- Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting
- Enterprise Accounting Software
- Financial Management Solutions
- Small and Medium Sized Business Accounting Software
- Treasury, Cash and Risk Management
- Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)
- Business Intelligence Software
- Business Process Management (BPM)
- Enterprise Performance Management
- Reporting and End-User Query Tools
- RFID-- Radio Frequency Identification
- Warehouse Management Software
- Customer Experience Management (CEM)
- Customer Information Management
- Sales and Marketing Software
- Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
- Facilities Management and Maintenance
- Electronic Medical Billing Systems
- Healthcare Inventory Management
- Employee Benefits Administration
- Employee Relationship Management (ERM)
- Human Resources and Payroll Software
- Learning Management Systems (LMS)
- Workforce Planning and Management
- Enterprise Content Management
- Information Lifecycle Management
- Advanced Planning and Scheduling
- Integrated Manufacturing Solutions
- Manufacturing Enterprise Resource Planning (MERP)
- Product Life Cycle Management (PLM)
- Project Management Solutions
- Resource Planning and Scheduling
- Web, Video and Audio Conferencing
- Data Center Power Management
- Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC)
- Cloud Computing Applications
- Database Planning and Implementation
- Enterprise Application Integration
- Enterprise Application Integration Middleware
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Business Service Management (BSM)
- Business Technology Optimization
- Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM)
- Enterprise Resource Management
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)
- IT Service Management (ITSM)
- Project Portfolio Management (PPM)
- Technology Planning and Analysis
- BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
- Managed Service Provider (MSP)
- Network Configuration Management Software
- Fraud Detection & Prevention
- Intrusion Detection and Prevention
- IT Security Frameworks and Standards
- Threat and Vulnerability Management
- Virtual Private Network Security
- Data Center & Storage Solutions
- Network Attached Storage (NAS)
- Remote and Offsite Data Storage
- SAN Virtualization and Consolidation
- Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)
- Application Performance Management (APM)
- Enterprise Systems Management
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Software Configuration Management (SCM)
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- Electronic Catalog Management
- Electronic Commerce Interchange (EDI-XML)
Posted by IDG Connect
Name: Patrick Peterson
Company: Agari
Job Title: CEO and Founder
Location: San Francisco, California
What was the most valuable piece of career advice that you received?
It’s all about the product. In my previous role as VP, Technology at IronPort, I learned from my CEO Scott Weiss that if the product works, the customer is happy. You may be able to build a business with the right team, marketing opportunity, and capital of course, but ultimately, if the product doesn’t work, you must get it to work, or you are doomed. It is simply impossible to make up for a bad product with better marketing, a bigger team or great sales people.
What was the worst piece of business advice that you received?
When I founded Agari many people said to me, “Are you crazy? Don’t found another security startup! Mobile and social are the future.” I’m glad I didn’t take the naysayers advice, as it’s obviously not proven true!
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in the tech industry?
When starting out in tech, you’ve got to have a job where you can develop and improve the foundations your technical abilities - but that’s still a relatively basic requirement. Always keep an eye out for opportunities with larger learning and growing potential. Broaden your horizons by gaining exposure to customers, to executives and to departments other than your own. Only then can you start figuring out the significance of different technologies and what makes truly high-impact technology.
What tips would you give to someone aiming for a c-level position?
The ‘Peter Principle’ - the idea people are promoted into jobs with duties they cannot fulfil - is strongly at work for C-level positions. The gap between running a team and having the executive leadership of running a department is far greater than most young leaders imagine. With this in mind, my advice would be to find the right mentor. Get a perspective of the world through their eyes and leverage them to develop C-level skills.
Step 1 to getting a mentor: Ask. There is a famous story about Steve Jobs cold-calling Bill Hewlett (then CEO of Hewlett-Packard) looking for a job. You should be comfortable asking senior people whom you respect what advice they would have on developing your career. Ask a lot of questions – for example, if they can be your advisor, how they got to where they are, what they see in you, how you can help, how you demonstrate strong leadership skills and what you are lacking.
Step 2 is remembering that the mentor relationship is a two way street. Ask senior folks who could be a mentor, how you can help them. Beyond the day-to-day deliverables, find out how you can help them be successful.
Are you particularly proud of any career advice that you’ve given or the career route/development of anyone you’ve mentored?
Sometimes you need to stop and examine the skills of those right in front of you, and I’m proud that I have put the time and effort into cultivating people’s potential to the fullest.
The administrative assistant who took a leadership role in customer support and five years later is a CEO. The QA contractor who took on an acting director role, excels and five years later becomes the VP of engineering at one of the hottest companies in the Valley. These are people that I have had the privilege of being a part in advising them in their decidedly non-linear road to great success. This to me is the #1 reason to join a start-up - the opportunity to watch unlimited potential being unlocked from the least likely places.
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