Louis-Philippe Baillargeon:
Right. So I think it’s been more than great so far. Everyone in OdeCloud and all the channels we communicate through, are very experienced, very professional, but at the same time, very friendly, which are qualities that I think we look for in colleagues and in friends as well, right? So I think I’m establishing a lot of good relationships with people that I’m working with, on the same customers they’re working with. And just on the platform helping each other out, it’s a great community.

Angelo Mendoza:
Yeah. I’ve noticed you really take it up upon yourself to address everyone in the slack and make sure, especially that everyone feels welcome. I feel like you’ve really helped to create that atmosphere that we’re looking for here at OdeCloud.

Osar Iyamu (0:55):

So what people don’t know about that is that that’s actually one of the best crowdsourcing tool out there. So what it does, it basically asks, it asks you to identify a specific object in a series, in a series of images, correct? So find a car on this image and keep asking you for more work to do, to identify a car in all these images. So the problem that platform like Google is trying to solve is that machines, machines cannot read images, right? But yet people are searching for things that may be in images, right? So the idea of using reCAPTCHA is they basically said, they said, want to use the entire internet to solve that problem. So if we engage the entire internet to help us identify specific objects in images, we can go faster at reading all the images on the web.

So that’s what crowdsourcing is: They took a specific task of identifying objects in images and use the entire internet users to do that job. That’s exactly what crowdsourcing is, right? So when it comes to IT work, the way I see it today, like IT, this domain is probably the one that I’ve seen the most changes in the past 10 years. You know, we’ve seen like, you know, the big data, big data we’ve seen, um, blockchain, we’ve seen, uh, the use of API. That’s now kind of mainstream. We’ve seen machine learning, AI technologies.

So think of someone that’s managing an IT department or HR department, trying to keep up with all this skillset, because with every new technology trend comes a set of skillset that you need to have to leverage that technology, right? So it’s crazy.

So yeah, every two or three months, you have to basically retrain your entire staff, right?

On a new thing. And who knows what’s gonna come up next in, in two or three months, right? At this point in time, people like the developers, they’ll figure out a way to, to crowdsource knowledge at scale that’s where you see platforms or forums like Stack Overflow. That’s probably the best forum for developers out there.

They figure out a way to bring all the knowledge together into one same place so they can crowdsource knowledge very easily. So that solved the problem of saying, “I have a problem. Let me see how many people have faced this problem in the past, or I’ve documented a solution that I can leverage.”
So that’s cool. That works perfectly. The reason we decided to take that approach for OdeCloud and build a community around NetSuite is that beyond knowing, beyond having the solution, we know to train basic for Google to find images from your search, they have to be able to identify objects in those images.

That’s the problem. But now the task still remains. Someone has to go there and do the work. Someone has to go there and take that picture and say, there’s a current in this, in this image and the current that image, right? So the knowledge is not enough for most businesses, knowing that you have knowing that this is the solution is just not enough for them to have the value they need, right? So we decided to build a community so we can crowdsource ideas, solutions very quickly within the community. But we also decided to have a NetSuite service attached to it.

So it’s a straight line from getting that solution, that idea, or testing out a couple of ideas. Once you have the best solution, then bringing that solution to a group that can actually execute on building that technology for the client.

That’s where OdeCloud becomes very powerful because it’s not just about crowdsourcing ideas and just getting people to help you out. It’s also being able to get the right expert to go into your system and execute on that specific feature that you need to have. So that’s the way we kind of pitch it — is really, we build a community to be very fast in getting knowledge and we build services to make sure that knowledge is not something that the customers know, then they have to go figure out someone to do it for them — is that you get the knowledge and you also get the, the expertise and the expert to help build it in your system. So it’s a straight line from knowledge to actually having that tool or that feature in your NetSuite account. So that’s kind of how we summarize crowdsourcing in our specific scenario, right? Does that make sense?

Angelo Mendoza (05:26):
Yeah. No, that totally makes sense. And I think, you know, going back to the original question and trying to get the bottom line here, like, how has OdeCloud, would you say confirmed that crowdsourcing in the IT world works? You know what I mean? Cause before when we started, it was kind of theoretical. We were just kind of like, oh, we’ll see if this thing works, but how do you think, you know, we’ve proven that crowdsourcing can work in it, by using the OdeCloud platform.

Osar Iyamu (05:54):
Yeah. I mean, we see that every day, like every project, every project that we have right now with all the clients that subscribe to our managed service, um, platform, they, each project starts with, “Hey guys, we have this customer that want this integration, for example, integrate this platform with NetSuite. Have you guys already done this before?” Yes.

“If you have done this, do you have an idea of, you know, eye level plan or project plan that we can put in place for this implementation?” That’s like a five minutes discussion. And before even know someone say, “Hey, I’ve done this in the past with this client, with this two exact software could be anything, could be Braintree to NetSuite, Shopify to NetSuite, whatever that is.”

