IT Life: The Web Analytics CEO Who Wanted To Fly

Daniel Weisbeck, CEO of Netbiscuits, has more than 20 years of international technology marketing experience in senior roles. Most recently, I was appointed CEO of Netbiscuits, stepping up from the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Previously I served as vice president of marketing for the EMEA region at Polycom. Other roles have involved helping to build the strategic vision of new and existing business for companies such as Corel, VisionTe and 3dfx.

What has been your favourite project so far?

The next project always seems to be the one which inspires the most passion and drive. Moving into the CEO hotseat is hugely exciting for me as we prepare to launch new marketing features in our Mobile Analytics tool. Being able to talk to marketers, and actually developing a product that solves their mobile customer challenges while helping the web evolve into personalised and more valuable experiences for everyone is why I am in this business and what gets me up every morning.

What tech were you involved with ten years ago?

Time flies, but a decade ago I was challenging Adobe in the software stakes as an executive at Corel. We were a challenger brand delivering cool photo, design and video editing products to marketing folk. They were great products with a lot of very loyal customers. Here I am ten years later and we’re in the same business as Adobe, again, delivering great tools for marketers that are dead simple to set up and use helping them deliver better mobile marketing.

What tech do you expect to be using in ten years’ time?

I think we’re at the curve of another wave of really exciting innovation, especially in the mobile world. Look at the internet of things and the way connected devices are set to burst into the mainstream. Then there are bound to be hugely innovative technologies, such as augmented reality and immersive tech which will enhance the way consumer’s engage with content. I don’t see the mobile device disappearing, as I believe it is a central component for many of these elements. Its form factor will undoubtedly change, but consumers will continue to augment new tech with mobile devices to live their lives.

Who’s your tech hero?

The consumer. They are now in the driver seat for tech innovation pushing us software vendors to adapt quickly.

Who’s your tech villain?

Government over regulation of technology. We need some safety measures in place but people who make laws should be the tech innovators who have a positive vision for technology.

What’s your favourite technology ever made?

There are too many to list. I love anything that simplifies my life and is equally entertaining. I still game, I connect with my family on social media, I buy the latest mobile phone as soon as it comes out and I get to build cool software at work.

Apart from your own, which company do you admire most and why?

I admire disruptive startups. Anyone who can come in and knock the big guys over with something simple. They way technology should be.

What’s the greatest challenge for an IT company/department today?

Engineers, without a doubt. There are not enough of them and even less really good ones. Big vendors like Google and Facebook are hoovering up the talent. Governments and schools need to do more to get kids interesting in engineering at a very young age to help bridge the skills gap.

To Cloud or not to Cloud?

There are always going to be instances where for legislative purposes or just from pure IT paranoia that some businesses feel more comfortable keeping data on premise – that’s
understandable. Yet, we look at the huge benefits to businesses in terms of cost, flexibility and scalability and its clear to see why certain sectors, specifically marketing, have turned to the cloud in their droves because it is simply a more efficient and cost effective way of managing technology. Cloud also allows companies to focus resources on their own product and not on building IT departments to run the company. This is a huge enabler of growth. At Netbiscuits, we’re constantly thinking about new features and tools that will benefit our customers; being able to roll these out via the cloud is beneficial to everyone and is one less thing marketers need to depend on IT for.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

A superhero that could fly, which would still be pretty cool now I’m CEO.

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