has to happen as the wider world is ready for it. 

Which autonomous robotics use case are you most excited about for the future?

I would say that the security of premises, search and rescue for first responders, and anything else that is making jobs safer, more efficient, or enhancing human work is what excites me the most. For example, with first responders, you have the concept of the golden hour with wildfires. The concept is that if you intervene in the first hour, you can save lives. If you can deploy robots, or drones in this case, quickly enough that firefighters can have situational awareness, you can save lives, and you can save costs. 

We are working with the telecom operators and partners to deploy networks of autonomous drones over 5G that will cover wildfire hotspots and that will allow the first responders to intervene within their golden hour. These are tangible use cases that we can work on. Finally on sustainability, you can also use robotics to deploy reforestation, emissions capture, carbon capture and mapping, so you can trace how the progress has happened and monitor the progress of that reforestation. These are all use cases that we are working on with our partners, and our technologies enable.

What will ‘autonomous everything’ look like in the next few decades?

The way that I present our vision is that society will have achieved progress, thanks to autonomous robotics. We need to have the right checks and balances on technology, because where you will have AI and robotics in every single aspect of the economy and society, and it will be safer, more efficient, and faster. But, we need to make sure that’s being monitored. Basically, in all of the use cases I was describing, you can apply that technology in other sectors of the economy by orchestrating different types of robots. Imagine that an intelligent CT was functioning with robotics and intelligent AI – the autonomous everything is when all of these are functioning harmoniously without impacting the progress and cohesion of society.

To learn more about autonomous robotics and the work that Unmanned Life are doing in the space, tune into The Connectivity Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

The Mobile World Conference is fast approaching, and is one of the highlights of the connectivity calendar. On Episode 8 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we were joined by Kaitki Agarwal from A5G Networks, where she is the Fo-Founder, President and CTO, to talk about the upcoming event. Kaitki has created a culture of innovation and has over 50 patents pending and granted, making her the perfect person to talk us through the innovations we’ll see at the upcoming conference.

What are you expecting from the Mobile World Conference show?

There are a lot of evolutions happening in the mobile industry and in our network. Technologies are coming together. I’m excited to see how these technologies are impacting our day to day life, what are the new use cases, and so on. The real use cases will appear when we start using these technologies in our network, and when we have connectivity based on 5G. An example would be in healthcare for remote patient monitoring. Eventually, as we start using the technology, new use cases will start coming in as well. We’ll start using technology as a tool. As we start exploring new ways of doing things and new solutions, there’s going to be an evolution again. It’s going to be a journey.

I view MWC as an event where everyone comes together to share thoughts and innovations. It will be a great event to see how everything is coming together and how people are approaching problems. It shows us what we’re working on as an industry, and how our innovations are being realised as solutions. At A5G, we will be demonstrating some of the innovations behind realising the autonomous network in our vision. It’s a huge undertaking to enable autonomous networks in every part of the network, and A5G is doing its part. We’re focusing on autonomous packet core for 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi converged packet core for enabling self-optimising, self-configuring and self-healing networks. That’s what our charter is, but it will be good to see what other areas the audience are interested in developing during our demonstration. MWC allows us to bring all these things together, learn and share our knowledge.

You mentioned autonomous networks; other than that and 5G networks, is there any other tech that will be featured that we should look out for?

MWC covers almost all the aspects of the network. It starts from the radio network, all the way to different silicon and software innovations, use cases, verticals etc. I think we’re going to see a lot of conversations about why we need certain services, how telecom is going to evolve, whether to use private cloud or public cloud or hybrid and how the telco cloud infrastructure is going to evolve, what is the better approach? All these things are going to come together when we can hear from different thought leaders. There’s a lot to learn and discuss. I’m looking forward to learning from my peers at MWC.

Are there any verticals in particular that you think the show will have a big impact on this year?

I don’t think there’s any particular vertical I would single out at this point, because it’ssuch an evolving industry. There are a lot of different things happening. For example, everyone is talking about IoT convergence and bringing sensors into their network. There are several use cases based on our discussion with the customers and the problems they are trying to solve. They are evaluating if 5G is the right technology for them to use to solve those problems, mostly because they need either low latency or mobility, which cannot be solved with the current technologies and infrastructures. What we will see is how innovations in a particular area are being monetized and creating impact. I don’t expect to see a big announcement that we’ve proven that 5G is the best thing out there. We’ll see progress and evolution.

