Today’s Featured BizSpark Startup is LIA from San Diego, California, USA
David Warren, CEO of LIA, explains how Microsoft is part of his company’s foundation of success.
LIA is a cross-platform mobile app that helps sales and marketing teams work better together by delivering the right content at the right time to outside reps.
“What makes LIA exciting is that it publishes curated content out to mobile devices and captures analytics in real-time,” says David Warren, CEO and Founder. “Corporate marketing teams can easily see what’s happening in the field, track the response for the sales rep and immediately push updated content out.”
For example, a medical supply company sales representative could spend five minutes in front of a very busy doctor, get a response of ‘Great, I’m interested!’ and send traceable follow up material right on the spot. This replaces the old method of the rep returning to the office, finding the document, recreating the context of the meeting in an email, and then hoping the doctor is still interested.
LIA tracks what the doctor does with the information: Perhaps he spent the most time reading about titanium screws the medical company provides. The sales rep and marketing teams sees those analytics and promotes a more sophisticated follow up with the doctor with more details about titanium screws.
“Providing the content directly into their hands through smart devices means that sales people are always ready at the point of opportunity,” says Warren. “And marketing is always at the top of its game.”
A BizSpark member, LIA has taken advantage of the software and tools the program provides free of charge. The combination of Microsoft Office products, Windows 8 and Microsoft Azure allows the company to work worldwide quickly, accurately and securely.
Warren says the native Windows 8 app has been a crucial differentiator for his company because it’s used in millions of businesses around the world.
“It’s very important that our app be straightforward and powerful,” says Warren. “Windows 8 does that for us. It offers a great consumer experience married with enterprise rigor around compliance. With our Windows 8 app, LIA puts it all together in a way that delights the customer.”
In Warren’s estimation, using Microsoft Azure has been a smart move as well. The open architecture of Azure’s platform as a service supports integration with legacy applications and interoperability with on-site systems.
“Azure is a great platform for us because we deal with large companies that have field reps around the world,” explains Warren. “Whether someone is based in Brazil or Nigeria, Azure gives us the confidence that we can serve a worldwide user base.”
“We have found a great blend in the Microsoft ecosystem,” he adds. “It’s a rigorous environment for enterprise deployment with helpful people on the inside ready to make success happen for you.”