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Timbergrove Solutions, LLC. |
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February 8, 2016 Issue |
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The Most Powerful Name In Corporate News and Information |
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IT Consultancy for Enterprise Asset Management Helping Corporations Optimize, Streamline and Improve Business Processes and Technology |
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Founder & CEO
Timbergrove Solutions, LLC.
Contact: Ian Uriarte 281-628-2135
Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – February 2, 2016
CEOCFO: Mr. Uriarte, would you tell us about Timbergrove Solutions? Mr. Uriarte: We are an IT consulting firm focused on helping our customers improve operations, streamline the way they do business, increase efficiencies and realize cost savings through business processes automation and technology.
CEOCFO: What do you understand about achieving that for your clients? Mr. Uriarte: The key for us is helping companies minimize downtime. Our team is comprised of experts from specific industries. We focus very closely on industries that that require substantial physical assets, such as marine, airlines, railroads, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and hospitals. We also work with companies that have campuses or assets that need to be tracked and maintained due to their value. An example would be a healthcare organization that maintains large machinery and needs to ensure that the life of the asset is extended or that their instruments are calibrated for accuracy and compliance. For this reason, our group of consultants are people who have decades of experience within our client industries; this is our difference. We are not only technology consultants in the sense that we understand the technology that we use to improve processes, but we also understand the industries that we are involved in. Because of our narrow focus, we have a solid success rate with our clients.
CEOCFO: Was that the concept from the beginning or developed over time? Mr. Uriarte: It developed over time. We had a strategy to pursue asset based companies, and this is a result of being headquartered in Houston, TX. The main industries that are important to the economy here are oil and gas, and medical research (with the Texas Medical Center, which is the largest in the world). We also have one of the largest ports in the nation, so logistics and transportation are key as well. Focusing to this area was a natural fit for us and we have been fortunate to experience success with companies not only in Houston, but also internationally.
CEOCFO: When might a company turn to you for help? Mr. Uriarte: Typically, customers come to us when they have issues regarding asset cost visibility or maintenance status visibility. Management is having trouble seeing where the problems are related to an asset or a business process associated to an asset or group of assets. They know there is an issue because they see the financial impact and understand that it is due to asset downtime. For example, with an energy producer, if a boiler goes down in the middle of high peak demand there are both repair costs to consider as well as lost of revenue. Or, for a drilling contractor during drilling and exploration who has to spend days coming out of the drilling hole to repair equipment. So, many companies come to us to help them identify the reasons why this is happening and help them minimize the impact of such downtime.
CEOCFO: When a company comes to you, how do you look at what they are doing and assess their needs? Mr. Uriarte: It usually starts with data. A customer is having a problem, for example, integrating data coming from their Enterprise resource planning system (ERP) from and to and Enterprise Asset Manager system (EAM). Our customers invest millions of dollars in implementing an ERP but as implementation goes on, they keep finding more and more data sources to aggregate in order to get value of their ERP implementation. This usually brings together dozens to hundreds of data sources and it becomes difficult to integrate those data sources effectively and while maintaining data integrity. We help them determine the process required to integrate the data accurately across the organization in a way that is actionable for management and executives.
CEOCFO: Why did you choose IBM? Mr. Uriarte: In this space, IBM is dominant. Most of the customers that we target happen to also be customers of IBM or vice versa, i.e., they are our customers and we bring them to IBM. The reason is IBM’s robust/scalable technology. In addition, IBM has made heavy investments in software technology over the last few decades -- especially in acquiring companies that have great technology to serve the industries we serve. Many of the customers that we work with are large organizations, so you need to make sure that the technology we implement for them scales well as they grow. The IBM brand has a lot of prestige, but it also has a history of performing extremely well. We have worked well together over the years and it is a mutually beneficial relationship; not just for IBM and Timbergrove, but also for our customers.
CEOCFO: How do you help ease the pain of an implementation? Mr. Uriarte: The reality is that it’s not always about the system –more often it’s about people. Once you realize that, half of the battle is won. A lot of this has to do with people having trouble adopting change. So, what we have to understand is how people will be affected by change. Having a plan to involve all the stakeholders and make sure that people who will be affected at any point in the implementation will be part of decision-making process is key. So, managing adoption is key. We have had the case when a customer’s IT department think that a technology implementation will solve their business unit problems. And because their business unit pain is so big they are ready to do implement fast. But then, after a careful process analysis we learn that technology alone won’t resolve the problem or that more technology is not the answer. Sometimes is something as simple as the fact that part of a team has been resistant to adopting the technology already in place. You have to determine whether this is due to lack of training, lack of motivation, or whether they need a pay incentive. There are so many barriers to adoption, and you have to determine what will motivate people to adopt. Again, very often, it is more about people than technology.
CEOCFO: Are there many companies in your arena? Mr. Uriarte: Yes, there are. The space is crowded. The difference is in our focus; we don’t go after lots of industries. We are laser focused and only pursue operations in a handful of industries, all heavily based on large physical assets. We have had customers that are not in any of the industries we mentioned but not because we pursued them. We’re selective when we engage customers to make sure that we’re aligned with both the industry and the culture of those customers.
CEOCFO: How do potential clients find you in an internet search? Mr. Uriarte: Typically, the keywords are; process optimization, asset management, predictive maintenance, operation improvement, enterprise asset management and Internet of things (IoT). Those are the keywords, which include the areas in which we’ve grown and made inroads over the last few years.
CEOCFO: How does it jump out that Timbergrove is different or do they begin to understand when you engage? Mr. Uriarte: You can see on our website that the types of customers that we have an affinity with the previous customers we have worked with so we are speaking with an airline now because we did work with an airline this past year. We are talking with another railroad company because we worked with a railroad company a year before. Once prospective clients hear our people speak and understand that we have first hand knowledge of their paint points, they realize that we know what we speak the same language and we can be of help. We offer an initial assessment that enables them to see how we work, and it also helps us to see how the customer works. We like to spend time with a customer and ensure that we are a fit for each other and the engagement will be a success. This benefits the customer and means repeat business for us.
CEOCFO: How have your partnerships worked out for you? Mr. Uriarte: Our strategic partnerships have worked wonderfully bringing faster and greater value to both our customers and us.
CEOCFO: How do you maintain the level of excitement that comes across loud and clear? Mr. Uriarte: We are excited about what we do! It’s one of those things where you wake up in the morning and you can’t wait for the day to get going. It’s all about people. You meet people in this industry that have been in the industry for years, and you know that you understand their pain. It’s easy to connect when you have been in their shoes. We believe in what we do. I couldn’t stay in this job day in and day out if I didn’t believe that we are here to help our customers succeed and to help our customers solve problems. We are here to ensure that business and operations run smoothly and that technology doesn’t get in the way. If you believe that, it’s very easy to have a purpose and to be excited about what you do. Something that you enjoy makes it a lot easier to get up and get going in the morning! |
"We are here to ensure that business and operations run smoothly and that technology doesn’t get in the way."- Ian Uriarte
Timbergrove Solutions, LLC.
Contact: Ian Uriarte 281-628-2135
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Ian
Uriarte