What would your top three tips be for somebody attending MWC that’s coming up?

Get good shoes; you will be walking a lot.

Look for different areas of technology. There are a lot of different things being covered at MWC. It’s not technically possible to see everything or listen to every panel, so be prepared to identify beforehand what your priorities are and create a map of those things. I always figure out, ‘What sessions are important to me? What technologies do I want to understand better? Where do I want to build connections from a 5G point of view?’ Machine learning is one area that is big this year, and AI is becoming our new normal. I would recommend getting involved in that and finding the touch points that connect with what you’re doing.

Try to learn as much as you can, and keep an open mind. There are a lot of new things that you may not see the relevance of immediately. It’s always good to keep an open mind and learn things that may not be there that may not seem relevant immediately, but from more of a long term thing that may become irrelevant. So that’s what I would say.

To hear more about Kaitki’s work in the 5G space, tune into The Connectivity Matters Podcast here.

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

On Episode 7 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we spoke to Peter Vandenengel, the VP Broadband Solutions in North America for SAGEMCOM. He shared his insights on the way tech is developing in the broadband space, including the way companies like SAGEMCOM are developing new solutions to meet a variety of rising needs. Read on to hear what he had to say. 

What do you see as the big technology evolutions within the broadband space?

If you’re looking at it from a home network perspective, there’s obviously WiFi seven just around the corner, which brings great advancements in speed and brings 320 megahertz channels. It also brings multilink operations, which allows you to use all the radios in a given gateway to provide throughput in the home. A lot of the operators are skipping over WiFi six E because it was sort of in between six and seven, so they’re getting ready for Wi-Fi seven instead. That’s the next big thing that we’re going to start seeing in 2024. 

A lot of the operators, whether they’re a cableco or a telco, are looking for speeds above 10 gig. On fibre today you can get up to 10 gig for telco, but now we’re looking at some operators who are developing at 25 gig, and most of them are looking towards 2026-2027 for 50 gig services. The way cycles work means that we have to start planning for that now. That’s what’s coming next from a technology point of view; more speed to the home, and then better ways to use that speed with WiFi seven in the home. 

We’re still feeling challenges throughout the market to deliver current products. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market with the economy slowing down and a recession looming. I think next year we’ll be hunkered down, then in 2024 we’re going to see the adoption of these new technologies in a big way.

When you’re developing a new solution, what’s your general approach to doing that? 

You have to be open-minded and you have to be a bit of a hunter. I try to go in looking for what the customer wants, even if that means asking them dumb questions. You’re just continually probing and understanding the way the market is thinking. The way the industry typically works for CPE is by coming up with a generic product, then you work with your telecom providers to create a generic platform that doesn’t necessarily meet any one person’s or one company’s needs. From there you can build and customise and adjust as required. Customers will come up with their list of requirements, but you have to make a bit of a bet on what that generic product is at the beginning, so that you have the flexibility to move forward. 

My advice is to make sure you’re networking a lot and asking a lot of questions. I mentioned the word ‘hunter’, and that’s really what you’ve got to do. You have to go out there, sniffing around, to really figure out what people are thinking. In that initial meeting they’ll tell you what they’re thinking, but it might take a couple more meetings to really understand their business and the problems they are trying to solve. It requires a constant curiosity and willingness to get things wrong early, so that you can figure out the right path quickly.  

How would you go about tailoring those solutions for different clients?

That goes back to the goal of doing things efficiently. In the networking space, the margin for hardware isn’t huge, so you have to be very efficient in the way you develop your generic products and maintain your flexibility to adapt it to customers. Obviously we don’t want to shortchange a customer, so if our platform or our reference platform doesn’t meet their needs, we want to make sure that we can adapt it. That means working with a great team of engineers, coming up with designs that could be flexible on the fly, with some modifications that can be changed at the factory. It’s really just about being as open as possible with the team doing the actual development. 

When I take on those customer requirements, I’m digesting it, feeding it to the r&d folks, listening to them on what’s going to work and what’s not going to work and then being the bridge between the development team and the customer. That is never easy, because if a developer is not face to face with a customer, they can say no or just brush you off, because they don’t have to face the wrath of the customer. But for a product manager like me, I’m developing relationships with both sides. I can ask the questions that get engineers thinking in different ways, which could help them find flexible solutions that meet the customer’s needs. 

