One of the most common questions that people ask each other when meeting for the first time is, “What do you do?” When I’m asked that question, the obvious answer would be to say that I’m in the software business. But, I’ve discovered that people aren’t actually interested in what we do. Whether they realize it or not, people ask that question because they can quickly find out a lot about who we are — our purpose, our values and our passions. If someone says they’re a firefighter, a SCUBA diver or a professional racecar driver, you might make different assumptions about their personality compared to that of an accountant, an architect or business analyst. When someone asks me what I do, I tell them, “My company, Veeam, enables every company in the world to operate as an Always-On Enterprise™.” It’s not just our company mission — it’s also my purpose. So, in my opinion, it’s even more exciting than being a racecar driver…well, almost!
As a CEO, my focus is on defining the purpose behind what we do, and not just the products we deliver. Over 70% of the Fortune 500 companies trust Veeam as their Availability provider, so I’m confident that executives at other customer-centric enterprises around the world feel the same way. Following this philosophy, we’ve decided to expand our enterprise-advocacy team activities to specifically showcase the accomplishments, purposes and passions of the customers we serve. We’re already successful in supporting businesses with our products, so we want to expand those efforts by supporting them in other ways.
We’ll be highlighting our customers by hosting exclusive thought-leadership events and executive business forums, plus offering highly visible speaking opportunities. We intend to use our media and PR resources to spread the passion of our customers, in addition to the organizations they support. You can also expect to see surprise guest posts right here in the Availability Lounge Blog. Those who follow my interviews know that one of my favorite sayings is, “In today’s modern business, EVERY company is a software company.” We can take it a step further by demonstrating how verified recoverability and the Availability of data helps doctors get the information they need to make urgent, bedside decisions. It ensures that airlines can safely move hundreds of thousands of travelers every day because of their ability to stay online. It even empowers some of the world’s largest charities to expand their important work with the assurance that it will be supported. The fact that Veeam plays a significant role in enabling the digital economy, and supporting things that are important to people, is a strong driver to continue innovating and providing the confidence that all businesses need to grow and serve. And — if I were in the racing business — it would be as gratifying as taking the victory lap.