We recently caught up with Mr. Chris Kay, CEO of INTEGWARE, to discuss the unexpected challenges his firm faces as a provider of PLM (product lifecycle management) solutions for the life sciences industry. Keep reading to find out more about Mr. Kay, INTEGWARE, and the special approach required to succeed in this kind of business.
Not everyone is familiar with INTEGWARE or the idea of PLM solutions. How would you describe your company and the services it provides to the life sciences industry?
Chris Kay: PLM is a solutions and services provider for the life sciences industry. We enable our customers to improve patient outcomes (develop safer products, higher quality, faster time-to-market, lower cost and improved margins).
That sounds like an important service, but it also sounds like something that comes with its own set of unique challenges. What have you found most challenging about running your own business and providing PLM solutions to something as big as the life sciences industry?
CK: Ambiguity and timing. You can have anything come at you from any angle (good and bad – and we’ve had both), justified or not, but you have to deal with it. That builds persistence, resilience and courage (our 2nd core value). Timing – you can have a great idea and execution, but if the timing is bad in the marketplace (as it was for us from mid-2010 – 2012), then you can still go out of business. The converse is also true.
Even with the challenges you face, you seem poised to overcome them and move ahead as a successful business in the future. What are your plans going forward? Where do you see your company in the next five or ten years?
CK: We have a unique value proposition in the marketplace. That’s both good and bad. It takes time to explain what it is, but when customers “get it,” they love it. Once it fully catches on, we have the chance to be a very large (8-9 figure) business.
Chris Kay is the CEO of INTEGWARE, a product lifecycle management firm that specializes in bringing better products and patient results to the life sciences industry. For more information on INTEGWARE and the services the company offers, visit online at www.integware.com, or call 970.225.0754. Local parties interested in learning more about the company can find INTEGWARE at 1001 E. Harmony Rd., Suite A-414, Fort Collins, CO 80525.
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Product lifecycle management process, Plm solution, Plm implementation plan, Product development life cycle, Plm training, What is plm.