To learn more about developing new broadband solutions, tune into Episode 7 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

On Episode 6 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we sat down with Richard Hart, the Global Connectivity Director at Quectel. Richard’s career has spanned over 15 years, working with connectivity giant Vodafone before moving to Quectel in 2021 to lead their global connectivity proposition. We spoke to him about how focussing on customer experiences can bring the industry forwards. 

How do you approach customer experience as you scale up a quick sales connectivity business?

Customer experience has been our focus now for a long time. The customer is genuinely at the heart of every decision we make. Patrick, our co-founder and CEO, is always out talking to customers, and that feedback comes right back into the organisation. We value seeing the world through the customer’s eyes, understanding how what we do impacts the customer and how the customer subsequently behaves. Understanding those behaviours helps us shape their experience. You also need to accept that things go wrong, mistakes happen and technology crashes. Being honest about that and learning from it will make your customer’s experience better. They’ll trust you to fix it even when things do go wrong, because they know you won’t repeat the same mistakes. 

How would you ensure consistent customer experience when looking at a number of product lines which can be sold separately?

You have to take a step back and look at things holistically and understand the impact of the individual components. It’s important to understand that if you do something on one product, that will impact everything else as well. Whilst we put the customer at heart of everything, we still have a job to do. We still have a business to run. What we do is focus on collaborative working between departments and developing healthy behaviours. If you are going to deliver a superior customer experience than your competitors, you need a continual evolution of processes and services that meet your customer’s needs. Whenever you change things, think about how that impacts the customer, and communicate the changes clearly. 

What can be learned from having different interactions with a particular customer for different products?

Customers have three or four contact points with an organisation. Those contacts have to talk to each other, because the customer expects you to know what your colleague is doing and if it’s going to impact them. Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing? It should! From a competitive point of view, providing that information will keep you ahead, because again, it’s about good customer experience. That’s why internal communication is so important, because it allows you to feed back all the different points of view and build your team as a whole. 

What does a good customer experience actually look like?

We all have companies and brands that we think of as good and bad, so I try to get my team to think about that when they’re creating customer interactions. We all know what it feels like to have a positive experience with a company. Good customer experience is just the basics. It is about communication. It’s also admitting when you’ve got a problem. It’s being transparent in terms of ‘this is what we’ve done to ensure it doesn’t happen again’, or ‘we’re investigating a new follow up’. That’s all it is; doing right by people. 

There’s a standard that customers expect when they interact with you. Whether they use a phone or a self service platform, there are basic products and solutions that underpin your customer experience. Some things are really important to customers and if you understand what you’re supplying, you need to put service levels around that. Accommodating the customer experience is based on what vertical and solution it’s supporting. You need to get that infrastructure in place. 

To hear more about putting customers at the heart of your connectivity company, tune into the full episode of The Connectivity Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

The Connectivity industry has been leaning towards the in-home market for some time. Improving networks and the development of Smart Home technology has seen consumer expectations rise, putting strain on service providers. On Episode 5 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we spoke to Shane Paola, the VP of sales at Plume Design, about how in-home technology is shaping the industry. Plume Design is creating a new category of Smart Home experiences, leveraging cloud and AI, which Shane unpacked with us. 

Read on to find out what challenges are currently facing in-home connectivity providers.

What’s the current state of the Connectivity industry?

It’s about the in-home experience right now. We’ve built these phenomenal networks, so customer expectations are extremely high, they want to add more devices into their homes than ever before. The rise of connected homes and devices within our clouds isn’t slowing down. People are embracing Smart Home technologies, so connectivity inside of the home is becoming increasingly important. Companies are trying to support the needs of customers on their Smart Home journey, while also delivering the experiences that people expect from the bandwidth they’re subscribing to. 

What are you most excited for about the future of the Connectivity industry?

It’s all heading for personalization and the in-home experience. One service provider has basically gone from managing five or six tariffs and cut it down to two. They’ve said, ‘Here’s our basic package, it’s £29.90 a month and you get this minimum level of service. Or there’s our max bundle.’ They’re not advertising speeds and feeds, they’re just saying, ‘We’re gonna give you the greatest in-home experience with the best WiFi mesh environment, covering your house with connectivity. You’ll always get the maximum available bandwidth when it’s provisioned in your area and you never have to worry about it.’ That’s a phenomenally bold and disruptive move, which I think the rest of the industry should look at. Customer dissatisfaction and negative experiences create a churn from one provider to another, which is a nightmare. Providers have to manage sunsetting tariffs and trying to move their customers onto new platforms as well as trying to retain their customers. It’s a great sign that companies are starting to move their focus on customer experience rather than the speeds and feeds.

