Q&A with Charlie Wade
Q&A with Charlie Wade
Rogers Senior Vice-President of Enterprise Products & Solutions explains the advantages of “as a service” solutions
Keeping up with technology is challenging – and expensive. It wasn’t so long ago that we bought software in boxes, and now even downloads seem outdated. The answer to ever-evolving digital demands? “As a service” (aaS) solutions. Rogers Business Forum talked to Charlie Wade, Senior Vice-President, Enterprise Products & Solutions, about how Rogers flexible and affordable aaS solutions benefit business customers large and small.
What does an “as a service” (aaS) solution mean?
Charlie Wade: Customers are telling us they’re struggling to keep pace with technological changes, and that’s putting a huge strain on their business in terms of staying competitive and up to date. The other challenge is that companies are spending most of their time and money just keeping existing systems going, and they don’t have time or money to innovate.
“As a service” (aaS) solutions solve these problems. Firstly, they provide the latest technology on a consumption basis – instead of spending a lot of capital up front, you pay a low monthly fee just for what you need. Secondly, you have the security of knowing that Rogers is going to design, install and manage an end-to-end solution for you. Thirdly, we’re not just selling you a product – we’re invested in the outcome. We know that your continued use of the product depends on us delivering a great service all the way through. That combination, in a nutshell, is what an aaS solution is.
What are the different ways that Rogers provides aaS solutions for businesses?
CW: Security is top of mind for most businesses, small and large, and it’s an area that’s increasingly complex, difficult and expensive to keep up on – people with the right skills are hard to come by and retain. With Rogers security as a service, we do the end-to-end implementation and 24/7 surveillance, and you only pay for what you use. We can secure customers’ firewalls, data centres, devices.
Another example is our food-safety solutions, or “farm to fork” solutions, for companies that must comply with food-safety regulations. It’s a labour-intensive activity to manually record all of the data the government requires. We’ve automated this through an Internet of Things (IoT) solution. Basically, we install probes into refrigerators, freezers, cooking utilities, salad bars and so on, and manage and monitor this 24/7. We not only provide customers with the compliance reports they need, but we also proactively monitor and alert customers to potential wastage and hazards.
What are the benefits for a business of having aaS solutions?
CW: We’re creating solutions that deliver an outcome – not just a product. And they’re fully managed, maintained and kept up to date by Rogers.
What response have you seen from business owners and decision makers about Rogers aaS solutions?
CW: It’s been very positive. The biggest response we get is surprise, initially, that we’re prepared to put our money where our mouth is. We’ve also seen that with this consumption model, customers can dip their toe in the water and try our solutions. They like the fact that they don’t have to make a big commitment up front, and they really like the fact that we’re joined at the hip, as it were, in terms of the joint outcome – our success is really dependent on their success.
Is aaS the future of digital business solutions?
CW: Absolutely. The software world has shifted to a cloud-based, consumption-based model, so it’s only a matter of time before other digital solutions move this way. Our job is to provide service and solve customers’ problems with an outcome, not just sell them a bunch of parts to figure out how to make the solution work and what the return on investment is. It’s almost a try-before-you-buy construct – and we’re here to help.