And that person basically just tell you, here’s what you need to do. All the different steps. Here’s your, you know, first phase of the project, your second phase, third phase, and here’s your, you know, your go life prep, here’s your test cases that you need to roll out.
And that’s something that we instantly provide to that customer in the next five minutes of that requirements coming up. So think of, if you had to engage a team to do that, that don’t have access to all these people that have probably done this project in the past, you have to come up with, okay, let’s talk about requirement gathering.

Let’s talk about project planning. What are the task going to put in place? Or like, what are people involved that itself is just a week or two of just planning the project. So now we have the project plan. We have all the different stages that we need to follow to get, to go from initial point to the end of the project. Now it’s just about going back to the customer and say, “Hey, here is the plan. We need two or three people from your team, from the finance team, from the sales team, from the pushing team.”

And they’re gonna, they’re gonna be involved at these different stages of the project. Here’s the plan: Let’s, let’s get ready and start working on the, on the, on, on the execution. So that’s the first part of crossing that we leverage a lot is really templatized project. We’ve done this in the past. We know where the issues are. We know where the, we know where we need to spend the most time we have that knowledge already. Let’s just kick up the project. Then once you start working on the project, there’s so many things that can be known that can happen randomly, you know, issues that may be from, you know, a specific customer account.

If you ask someone that’s working on the IT department or NetSuite, you know, admin to fix that issue himself, you’ll probably spend two or three weeks just kind of, kind of figure out what the issue is and what, where is that issue coming from?

So again, our, our rule here is that if you have to spend on a five minutes thinking about a problem or an issue, then the next minute after that five minutes is going back to the community, putting the message there — you can, you, you can keep, you can go back to that problem and try to solve your own, but at least you have like hundreds of people thinking about that issue while you solve it, or why you take a break or why you go out, take a walk, you know, try, you know, breathe and kinda get all the things in your head, come back fresh. Reset, right?

And now give the problem to a different group of people with a fresh view on that issue. And once you come back from that little reset, you may have a bunch of solutions already proposed in that thread. So we see that every day. So it’s not something that we see happen year happens all the time. And we are able to, we are able to deliver projects in just a matter of days, few weeks, as opposed to months for other NetSuite partners or other internal team doing the same work. So that’s really, for us, what we’ve seen the most valuable — is being able to go from, start to finish in the project in just a matter of days.

Jacky Wong (00:22):
I mean, uh, one of the things that has been on my roadmap and been really simmering on is to the ability to be a little bit more technical, a bit more savvy with, uh, SuiteScript. That’s just because when I was in consulting that I knew even though functional and the scripting side is two different career path, but I know that in order to become extremely successful in NetSuite, become that very valuable, um, team player, knowing script, connecting your scripts with, um, the functional module, the financial module with NetSuite connected to the users; this is what make you become invaluable — I mean, valuable in the company and also just in the community in general. So with that, um, definitely want to be having that experience more, to start developing more scripts in systems. And long term wise — uh, hopefully I go make great impact with the community, uh, help making sure that, uh, I give good insight, good feedback with everybody. And we can build bigger and stronger community where we can start telling people that, um, the platform is great. You, you don’t have to be fixated with hiring someone in house. You don’t have to fixate with hiring a firm. You can, if you have a project, something easy, easy to do, but you just don’t have bandwidth with your own company. You can always reach out to us to look for it. So something that will be I’m hoping getting up for OdeCloud.

Sara Dickinson (00:27):
Yeah, so, uh, so when really Osar, uh, when Osar reached out to me several months back, I knew instantly that I wanted to know him better. And so, in a sense, Osar as a human is my why I, for being here, like initially; but since then, you know, I’ve found the, the OdeCloud community to be so much more than just the one person who recruited me, ’cause it turns out that one great human attracts a lot of other really great humans. And I just feel really lucky to be a part of this community. And, um, I’ve slowly gotten to know many of these great humans, one-on-one, but looking forward to continuing that and uh, both on a deeper level for the people I’ve already had one-on-one time with and for the folks I haven’t met yet.

Cassius Kellogg (00:17): So I’ve known Osar since my days at NetSuite. Um, actually when NetSuite was doing the white label program with, uh, NetSuite and we worked on a project together, we collaborated really well together. We had a lot of the same ideas, opinions on things that NetSuite themselves, whether it was the system that was lacking or just kind of the business operations and how NetSuite conducted themselves. Uh, we saw a lot of gaps in what NetSuite themselves was offering. And immediately, I think Osar works the same way that I do in an entrepreneurial sense. And we both said, you know what? We can, we can do some better things and let’s stay in touch. And since that project we’ve probably spoken at at least on a quarterly basis, if not more frequently, over the past five years. And so he, um, started the, this community with, uh, a brilliant idea.