Which use case would you find most useful in your home that you don’t currently have?

I want to see a Smart Home environment. Different vendors are building things that don’t necessarily interoperate with each other, so it’s hard to create an integrated system. There’s a fair bit of buzz around the new Matter system and its potential. IOT bodies are building towards the Matter framework, which will hopefully standardise things in terms of internet connectivity in Smart Home environments. What we’re missing is simplicity. Big companies typically compete at a device level or an application level, but they need to realise that for the best customer experience they need to collaborate. That’s what I want to see happen in my home.

To hear about the work Shane and Plume Design are doing to advance the industry, tune into the whole episode of The Connectivity Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.     

On Episode 4 of The Connectivity Matters Podcast we spoke with Erik Carlson, the SVP of sales for Maritime, Energy and Government at Anuvu. With over 20 years of executive leadership experience, growing and driving revenue across the likes of Panasonic Avionics, ConvergeOne and Hitachi, Erik deeply understands the industry and has plenty of enthusiasm for revenue generation. 

We spoke about his experience across a variety of industries and how important it is to focus on the customer at all levels of the business. 

What advantages do you have coming from a different industry into connectivity?

The pace at which I work and we run our teams is much higher than a lot of the people who’ve come out of the satellite community. A lot of them have old government roots, which means they tend to move a little slower. My background is much more Silicon Valley. Think about it in context. How are they operating? How are they thinking? How are they iterating on technology? That’s my world. There’s a professional ruthlessness that needs to be respected, and I try to operate in a very similar fashion. The fact that I came from different industries gives me different perspectives on learning customer markets incredibly quickly. While everything I do is about global connectivity below the clouds, we also have an aviation and aviation entertainment business. Below the clouds, those are all different customers, who have different end user requirements. My advantage is my ability to learn that voice of the customer, and to really care about that customer, that’s allowed for the speed at which these successes have been happening for us.

How have you gone about learning the voice of the customer?

I always work from the customer backwards, I do everything in reverse. Look to identify how something is getting to the customer. It’s not the guy who buys connectivity, it’s who his customers are. We need to map not just where our clients are operating, but also what their itineraries and routes are, and who else is in the area. If you look at oil leases, they are basically divided up plots of land out in the ocean, and you can see other rigs from yours. Similarly, each satellite is able to pump down a certain amount of capacity on Earth in a single place. Starlink is doing some brilliant things to amplify that, but if there’s only one legal provider on the planet, and everyone wants that service, you’re going to have a pinch point there. It’s great for me to talk about my customers, but if I’m not taking care of their entire ecosystem, I’m not a partner. There’s a lot of dynamics there, which are going to come into play. If you start with your customer, you’ll have a guiding light upon which to lead the business.

How do you find working for a business with a track record and visibility in one vertical, and how does that impact the verticals that you’re in charge of?

The biggest thing I look at is the leadership team. It’s all about understanding the leadership team’s exit strategy timeline and their worldview. Anuvu brought me on their mission, and their passion was to commit to this business, and that’s what I was looking for. The other thing happening there is that results drive decisions. What we’ve seen is that the business below the clouds is growing phenomenally, and there is an incredible harmony of above the clouds and below the clouds connectivity. Everyone looks at their customers uniquely, but there’s so much in common there and the leadership team here at Anuvu has been really clear about how we think about ourselves. 

Externally and historically, Anuvu has always been seen as ABA question, but what we are seeing is a lot of those customers who tried greener pastures elsewhere are realising that it wasn’t actually greener and they’re coming back to us. Another advantage in my role is that we are seeing customers that have explored other venues and had 2, 3 or 4 years and aren’t seeing the results, customer service or the care that they wanted. The Anuvu rebranding has been really important to help continue and maintain that below the cloud business. 

To hear more about the work that Erik and Anuvu are doing in the Connectivity industry, listen to the whole episode of The Connectivity Matters Podcast. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.