Interview with Avinoam Nowogrodski, CEO of Clarizen
05 October 2011 - We asked Avinoam Nowogrodski, Co-Founder and CEO of Clarizen, a few questions about his company and his view of the markets they serve.
Avinoam Nowogrodski
Co-Founder and CEO
GETAPP.COM: Who are you and what is your role in the company?
NOWOGRODSKI: I'm the Co-founder and CEO of Clarizen
GETAPP.COM: Can you briefly present your management team?
Clarizen's management team is comprised of proven enterpreneurs and business executives.
The team includes:
VP Product: Rachel Haim Hadas
COO and GM US: Guy Shani
CFO: Guy Nathanzon
VP Sales: Mikell Millar
VP R&D: Ariel Utnik
VP Business Development: Shai Etzion
VP Marketing Communications: Michele Borovac
VP Online Marketing: Debbie Cohen
GETAPP.COM: Are you a cloud or a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company?
NOWOGRODSKI: Clarizen is a cloud-based, SaaS company.
GETAPP.COM: How do you use and promote usage of cloud computing?
NOWOGRODSKI: Clarizen strongly promotes the simplicity and low TCO of its cloud-based platform as key competitive advantages. We exhibit and speak at a number of cloud-focused conferences, events and tradeshows.
GETAPP.COM: What are the points of difference of your solutions?
NOWOGRODSKI:
1) Real-time Visibility. Clarizen lets you see what your team is working on and helps ensure that everyone is focused on completing the highest value projects. As projects become populated with active collaboration from team members, organizations gain clarity, making them more agile and able to make decisions based on real data, rather than guesswork.
2) Built-in Collaboration. More than just a project management tool, Clarizen incorporates task management, status updates, timesheets, resource planning, unstructured data like email and attachments, chat and many other components so managers have a full picture of a project, yet each user’s customized dashboard show them only what they need to know.
3) Easy to learn and use. Because it’s easy and provides immediate value, Clarizen gets used. Teams become more productive because they have clearly defined tasks and deadlines, insight into the project priorities, and the ability to communicate changes in real time.
4) Pure SaaS. Clarizen’s model means the end of complex software installations and maintenance. Anyone can start using Clarizen in minutes, without involving IT, and the system scales easily to projects and organizations of all sizes. Users always have access to the latest features, simply by logging in.
5) The Clarizen Experience: Clarizen provides a very clear process that helps new users learn the technology and get up to speed quickly, leveraging free interactive webinars and Q&A sessions with product experts. Clarizen listens --through surveys, live feedback sessions, our customer advisory board, and through our online community -- so we can continually improve our product.
GETAPP.COM: How would you like to be evaluated by a prospect?
NOWOGRODSKI: On the value Clarizen can bring to any organization. Prospects must consider ROI for any solution, and Clarizen has consistenly demonstrated that customers can reduce costs, improve predicability and business agility, and gain real time insight that can help them deliver faster.
GETAPP.COM: Why do your customers buy from you?
NOWOGRODSKI: We provide a robust, comprehensive solution with a 'friction-free' sales process. Customers start with a free 30-day trial, with best-in-class support and training available for free to ensure they are successful. Dedicated customer success managers take over once the sale is complete to ensure ongoing satisfaction
GETAPP.COM: Can you mention some of your key clients?
NOWOGRODSKI: DHL, Hertz, Autodesk, Marketshare, Anritsu, ESRI, Websense, as well as many other businesses ranging from SMBs through larger enterprise.
GETAPP.COM: What do you see as the key trend emerging in the industry?
NOWOGRODSKI: Traditional project management and collaboration are merging. It is no longer the realm of one person to design and control an entire project. Rather, distributed and virtual teams are taking advantage of emerging social media and other collaboration tools to improve communication and productivity. Tools in the project management space need to be ahead of the curve - and incorporate collaboration into their daily workflows - to succeed.
GETAPP.COM: What is THE most important message you feel you should get across to someone considering buying your solutions?
NOWOGRODSKI: Take advantage of the free trial and the free training we offer, so we can ensure that Clarizen will meet your requirements.
GETAPP.COM: Thanks for your time, Avinoam.