Cassius Kellogg (01:16): And I think the way that I’ve sort of kind of run parallel, I’ve never put both feet in. And I think he wishes, I, I would’ve, um, a while ago, and maybe I’m in a way regretting that decision. Who knows? Time will tell, but kind of been running parallel with him, helping him make certain decisions. He’s done the same for me in my career. So what should I be able to do more on a front end implementation? Because the partner that I’m at, uh, we’re a solution provider. So we’re able to sell the licenses, implement from day one. Whereas the OdeCloud network is more focused on, I think, enhancements, optimization, post go-live. Although you guys do — and the community does do — some during implementation work, I think the main focus for the most part is that extra administrative services.

Cassius Kellogg (02:06): So kind of an admin-as-a-service, um, and bringing in some of these experts. So we kind of coexist and I think that’s maybe one reason I haven’t fully jumped one way or the other is cuz we’ve kind of been able to both grow side-by-side and benefit each other with our various ideas and contributions. So I’d say where I’ve been able to really get a lot of benefit out of being a member of this community is sort of where I was talking about. I needed to have that technical expert inside of my partner organization. This community offers someone that doesn’t have a lot of expertise in one area or many multiple areas inside of NetSuite to now have access to that expertise. And whether you want to pull in a member of the community to work on a project that you’re on, or if you just want to get trained by someone that’s in the community, a lot of the people are just doing training opportunities where they’ll coach you through various, um, subject matters that you wanna learn.

Cassius Kellogg (03:10): And I think that’s been fantastic. So I’ve gotten a lot of really helpful hints. I’ve also been able to collaborate the opposite way. So it’s kind of a give-and-take relationship, which is what you want in a community. You don’t wanna be the one that’s just the guy absorbing and asking questions nonstop and, and never giving anything back. So definitely been the one that’s asked questions also been able to thankfully been the one who’s given answers to other people’s questions. So I think just that collaborative environment with some really, really smart individuals — and that’s just been building and building. Earlier today, I saw a new member of the community who I actually had read some blog posts of, um, a few weeks ago. So was super pumped to see that name show up. Um, and I think that’s part of the coolest thing about how this community has just continued to build up and evolve.

Nirosh Ramachandran (00:29): Yeah, for sure. Man, when you tell people you’re working for NetSuite or do NetSuite consulting, you know, it’s like when Chandler Bing was trying to explain his job on Friends, it’s like kind of the same deal. Really hard for people to understand. Um, so I’ve been doing NetSuite for like seven years now. I started off in September of 2013 and uh, at that time I was working at another consulting gig. I was budgeting software, uh, just as sexy as NetSuite, you know what I mean? and, uh, and so I was doing some consulting work, uh, for them for about a year and a half, and I really had no intention of, uh, making a switch or moving. Uh, but one of my colleagues, uh, he was leaving to another company and he told me that he was offered a gig with this other firm, uh, that did NetSuite.

Nirosh Ramachandran (01:20): And, you know, I looked into it without any intention of making any kind of move. Um, but you know, I looked into it. That was really the first time I heard about NetSuite. It turns out it was a ERP. Um, I was kind of doing budgeting software, which is super niche. And just that alone, you know, it’s a bit of a step up, no disrespect to other kind of consulting gigs or consulting opportunities, but thought that moving to the ERP sphere kind of opened the doors for a lot more opportunities, a lot more knowledge, learned a lot more — there’s different aspects of ERP that like, budgeting just alone doesn’t really cover. So I thought it was a bit of a no brainer to kind of move into, um, like a spear such as E R P. And the opportunity was at a really small firm at that time, maybe about 15 people.

Nirosh Ramachandran (02:12): And the interview went really, really good. And I had a good feeling about the organization more so than what I was actually about to be doing. And I just thought that was a really cool fit. And, you know, when it’s a small firm and they kind of want you, that just means that there’s a lot of importance placed in what you’re about to be doing, right? You’ll have more responsibilities, more uh, more things to do. So there’s, there’s a bit of a vote of confidence. Uh, just, just me as a professional in the working, uh, space, right? Working in large organizations kind of, kind of get lost in the, in the organizational structure a bit. So it was been enticing. And honestly, I, I joined just kind of jumped in the deep end there and learned NetSuite and haven’t really looked back.

Angelo Mendoza (02:59): Yeah, yeah. Uh, it sounds kind of similar to what a lot of the freelancers say, especially when it comes to NetSuite, you know, they joined a company and they jumped in and then they just never looked back. You know what I mean? So kudos to you for learning that basically, you know, on the job, you know what I mean? Uh, but you said you started with a small firm, right? And now you are doing consultant work, freelancing work, correct?

