Challenges in Creating Professional Services in a Software Development Organi...Jeff Korn
Companies are increasingly finding it difficult to build in added value services to their organizations because of perceived costs, lack of available staff, difficulties with scaling, and most importantly a customer base that more and more devalues these services.
Companies also struggle with how to build viable teams once a need has been determined.
In this presentation, you’ll learn about service options, and the base for team growth for services.
Additional presentations discuss building a services team.
Challenges in Creating Professional Services in a Software Development Organi...Jeff Korn
Companies are increasingly finding it difficult to build in added value services to their organizations because of perceived costs, lack of available staff, difficulties with scaling, and most importantly a customer base that more and more devalues these services.
Companies also struggle with how to build viable teams once a need has been determined.
In this presentation, you’ll learn about service options, and the base for team growth for services.
Additional presentations discuss building a services team.
Book Industry Study Group Webinar: Technology Spending in Book PublishingMichael Cairns
Webinar to review findings of market research in to the market for technology software and services supporting the global publishing industry. Report: http://bit.ly/PUBTECH2019
Strategic research is the fuel for data-driven decision-making at all levels throughout a company. Especially amidst uncertain times, this type of research can help leaders unlock new opportunities and de-risk long-term goals. In this talk, we will cover my journey from being an embedded User Researcher to leading a centralized Strategic Research team that uncovers new product opportunities, changes how leaders think about our listeners, and influences how our engineering systems work. I’ll discuss the 3 superpowers that have enabled my team to help leadership make data-driven decisions to fuel long term strategies: 1) Deeply understanding leadership’s biggest and riskiest questions to be able to identify the right problems to tackle 2) Mixing research methods and insights disciplines to yield comprehensive answers to these big questions. 3) Identifying both the product and business implications of your insights to create a wider impact across the organizations. And demonstrate how this work can create a virtuous cycle in which the more of this work you do, the more your leaders will crave it.
Google Book Settlement: Symposium at New York Law SchoolMichael Cairns
Summary presentation at NY law school symposium on the copyright implications of Google’s library project. Contributed to a discussion about the potential size of the ‘orphan’ issue based on an analysis conducted in 2008. A link to this report is located on the last page of this deck.
I am currently working with FedEx Express as Senior Strategic Analyst and completed 5 years with the Organization. Overall I have more than 12 years of extensive experience in Marketing that includes product management, business planning & analysis, Competition landscaping, market share analysis and business performance reporting to Officers & Directors level.
Technology Leader,
Strategic Leader,
IT Executive,
IT Business Partner,
Business Technology Partner, Executive,
Chief of Staff,
Executive Director,
Chief Business Officer,
IT Leader,
IT/Finance,
VP IT Relationship Management ,
Business Partner Driving Cross-Functional Alignment of IT Strategy, Programs & Services
PMO Leadership
IT Strategy
K 12 education market survey report for publishersMichael Cairns
Overview of the education market dynamics with publishers and content owners as the intended audience. Also of interest to private equity and other investors.
In the digital world, any successful product feature will be copied swiftly by competitors. The only way to maintain a competitive advantage is through the customer experience you provide.
This presentation provides assistance in using the SWOT analysis when you are forming business or personal strategies. It enables you to generate lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that negatives may become positives to enable continuous improvement.
Book Industry Study Group Webinar: Technology Spending in Book PublishingMichael Cairns
Webinar to review findings of market research in to the market for technology software and services supporting the global publishing industry. Report: http://bit.ly/PUBTECH2019
Strategic research is the fuel for data-driven decision-making at all levels throughout a company. Especially amidst uncertain times, this type of research can help leaders unlock new opportunities and de-risk long-term goals. In this talk, we will cover my journey from being an embedded User Researcher to leading a centralized Strategic Research team that uncovers new product opportunities, changes how leaders think about our listeners, and influences how our engineering systems work. I’ll discuss the 3 superpowers that have enabled my team to help leadership make data-driven decisions to fuel long term strategies: 1) Deeply understanding leadership’s biggest and riskiest questions to be able to identify the right problems to tackle 2) Mixing research methods and insights disciplines to yield comprehensive answers to these big questions. 3) Identifying both the product and business implications of your insights to create a wider impact across the organizations. And demonstrate how this work can create a virtuous cycle in which the more of this work you do, the more your leaders will crave it.
Google Book Settlement: Symposium at New York Law SchoolMichael Cairns
Summary presentation at NY law school symposium on the copyright implications of Google’s library project. Contributed to a discussion about the potential size of the ‘orphan’ issue based on an analysis conducted in 2008. A link to this report is located on the last page of this deck.
I am currently working with FedEx Express as Senior Strategic Analyst and completed 5 years with the Organization. Overall I have more than 12 years of extensive experience in Marketing that includes product management, business planning & analysis, Competition landscaping, market share analysis and business performance reporting to Officers & Directors level.
Technology Leader,
Strategic Leader,
IT Executive,
IT Business Partner,
Business Technology Partner, Executive,
Chief of Staff,
Executive Director,
Chief Business Officer,
IT Leader,
IT/Finance,
VP IT Relationship Management ,
Business Partner Driving Cross-Functional Alignment of IT Strategy, Programs & Services
PMO Leadership
IT Strategy
K 12 education market survey report for publishersMichael Cairns
Overview of the education market dynamics with publishers and content owners as the intended audience. Also of interest to private equity and other investors.
