9 minute read
Cloud COACH
FOR SMOOTH RUNNING PROJECTS
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PETER LEE
Interview with The Enterprise World
The Software as a service (SaaS) industry is at boom. Today most of the • How have the company graphs changed since the foundation? Can you share a few statistics? businesses are running on SaaS. (You can share the charts/graphs Cloud Coach is a leading name in here). the industry that made its unique Here’s a graph showing our growth place in the market with cutting of our active deployments in edge solutions for business Salesforce orgs. processes. The company ideated at the club while playing the game on the pool is now transforming businesses by making their complex operations simpler. Without sticking to a particular methodology the company is serving its clients and empowering them for the brighter tomorrow.
In a candid talk with Mr Peter Lee, CEO of Cloud COACH International, let’s discover more about the company and their quality offerings.
• Tell us about the company. We started out as a consulting company implementing Salesforce (hence where our name came from), before about a decade ago, evolving into a product company. Over the years we have evolved from single solution into a multi-tiered offering, so we can add value to the smallest start-up, right through to the largest enterprise.
• What were the initial challenges
you faced?
Cashflow, the omnipresent threat to every bootstrapped company!
• Which was that point that
triggered the growth of the company?
Introducing our freemium tier which overnight increased our brand visibility 10x, before that we did large deals but hardly anyone knew who we were.
• What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success?
We are product-led as a business and continually focus on improving our solutions for our customers and their end-users.
• What are the products/services
the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market?
We focus on everything about the ‘Project’, were methodology agnostic, and we love to tie projects into the bigger picture such as PPM or PSA solutions for our clients.
• How do you decide to take the
company a step further in terms of your products/services?
Most companies in our space tend to focus on one particular project methodology or another, whereas we openly embrace them all, and make our product configurable so each team at a customer can work in the way they want. • Is there any new addition to the
list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share?
We have quite the rollout of new capabilities planned for later in the year, but you have to come to our user conference in September to hear about it first!
• What do you think are
the responsibilities of an entrepreneur?
To equally look after your Employees, Customers, and Suppliers, many people forget how important their suppliers are to their success.
• Can you please brief us
about your professional
experience? I started out with a degree in Agriculture and working in the animal feed industry, from there I moved into the supply chain for McDonald’s and had the responsibility to keep 700+ restaurants supplied, before pivoting into technology, as I could see IT being a key driver of the winning businesses of the future. So, I like to think I bring a great balance of business operations knowledge and IT technical skills that we use as a base to build out solutions.
• What are the key achievements
of your entrepreneurial journey?
I’d like to say it was the first time we closed a 7-figure deal with a global company, but I’m actually most proud of how many employees (via their employment) we’ve helped to buy their first homes.
• How do you look after your
employees? What makes your team unique?
We try to plan fun team events, for example, earlier this year I took advantage of a frequent flier sale to use my miles to fly some of the team from across the globe to the UK to see my football team Portsmouth play.
• Is there any special experience
with your clients you would like to highlight?
Our annual user conference is my favourite week of the year, getting to interact with so many clients in one place. I not sure could handle the stress of the week prior to it more than once a year though!
• Can you tell us what your
favourite book is? And your favourite part of the book (if any)?
The Godfather, it would be so much easier to sell technology if you could use a horse’s head!
• One person who you admire the
most?
The Queen, while I’m not a royalist, it’s hard to see a match for the dedication she has shown to her role for so many decades.
• Whose business story do you
find the most inspiring?
Mike & Scott’s from Atlassian for doing what they did while bootstrapped.
• Which is the most inspiring
quote you have read?
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston S. Churchill
• Constant vigilance- a need or a
strategy? Please share your views.
Constant vigilance has to be one of your key strategies, the world is littered with bankrupt companies that failed to adapt to changing business conditions
• It’s a rat-race out there. How do
you cope with that?
I escape every Saturday into the trials and tribulations of my football team, Portsmouth FC, which clears my mind, to start the new week.
