From Volume 3 Issue 2 of Connected.
In this edition of Connected, we interviewed Aaron Read, General Manager of the Intelligent Industry Solutions team.
COULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR ROLE?
My title at Kirby Risk is General Manager of Intelligent Industry Solutions (IIS). I help the Kirby Risk team with clients that may be struggling to define what digital transformation means for their business.
If you're not familiar with digital transformation, it is the strategy of upgrading manual processes while finding new ways to automate data capture so that a business can use it to grow and evolve. Data-driven decisions will help a business move forward in the most efficient manner but also make it easier to continually improve. Part of my role is a change management process within Kirby Risk to have our organization and clients understand the latest technology and how to apply it for increased productivity in our customers' facilities.
WHAT DOES A DAY-TO-DAY LOOK LIKE IN YOUR ROLE?
I work with our IIS business consultants to understand where our clients are in their digital journey and how we can support them with our capabilities. To offer a complete solution for our clients, we bring the expertise of our strategic partners to help address all of their challenges. This adds a ton of value and keeps our relationships growing. We also have our internal technicians, engineering team and customer success resources available to support our engagements. The most common projects are around Operational Technology (OT) networking, cybersecurity or industrial software that fuels data analysis.
I also manage the Rockwell Automation Information Solutions Value-Added Reseller Program (IS VAR) that includes their modern cloud-based software like Plex MES for Manufacturing Execution or Fiix CMMS for Maintenance Management. We're one of six distributors in the country currently signed up with Rockwell as an IS VAR.
WHAT ROLE DOES IIS PLAY WITHIN THE COMPANY? HOW DOES IT IMPACT CUSTOMER SUCCESS?
The team helps clients bridge the gap between Information Technology (IT) and OT within the organizations. Many efficiencies will be gained when that collaborative effort can harvest data on the plant floor and use it to meet the challenges of the business. We can address persistent challenges like decreasing scrap, optimizing asset usage, improving quality of output and helping their employees keep up with demand. None of these problems can be solved without data to make the case for investment, which brings us back to modern software tools that help us capture and analyze that data.