In advance of HostingCon 2009, taking place from August 10 to 12, 2009 in Washington, DC, the WHIR is conducting interviews with some of the speakers presenting at the event and conducting interviews to give readers a sense of what to expect from the sessions, and help them decide which to attend.
In an email Q&A with the WHIR, William Toll, director of product management at NaviSite discusses how companies can develop an effective launch plan, prioritize their “wish list”, and select the right vendors.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Launching the latest product is by no means an easy task for any company. It requires months of planning to ensure the utmost precision and timing, testing every possible aspect of the product in its development stages.
In his presentation, “Launch Your Product Like a Pro” on Tuesday, August 11 from 3:00 to 4:45 p.m. William Toll, director of product management at NaviSite and Sumeet Sabharwal, senior vice president of global delivery, will contribute to that very conversation.
The two industry veterans will guide attendees on how to identify the new feature/enhancement/product/service requests that will take your product to the top, while sharing real-world examples on successful product launches.
At NaviSite, Toll develops small business hosted product lines, including managed dedicated servers, hosted business applications and delivers Alabanza.com platform.
Joining Toll will be his coworker at NaviSite, Sumeet Sabharwal. As the senior vice president of global delivery, Sabharwal leads and manages all aspects of the company’s sales and delivery for NaviSite’s custom application services business, as well as the global delivery of its operations.
This week, in an email Q&A with the WHIR, Toll previews his session with a discussion on how to develop a solid launch plan, prioritize your wish list, and select the appropriate vendors.
The WHIR: What are the most essential aspects a company must consider in preparation for launching their next product?
William Toll: Depending on the level of complexity and the number of vendors (or lack there of), launching new products can be simple or complex. The most essential aspect that should be on all stakeholders radar at all times: the customer and their needs. Loosing focus of that will ensure an unsuccessful launch in one or more ways. Tactically, some key elements that are often overlooked or undervalued are training – both sales and support, marketing and promotions and customer on-boarding – which if tested ensures that launch day/week/month will go smoothly.
What are the greatest challenges that a company must overcome in launching a new product?
WT: Resources and Prioritization. The “list” and roadmap is always long, and at a hosting provider the pressures come from all sides, customer/sales, operations, vendors and competitive pressures. Again keeping the customer needs at the center, prioritization becomes easier to filter as the needs of revenue/profit and operations/cost help prioritize the list.
How does a company identify the new feature/enhancement/product/service requests that will make a product a successful one?
WT: First, its important to listen to the customer through sales and support. One of my favorite activities, is to review not only customer feedback emails and discussion boards but also listening to sales and support calls. These calls provide a goldmine of information about the customer’s needs, the ability of them to understand the offering and the value provided to them. Second, tracking the competition and vendors. The competition provides a wealth of information and validation of your own internal prioritization. After a while, it becomes easy to predict competitive moves and industry trends.
What are the steps a company must take in selecting the appropriate vendor?
WT: It’s important to look beyond the vendor’s hype and understand their true capabilities and long term vision. Both companies have goals and it’s important that the strategies of both are aligned. Some key steps include: reviewing the vendors roadmap, reviewing their financials and speaking to their existing clients. After those reviews are considered, it’s time to bring in your team’s delivery and operations teams. Is the vendor a fit – technically and operationally? Will the vendor be responsive to integration efforts, technical challenges in operations. It’s critical to take the time to understand these issues, choosing the wrong vendor can set a hosting provider back and/or provide a bad customer experience.
Can you name a real-life example of a successful product launch?
WT: The easy answer is the original Apple iPhone, iPhone 3G and 3Gs, all have been executed well. A good hosting example would be hosting providers launch of Windows Server 2008 offers. Microsoft, the vendor, exceeded customer’s expectations with the product and many hoster’s like NaviSite have experienced great success. NaviSite’s Managed Hosting business has experienced great uptake from Small and Medium sized businesses.
