ADD Systems’ Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rob Culbertson, has been with ADD for more than 40 years and oversees all operational aspects of the company. This includes Engineering, Customer Support, Quality Assurance & Documentation, Installations, and Projects. In fact, there are few aspects of ADD Systems that Rob doesn’t touch daily.
Technology Changes
In his years at ADD, Rob has seen tremendous changes in technology – from Minicomputers to PCs, expensive dedicated phone lines to the Internet, and green screen terminals to high definition graphical monitors, to name just a few. Rob has enjoyed helping ADD take advantage of all these technological advancements to create a product that answers our clients’ needs and helps drive their companies forward.
Client Relationships
Rob recognizes that the fast pace of technology means that, now more than ever, it is important to communicate with our clients. When it comes to software development at ADD, this means working in partnership with the ADD User Group (AUG). His role as COO puts him in a unique position to match what we learn from the AUG with ADD resources. In fact, working with the ADD team to bring products to market that exceed client expectations is one of the favorite parts of his job.
Rob shared that “to ensure we are in sync with our clients’ strategic goals, one of ADD’s most important initiatives is to continue to engage with the ADD User Group.” In October, the AUG completed its annual enhancement prioritization process. At the close of this process, the AUG shared with ADD their list of top enhancements and development priorities. These AUG priorities help steer ADD’s R&D efforts.
“Our users are our key strategic advisers,” Rob shared, “and we engage them throughout the development process via design meetings and regular product committee meetings. The AUG has become an integral part of the ADD business strategy process. The members of the AUG are all clients, using the ADD software in various ways, all trying to achieve their own business goals in the most efficient manner possible. The focused feedback provided by the AUG is invaluable to us.”
Perhaps one of ADD’s best venues for communicating with their clients is the ADD Business Tech Conference (BTC), and the next edition was just announced for May of 2020. With 15 months to go, ADD is already hard at work, developing the most valuable BTC yet. According to Rob, “we’re planning sessions to benefit our users, support our AUG, and announce some of our most exciting product developments.”
Looking Ahead
Rob has been fortunate to work with and meet true technology visionaries over the years. Today these interactions continue with the ADD User Group, a unique association of experts with the imagination to see how matching advanced technology with business challenges can create awesome opportunities. Their vision provides essential input to the development of the ADD products and services that will propel the Energy Industry into the future.
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