Maximize Success with Professional Services: Insights from Susan Walters

Susan Walters, CEO of interop.io Professional Services, joins us for an interview to share insights into her team’s approach to helping clients succeed. With over 25 years of experience in the software industry, Susan has previously managed large-scale client projects and development teams and held roles in Engineering and Program Management with top tech companies. Her extensive industry background shapes her team’s client-first approach.

Q: How does interop.io’s Professional Services team help clients realize the benefits of their platform?

Our approach begins with a thorough discovery phase. Our team is invited in either pre- or post- sales to help identify a client’s real pain points, determine the priority use case(s), and help them deliver a pragmatic solution that leverages the suitable aspects of interop.io’s platform.

We then dive into their objectives, motivations, and constraints, addressing the client’s unique business needs. The goal is to ensure the chosen solution delivers tangible benefits quickly, delivering value and improved experience to their end-users.

Q: What stages are involved in the process?

We follow a structured approach, starting with discovery to fully understand the client’s goals and assess their current versus target state. We explore a range of elements to see where the top priorities lie and what is the most impactful way to get there. We look at the current state from the application(s), downstream systems, technology stack, infrastructure, and potential expertise gaps. Based on this, we support them through planning, setup, designing, implementation, deployment, and knowledge transfer depending on the need. Our team works hands-on to help clients reach their first production release, whether a proof of concept (POC), minimum viable product (MVP) or full-blown solution.

Q: What does a client success strategy look like?

Success often means turning an idea into a functional product that can be widely embraced/proven effective in practice within the organization. The interop.io platform is often the underlying tool and part of a broader, long-term digital transformation journey. By helping clients successfully meet their MVP objectives quickly, we give them a concrete outcome with a measurable impact to build on.

Q: What benefits do Professional Services clients typically see?

Our clients often come to us with legacy systems, and moving to a modern strategic solution is necessary for a plethora of business reasons — but naturally, this transition can seem overwhelming. Using the interop.io platform allows for a phased approach, letting them decouple dependencies incrementally whilst personalizing and improving the experience for their users, be those internal users or external clients. Instead of a “big bang” shift, they can implement changes progressively, adapting the experiences in ways that make sense and that include user feedback. This approach means their users do not have to abandon decades of work all at once but can more gradually transition to enhanced experiences.

Q: Who benefits most from interop.io’s Professional Services?

We work with a diverse range of clients. Some have mature systems and ongoing innovation projects, exploring modern technologies like mobile and AI. Others might be a small team in, for example, an equities division needing specific, targeted help. Whether clients need hands-on work or strategic guidance, we are there to meet those needs. With experience across various sectors and client sizes, we also bring governance expertise to help standardize and scale solutions in a way that maintains a consistent, user experience.

Q: How does your team’s experience contribute to the value clients receive?

Our Professional Services team has many years of experience and insight from supporting clients with complex systems. We are committed to building solutions that are not just functional but are the right fit for each client. We understand the importance of design & user experience, ensuring our clients do not just adopt every new feature but rather use the platform in a way that best serves their needs. Ultimately end users will not and should not focus on the platform itself but on the enhanced experience that simplifies and improves their ability to perform their work.

Conclusion:

interop.io’s Professional Services team is dedicated to helping clients maximize the value of their platform investment. Whether through in-depth consulting or hands-on development, they bring the expertise and commitment needed to ensure success at every stage. For an example of how our Professional Services team helped a leading investment and wealth manager build a Center of Enablement, click here.