Executive Insight: CEO Glenn Milnes Looks Forward to FY2017

After leading a successful product launch to wrap up fiscal 2016, we chatted with CEO Glenn Milnes to find out what’s next for ikeGPS.

With FY2017 on the horizon, what are you most looking forward to in the new year?

So many aspects the ikeGPS business are developing positively. There’s a lot to look forward to in FY2017.

As a company, we plan to transition further to an operating model that puts an even sharper focus on our customers. Specifically, this means forming end-to-end teams – from engineering through to sales and support – that are dedicated to specific customer groups, such as utilities or signage. This will be a positive move that will help us continue to better serve our customers and evolve our solutions for these specific markets. Our goal is delivering tailored software and mobile hardware to solve specific problems for defined vertical market end users.

At the product level, we just launched IKE 4, a stack of cloud-based and mobile software paired with a beautiful mobile device, all of which have been designed from the ground up to support anyone collecting and analyzing overhead distribution assets. We think IKE 4 will dramatically improve these customers’ lives. We also have a brand-new smartphone and tablet solution on the horizon. A lot of great work has gone into developing these solutions, and it’s exciting to now have a portfolio of best-in-class products at the cloud software, mobile app and mobile device levels.

Our offices keep growing, too. The Colorado team is moving into a much needed larger space next quarter. The Wellington office is at full capacity, and in Seattle, we recently added resources around the quality assurance function. Finally, we’re continuing to look at the potential to list here in the U.S., which makes a lot sense for us, given our team, market, customer and partner base. So that’s another exciting potential next step in our growth and development over the coming 12 months.

You recently introduced the new IKE 4 at DistribuTECH. What was the general reaction of IKE 4?

The reaction was great. I remember being at DistribuTECH about four years ago when we first introduced a pole measurement solution to that market. We were immature then in terms of our offering and visibility. Introducing IKE 4 was a different experience.

We now have hundreds of customers and high-quality engagement across the market from utility professionals who appreciate our long-term commitment to developing software and field tools to improve pole auditing, joint-use and pole loading processes. It’s amazing how far we’ve come, and huge thanks goes to the ikeGPS teams involved in getting IKE 4 ready for launch and those who underpinned our activities and presence at the show.

What kind of impact do you expect IKE 4 to have on the industry?

Our mission is to continually evolve the whole measurement, analysis and management process. IKE 4 offers an improved user experience for anyone dealing with distribution assets. IKE 4 has the potential to have applications across more use cases and other industries, such as general asset management, but for the time being, we’re focused on poles.

How does Spike’s new Point-to-Point tool open new opportunities for ikeGPS?

The Point-to-Point measurement tool opens us up to a host of other opportunities and new markets, and it also helps us deepen our penetration in certain existing markets, such as the appraisal, assessment, and sign and graphics industries. We’ve already found that the Point-to-Point tool gives customers new measurement applications that they’d never thought would be possible from their phone.

For example, one opportunity is in vegetation assessment. This includes measuring vegetation to buildings or wires, and the feedback has been fantastic, even for our early-release stage. There’s still work to do, but the Point-to-Point tool can change the landscape for Spike. As always, next steps are to address use cases and customer requirements on a disciplined basis and establish what other features and workflow we can deliver for these end users.

As a big sports fan, how does it feel for not only the New Zealand All Blacks to win the Rugby World Cup but also the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl?

That was great, wasn’t it? I couldn’t be luckier to have timed it to get on the back of a winning horse this year, with the move to Colorado and Broncos taking out the title. Now we have March Madness coming up, so it’ll be exciting to watch some basketball.