Having a background in hardware, software and in the water industry, Alex’s experience makes him a perfect fit for this role. We sat down with Alex to learn more about him, and how this role will shape our customers’ experience with KETOS.
– THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT ROLE AT KETOS IS NEW – WHY WAS THIS ROLE CREATED?
We are now at a phase where we’re ramping up on a number of customer deployments, so we are doubling down our focus on technical sales support and how we best enhance the customer journey. We are focused on enabling the account management team (solution engineering and activities like demos and training) to help customers and partners understand KETOS’ solutions and the value they bring, as well as post-sales support, to ensure customers needs are met on an ongoing basis and have the resources to deal with any issues quickly.
Our business model has a platform-as-a-service approach so providing the highest caliber of customer experience is crucial to our success. This isn’t a product you sell to a customer and forget about. My role is to ensure that the product and services bring value throughout the entire lifecycle and that we learn and adapt with the customer throughout their deployment.
– TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WHAT DREW YOU TO JOIN KETOS?
I spent the last several years working in the software industry managing sales support and customer success for data infrastructure. Prior to that, I worked in instrumentation and hardware-related capacities, most recently as part of a division of Emerson Process Management focused on flow measurement systems, which dovetails to what KETOS does from a hardware standpoint. I’ve also worked in process management, specifically pulp and paper as well as construction management, building facilities for water and wastewater treatment.
Given my background and the fact that KETOS has both hardware ingenuity with a SaaS component and a mission focused on the safety and security of water systems, I was really attracted to this company and this role in particular.
– WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES KETOS CUSTOMERS FACE AND HOW WILL YOU HELP THEM TO SOLVE THEM?
Our users are in need of situational awareness about their water systems whether it is in terms of efficiency or in quality. Many companies can offer lab services that provide results days after a sample is taken, but only KETOS provides real-time intelligence that gives operators an up-to-the-minute understanding of what’s happening so that they can make decisions based on that data. Water analytics reporting is one layer, but driving machine learning and AI as a tier above the insights for creating business value based on the metrics we collect is what has truly set us apart.
For other markets, we provide the ability to test for leaks in real-time and shut off the water if there’s a problem. We can provide real-time updates on flow measurement and leak detection to utilities, homeowners or process engineers. Addressing both water efficiency and safety allows for a holistic view to solving customer concerns around smart water management.
Real-time water intelligence has applicability to solve conservation challenges, as well as quality based challenges around reuse, recycling and more.
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Water ReUse challenges: Many customers had previously relied on lab testing and were making decisions looking in the rear-view mirror based on weeks-old data. They now have the flexibility to test a number of different water parameters, thus helping them measure, manage and potentially monetize water as a resource. The KETOS Shield brings a different approach to testing and intelligence.
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Operational challenges: There are certain things everyone wants to test (such as water hardness, pH) but with heavy metals and other contaminants, testing depends on the application (industrial vs. agriculture, for example) and source (different areas of the country have different issues). We provide our customers the flexibility to decide what they need to understand based on the 20+ parameters we currently test for. It changes the mindset of folks who have unlimited testing, flexibility in parameters all of it in a very modular manner within a single system for a flat charge.
– ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU WILL HELP CUSTOMERS ACHIEVE – EXPANDED USE CASES OF THE TECHNOLOGY? FASTER DEPLOYMENT TIMES, ETC…?
We’re not just putting a product on the shelf to sell and letting our customers figure out the value. Our business model is a service and as such we are very engaged from the application design and we’re doing continuous modeling. We want to ensure the customers needs are met as they go through the journey. We bring back to the development team the suggestions are customers provide much more quickly to ensure that they get what they need out of the product. This is a very different approach than many other instrumentation suppliers who are point product sales, one contaminant per device type of online analyzer without any interactive or robust platform. Our roadmap is a constant evolution based on our innovative modularity and, unlike other solutions, can have subsequent upgrades for customers at no additional charge.
Our goal is to make sure our customers are using every feature of the product to meet their needs and providing a continuous lifecycle. We want the partnership to be as strong as it can be, and that means keeping a pulse on how products are being used enhancements our customers would like to see.
– IN YOUR EXPERIENCE INTERACTING WITH KETOS CUSTOMERS SO FAR, WHAT ARE THEY MOST EXCITED ABOUT RELATED TO THEIR DEPLOYMENTS?
Customers are most excited about the real-time view and situational awareness; that they can make real decisions that impact their business. That’s what’s exciting for everyone.
The ease of not having to do maintenance, or worry about warranty, replacement parts, learning and ramping up on new technology while getting 100% support from the KETOS team (since its a no-CapEx model) has been attractive for adoption.
– HOW WILL CUSTOMER INPUT AND DEMANDS SHAPE KETOS’S TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP?
We engage with customers on an ongoing basis. This isn’t an annual touchpoint and we don’t sit around waiting for complaints. We are being proactive in asking them what they need to get more value and accelerating the development of what is needed to increase their business value. Savings for the customer is from material savings, lab test savings, and operational efficiencies.
This is an exciting new approach to something that is taken for granted – water. What we are doing is a critical first step in changing how we look at our overall water system and the potential impact that can be driven with data that hasn’t existed in the past.
Learn more about Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexpiquer/.
If you would like to join the team with a mission that’s making a big impact on an industry vital to everyone, check out our current openings: https://ketos.co/careers.