In the digital world, any successful product feature will be copied swiftly by competitors. The only way to maintain a competitive advantage is through the customer experience you provide.
This presentation provides assistance in using the SWOT analysis when you are forming business or personal strategies. It enables you to generate lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that negatives may become positives to enable continuous improvement.
Digital Testing Strategy: Replace Manual Testing with Intelligent AutomationWorksoft
Keeping pace with change is the key to your company’s future success, but reliability is vital for day-to-day operations. So how can you create a robust automation platform to ensure business process quality, and reduce the risks of manual testing? Find out how the world’s top companies have solved this challenge by replacing manual QA and legacy script-based tools with intelligent test automation.
1. ARATHI RAO
6929 Pensacola Drive Plano, TX 75074 arathi.rao@gmail.com (972) 804-5997
CONSUMER INSIGHTS& MARKET RESEARCH
Market ResearchStrategyManagement
Innovative and versatile consumer insights manager with extensive experience in market research, strategy and project/product
management. Proven record of using research methods to understand consumer behavior and provide valuable insights tomake
strategic business decisions. Excellent blend of analytical, business and leadership skills. Detail-oriented with exceptional
presentation and communication skills. Works effectively with cross-functional teams.Experienced inmanaging global teams
and client relationships.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Quantitative & Qualitative Research Data analysis Competitive analysis
Designing Surveys/studies Secondary Market Research Project & Product Mgmt
EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS
MATCH.COM, Dallas, Texas 2010 – Present
Manager, Market Research & Strategy
Conductmarket research to drive Match.com’s strategic business decisions
Designed and conducted quantitative and qualitative studies to understand consumer behavior and help make key
decisions regarding new product concepts, company strategy, Public Relations and marketing efforts. Managed and
conductedlarge studies that directly and significantly impacted company strategy. Acted as consultant to various
business units within Match.com and its other entities to conduct research initiatives to help meet their strategic
objectives.
Key Achievements:
Key contributor to changing company strategy and direction by conducting qualitative and quantitative
research on two new product concepts, resulting in the company undertaking new initiatives tosignificantly
increasenew customer acquisition andretention.
Re-established claims around Match.com’s leadership position in the industry. Also developed claims
around category expansion to demonstrate effectiveness of online dating.
Established Match.com as the authority on all aspects of singles lifestylevia the Singles in America
studies.Received extensive nationwide media coverage on the studies (Time, Newsweek, USA Today,
Today Show, Good Morning America, etc.).
Executedbrand tracking studies to track health of the Match.com brand and provide senior management
with recommendations on strategic directives (US & Canada).
Evaluated two new product concepts that would significantly change direction for Chemistry.com.
Conducted testing on Match.com TV commercials to drive decisions on airing commercials on different
TV networks.In addition, conducted studies to understand the media consumption habits that would help
drive strategic decisions on media related investments.
Provided continued insights into improvements to the Match.com product by conducting various surveys
and studies to understand usage and customer satisfaction around the product.
2. Key Achievements - MBA Internships (Spring 2009 – Summer 2010):
Traxo, Dallas, TX: Conducted in-depth data analysis to understand visitor behavior and effectiveness of
PR efforts.Identified key performance metrics and designed customized dashboards.
Cisco Systems, Richardson, TX: Explored “Software as a Service” as a viable model for an existing
product. Provided recommendations on positioning, differentiation and go-to market strategy.
Microsoft, Irving, TX: Developed strategy and recommendations for a distributed Software Development
Center (SDC) for building custom software in a highly scalable manner.
Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), Dallas, TX: Conducted competitive analysis for an IT Chargeback
consumption model. Proposed new strategy to increase revenue and improve customer relationships.
Cisco Systems, Richardson, Texas Jan 2007 - 2008
Software Engineer, Quality Assurance
Conduct quality assurance on new products to create high quality products
Performed quality assurance for IP telephony products for the Small-Medium Business (SMB) market.Involved in
all aspects of testing.Worked with cross functional teams to identify business processes and related test scenarios.
Key Achievements:
Effectively managed complex load builds for entire department, allowing for timely product release.
Reduced defect rates by 90% by identifying problems and conducting root cause analysis.
Science App International Corp (SAIC), Bangalore, India 2003-2005
Project Manager
Lead and manage delivery of software solutions to clients
Led a 20-member team to successfully deliver key IT solutions.Performed project planning, scheduling, tracking,
and reporting.Managed client relationships and oversight of team.Recruited new employees.
Key Achievements:
Achieved cost savings of $4M by developing a global delivery model.
Reduced average application migration time by 50%, providing savings of over $600K.
Avaya/Lucent Technologies, Holmdel, NJ 1997 – 2002
Senior Software Engineer
Design and develop solutions for new and existing products and features
Designed new features and products for the North American market.Mentored team members.
Key Achievements:
Saved department >$10Kbyimplementing, installing and providing training on a new test tool.
Improved customer satisfaction by resolving critical field issues in a timely manner.
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration,the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas – July 2010
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Denver, Denver, CO
Professional Associations
American Marketing Association, Project Management Institute, Dallas Business Club