If I heard it once, I heard it a dozen times since announcing my move to Valora Technologies the other week: “So, you’re going to work for a software company!” To which my response has been, “Kind of, but not really.”
Now, it’s true that Valora has developed some (pretty amazing) software, but from where I sit, that’s not only what it does. Rather, the company’s stock in trade is expertise, something that gives the organization a much deeper value proposition – without which I likely would not have made the move.
Still the One: “What Business Problem Are You Trying To Solve?”
Broadly speaking, Valora’s technology automates the classification of documents. But unlike some other firms purporting to do the same, it does far more than throw software at the problem. Instead, it takes a consultative approach to the issue in a way that evokes my own proven focus on “what business problem are you trying to solve?”
Valora is fixated on the whys and wherefores of the clients’ use cases, knowing that even the world’s best software will flounder without being tuned in to the operational context of the challenge it’s trying to solve. That the company happens to have software that is among the world’s best is a huge plus, of course, but its true value stems from its ability to understand and serve the business need.
Business as Usual, But Better
“Isn’t that sort of the same thing you’ve been doing on your own for all those years?” I hear you ask. Why yes, yes it is! The difference is that, before, I didn’t have the software piece baked into my business, and I always worried just a bit about disconnects developing between the consultation and implementation phases. Now, there is great technology and a team of experts at my disposal – or, more to the point, at yours – so a seamless transition is all but assured.
So as you see, I did not join a software company per se. Rather, I went to work for a technology firm that consults with its clients and utilizes its own software to realize clearly-stated business goals.
In other words, business as usual, but better, for yours truly – and for you.