Nirosh Ramachandran (03:22): Correct, yeah.

Angelo Mendoza (03:22): Okay. So how exactly did you happen to go into working independently? I mean, again, most people just don’t start out their career or being your freelancer. So what exactly pushed you to go that route?

Nirosh Ramachandran (03:36): Yeah, man, uh, it just kind of felt like I stumbled upon this as well. Um, what I found just working for a small company, uh, I was working for that company for five years and it just felt like after a certain point, a lot of my colleagues, after they’ve reached a certain amount of experience, they’ve left. And they didn’t leave for another firm, they left to be their own, uh, you know, independent consultant slash freelancer. And so I had maybe three or four people before me leave to kind of go this path. And I was always being encouraged by them to, you know, join this path as well. Uh, they’re always pitching the benefits and the advantages of being independent. Um, and it was pretty scary to be honest, right. It’s, it’s hard to like leave a job of guaranteed pay, uh, the comfort that comes with it, especially if you have bills, mortgage, whatever, right. Uh, to kind of go on your own. Um, but you know, I got introduced by old colleague to a partner and, and that’s kind of like, that’s kind of how it all started and it’s probably one of the best things that has happened to me. Um, just could not believe what being independent consultant kind of opens up the doors that opens up, the opportunities. And it’s been just amazing. Both professionally and personally.

Angelo Mendoza (04:58): Mm-hmm mm-hmm yeah, that’s definitely understandable. Um, I do wanna get into what other people were telling you about the benefits of freelancing and especially how it kind of relates to you personally. I mean, what do you feel are the biggest benefits of freelancing in terms of what you do?

Nirosh Ramachandran (05:19): Um, yeah, man, uh, for sure there’s plenty of benefits. Uh, the flexibility comes to mind, right? Just, uh, the ability to kind of, uh, work your own hours, uh, picking and choosing opportunities. Uh, and this is, you know, seeing that there’s a lot of opportunities, which is obviously to be in a great position. That’s, that’s a good thing. Um, the autonomy of doing a task, um, but just wanna go back to flexibility, like just having flexibility, um, is like, like it’s one word, but like that’s like…the magnitude of that benefit is just through the roof. It’s hard to really explain, um, like just list out a bunch of things. So it’s really flexibility just opens up so many other benefits or, and so many other positives. Uh, the ability to, um, you know, start your day at 7:00 AM if need be, or end your day at midnight, you know, without really having to worry about a commute without having to worry about, you know, that 9-5 grind, uh, without having to worry about appointments or anything like that.

Nirosh Ramachandran (06:25): It’s, it’s the flexibility of that and how that also allows me kind of bounce on my personal life, right? Um, it’s like last year, for instance, or the year before, uh, when I started this in 2018, uh, I was in the midst of wedding planning, right. And that’s, you know, massively stressful, uh, a lot of things flying at you last minute. And just to be able to kind of put things on pause or just, you know, being able to adjust on the fly was fantastic. And then earlier this year I was, uh, bought a house and renovating it. And I was, I was also just more stressed; again, just being able to balance things is, is just, it’s, it’s a benefit that’s it comes with so much more opportunities and so many more, uh, paths and things that like, it’s hard to really say, “Hey, this is what tangibly it can do.” It’s just examples, like can provide of like what the flexibility has done for me.

Nirosh Ramachandran (00:25): Yeah, so I mean, one of the hardest things about being a consultant, whether it’s working alone or working in a company is just like knowledge transfer and, uh, you know, learning answers, learning about the software, learning solutions. Uh, it’s, it’s incredibly hard sometimes to, you know, figure out ideas, figure out problem, uh, solutions to a problem. And, uh, and so when Osar reached out to me and told me that, “Hey, you know, we have this community that’s happening, where we have a kind of knowledge transfer happening, a huge knowledge base with consultants where we share ideas, help each other provide solutions.” Um, you know, and I thought that was a really, really great idea and kind of addresses one of the biggest challenges in our industry is kind of where do we, where do we go when we need help, right? Um, sometimes SuiteAnswers can only do so much.

Nirosh Ramachandran (01:20): I, I have some colleagues where, you know, I’m, or I know some colleagues who are just really good consultants, uh, who know the solution inside out. Uh, but I mean, can’t always rely on the same people. Um, if they’re busy, whatnot, you also still don’t wanna bug the same people. So just having a collaborative, collaborative community where you can kind of go, uh, get help from other people, uh, help other folks learn the software a bit more transfer knowledge. Thought it was a bit of a no brainer to kind of join that. I was really excited to kind of help out when Osar asked me to, you know, beta test the, uh, the, the solution that he has. Uh, yeah, I was, I was, I was on board, um, you know? Any way to kind of help out the community, any way to really, uh, really put, put these, put these kind of problems, uh, or push these things forward. Happy to help.