CAI THE ORLD CITY
IRO THE ORLD CITY
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and also the largest city in the Arab world. The metropolitan area of Cairo has a population of about 20 million, which is the largest in Africa, the Arab world, the Middle East and also the 6 th largest in the world.
Founded in 969 AD by the Fatimid Dynasty, Cairo was a site of ancient national capital, the remnants of which can still be seen in the Old Cairo. Since then, Cairo has been a centre of the region’s political and cultural life. Because of the predominance of the Islamic Architecture, the city is also titled as ‘the city of thousand minarets.’
Let’s dig into a little history of the city
In the year 969 AD, the Fatimids had conquered Egypt. They started building a city, which was to serve as the capital of their empire. It took as much as four years to build the city, which was initially named as al-Manṣūriyyah. It was later renamed as Cairo. Cairo eventually became the centre of learning, as the library of Cairo contained thousands of books. though the city of Cairo avoided the stagnation of the Europeans, it had no escape from the Black Death. The Black Death or the Plague was one of the deadliest pandemics recorded in the human history. This pandemic struck the city of Cairo for more than 50 times between 1348 and 1517. With the pandemic, Cairo’s population faced a major blow and had diminished the status of the city to certain levels.
This status stooped lower when Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route to around the Cape of Good Hope. With this discovery, the spice traders then were able to avoid Cairo on their way to their desired destination. The city’s political influence diminished even more when the Ottomans supplanted the Mamluk power over Egypt in the year 1517. By the 18 th century, Cairo was the second-largest empire behind Constantinople.
Today, Greater Cairo is the largest metropolitan area in Africa.
Cairo- A Cultural Centre
Cairo is a place that exhibits love for all sorts of arts. From sports to architecture, Cairo is famous for everything. Let’s look at a few cultural centers in Cairo that reflect the city’s love for various art forms.
Cairo Opera House
On October 10 th of the year 1988, President Mubarak inaugurated the Cairo Opera House of the Egyptian National Cultural Centers. This was 17 years after the Royal Opera House was destroyed by fire. The Royal Opera House, or the Khedivial Opera House was the original opera house of Cairo, which was burned down 28 th October 1971. Cairo had been without an Opera House for nearly two decades until the opening of the Cairo Opera House.
The Cairo International Film Festival
The first Cairo International Film
Festivals was launched by the
Egyptian Association of Film
Writers and Critics in the year 1976. It was headed by Kamal
El-Malakh. The festival was ran by the Association for 7 years until 1983.
Food Habits
The food in Cairo has a blend of the Middle Eastern cuisine and also some of the local staples like the Kushari. Some of the most exclusive restaurants in Cairo are concentrated in Zamalek. The luxury hotels of Cairo can be found around the lining of the shore near the Nile in the Garden City district. The cuisine here is also influenced by the modern western and one can find the popular American food chains such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, and KFC in the central areas of the city.
Cairo’s Iconic Landmarks
Tahrir Square
Initially named as the Ismailia Square, the Tahrir Square was founded during the 19 th century. Since it is located at the centre of the city, Tahrir Square has witnessed major protests over the years. Although, among all the revolutions and protests, one of the most notable was the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, a revolt against the former president, Hosni Mubarak.
The Egyptian Museum
The Egyptian Museum as it is commonly known as, The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities holds several ancient Egyptian Antiquities in the world. There as much as 136,000 items on display in the museum with thousands more stored in the basement storerooms. Among the many items on display, one can also have a look at the findings from the famous tomb of Tutankhanum.
The Cairo Tower
The famous Cairo Tower is a freestanding tower that has a revolving restaurant at the top. One can get a bird's eye view of the city of Cairo from the top, a mesmerizing sight to the eyes. The tower stands in the Zamalek district on Genzira Island in the Nile River, in the city centre.
All said, Cairo can hold a tight spot on your travel list, with the beautiful cityscapes and revolutionary landmarks. And to all the geeks, who love history like nothing other, the museum of Cairo could be your paradise!
Cairo, a city that withholds boat load of history!
