Challenge

Our client—a global leader in software— had a Content Distribution Network (CDN) product that was showing its age; it could no longer handle the data volumes customers needed—now measured in petabytes—and required immediate replacement. Our client partnered with a third-party developer to offer a CDN product that would service the needs of current customers, allow for the acquisition of new clientele, and complement larger cloud, SaaS, and IaaS initiatives at the company. Plaster Group’s Enterprise Software Consultants asked to help our client’s newly-formed CDN team with the launch and day-to-day management of this product. Plaster Group consultants would need to help the team define project scope, communicate with third-party developers regarding technical specifications, organize the product’s launch, and manage growth parallel with customer demand and technological capacity.

Approach

Plaster Group consultants have worked directly with our client’s product manager and business owner to offer operational support since the beginning of this initiative. Our client trusts Plaster Group with a wide range of projects ranging from an initial “preview” of the final product for strategic customers to the development of pricing models, technical documentation, and account management processes that support the product and product team. Plaster Group’s product managers address the needs of a substantial portion of our client’s customers. This frees our client’s product manager to address the needs and concerns of the largest customers directly. In addition, Plaster Group remains essential in communicating the value and success of the CDN product to executive management.

Solution

Plaster Group provides our client’s CDN program with ongoing operational and tactical support. Key contributions include:

• CDN Technical Preview— A program that allows for the careful selection of current, strategic customers who use the advanced service free of charge while billing and metering guidelines and processes are established for the advanced features. Consultants ensure customers are qualified to join, have the right documentation, sign non-disclosure and investment agreements, and get customers “up and running” with the product.
• Customer Account Management— Consultants provide day-to-day support in the management of customer accounts including:
  • Escalations and technical requests from the field Describing trends and highlighting common issues in the technical needs and challenges of customers
  • Qualifying customers for the supplemental portal and setting up their accounts
  • Keeping track of any ongoing issues or open items with key customers around the world and expediting with the internal team or CDN Partner as needed
• Executive Reporting— Plaster Group creates monthly traffic summaries, comparisons, month-to-month trends and narrative from a product and technical owner perspective to display CDN impact to executive management
• Project Management — Consultants help to define project scope and milestones, establish performance ratings from limited data (four months from launch) to communicate projected success to customers, and author documentation both for customers and to align CDN engineers and the business

Results