I have been fortunate to have led design organizations in both enterprise companies (SAP, Cisco, Zeitworks, etc.) as well as consumer companies (Apple, WebMD, Shutterfly, etc.) so I have firsthand experience with the consumerization of the SaaS market. I have also co-founded three start-ups focused on Machine Learning–which is a vital component to all of today’s products and services. So when I was approached by SnapLogic to establish their design organization, I had the opportunity to learn about SnapLogic’s incredible track record, the power behind its platform, and how they embed AI and Machine Learning to empower their customers’ businesses, I was hooked.
Every organization needs data to drive innovation and market differentiation. Historically enterprise data has been like unmined gold–locked beneath a mountain. But simply getting the data out–mining the gold ore, is not enough. To be successful it’s important to put that data into the hands of the people who can shape it, craft it, and transform it into a thing more valuable than the data itself; actionable insights. SnapLogic is building the next generation integration platform to remove all the barriers from extraction to insight; allowing users to transform it along the way.
Over the past 25 years I have made a career of transforming organizations into human-centric businesses. I am deeply familiar with what is required to manifest a successful organizational change. Defining processes and teams is not enough, in my career I have worked with the company leadership to understand both human-centric development as well as the fundamental shift it enables in building customer relationships is critical. SnapLogic has been very focused on its customer’s needs but as the gap between the data warehouse and the front office continues to shrink, novel innovations require new thinking and new generation of data tools—ones empowered with ML and AI capabilities, to help people from across an organization collaborate in the transformation of their data into insights; giving them the answer to their questions faster and with less friction than ever before. I am excited by the opportunity to build a world class design organization and to be part of the team creating the next generation of SnapLogic’s platform and to empower our customers to achieve that transformation.
Much of my enterprise experience has focused on bringing consumer design sensibilities: simplicity, intelligence, ease of use, and delight, to B2B platforms that for the most part haven’t changed since they moved away from green screens. SnapLogic set the standard for ease of use in their sector with drag and drop and intelligent configuration, streamlining the creation of data pipelines. With today’s AI and ML capabilities for the first time the full power of SnapLogic will be available to everyone in the enterprise–not just the IT Department. Which means addressing a broader set of needs and expectations. Far too often companies building enterprise software forget the people who use their software also use iPhones, and webapps, they play video games, and have set-up their homes with IOT networks. So when they sit down to use an enterprise system; regardless of how we may classify software as either B2B or B2C, there is a tacit expectation that all software should have the same attention to detail as the the most popular consumer devices and apps, the same ease of use, and even the same joy that comes with things simply automatically connecting and configuring themselves. As a designer I recognize there is an added level of governance needed for compliance and to ensure security around enterprise data, but the end users, the people who use the software are still people, and bringing a smile to their face is one of my personal goals for SnapLogic’s design.
Today, SnapLogic is committed to building a world-class, research-driven design organization, with plans to expand the team as we grow our portfolio. This investment in research and design will be critical as we extend our offering, bringing the power of SnapLogic out from the back office to be shared by the entire organization.
Democratizing data integration is more than giving everyone the tools to easily extract and transform data, at its core it is about trust. It’s about instilling the sense of confidence that comes with clarity and understanding, it’s about providing transparency and providing intelligent recommendations and even at times guardrails, to ensure nothing will go wrong. In the end it’s about making certain that all the expectations are being met before an action is committed. I am very much looking forward to working with our customers to understand their needs and expectations and creating an experience that brings together the underlying power of our platform with simplicity and delight to address those needs.
Over his career Matthew has held executive roles and co-founded companies, building high performing design teams, and shifted the strategic direction of global businesses, combining data & design to deliver core business value. Collaborating across organizations with product, engineering, and marketing, he is a constant champion of both the practice of design, and the voice of the customer. Many of the designers Matthew has hired and mentored over the years have moved on to executive roles at companies such as SAP, GE, Oracle, AirBNB, Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Instagram, JPMorgan Chase, Optum, Twitter, Pearson, Mercedes, etc.
