Maven Wave Partners

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

G6 Hospitality is the management and franchisor for Motel 6, Studio 6, Hotel 6, and Estudio 6 brands. We are primarily in the U.S., but we have a group of about 70 properties in Canada, and expect to activate operations in Latin America, Mexico, and India in the next 3–4 months.

I’m VP of e-commerce and digital marketing. I’m responsible for a team at the Carrollton corporate offices. We are responsible for 1,300 properties, including their revenue, positioning, and distribution on proprietaries; our websites; and third-party sites. These include major online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com, as well as meta sites, affiliate sites, and global distribution systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Maven Wave Partners?

We use Google Maps across many of our websites to help our users navigate and see our openings. We were already using the product and had it implemented, but our partners for this service were acquired. We moved to Maven Wave Partners to help in the ongoing management of the Google Maps features. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assist us with our contracting with Google Maps. There isn’t a lot of implementation, because we were already on the product when Google Maps moved our services to Maven.

They advise and consult with us on what level of software to purchase, how many calls we’re going to have for the maps, and the different types of map services to buy for our proprietary websites. They point out ways that we can use map services more efficiently and give our customers a better experience.

We bought a level of service that covers any special needs that might come up, as well as troubleshooting.

How did you come to work with Maven?

I was working with a company through Cloud Sherpas, which was sold to Accenture. Earlier this year, Google Maps informed me that they were no longer going to be working with Accenture for servicing their clients and that they were assigning me to Maven.

I was not familiar with them, but I had worked with Shel [Senior Principal, Maven Wave Partners] at Cloud Sherpas. I was delighted to learn that he was also going to work for Maven, because he had been great. We transferred over to them, and at the same time did a new contract with them and Google Maps for services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We are seeing efficiency in usage of the maps, so much so that we may have a lot of usage left over. We have a call set up in the near future to talk about strategies for how to use the surplus. They will be advising us on testing our sites to obtain a better guest experience as they search destinations.

How did Maven perform from a project management standpoint?

They do very well. We had lots of conversations in the first and second quarter regarding moving over. We never had difficulty getting in touch with Marc [Principal, Maven Wave Partners] or Shel or any of the team to make sure everything was done and the contracts were moving along.

They’ve been very responsive. We’re happy with their consultative style and the way they stay in touch. They consistently advise us, provide reporting, and keep track of our level of usage. They provide creative solutions for improving how our sites use Google Maps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I liked the most about Maven compared to Accenture is the wealth of knowledge throughout their organization. Everyone I’ve talked to is very knowledgeable—it’s almost like talking to Google directly. I have confidence that I can get things done through them. I can get the answers I need without a confusing discussion about what Google is and how it functions.

Their responsiveness is commendable. I’ve never had to escalate anything. I receive answers quickly, and if we have a troubleshooting issue, they resolve it immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. Some people might like meetings or a quarterly review, but I don’t think this type of project necessitates that. We have a peak season, after which it’s good to reflect on what we’ve done, what we can do better, and what we are going to do with our leftover calls. Shel and Marc come to the table and give us suggestions. I don’t know what I would change about our process.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a brief overview of what your company does?

We operate parking facilities and transportation opportunities throughout North America. We’ve recently merged with our largest competitor. We manage nearly 4,400 locations in total. We’re really an outsourced parking and transportation provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main goal or objective going into the project with Maven Wave?

We were looking at whether or not we needed to upgrade our email system. We using an old version of Exchange and we were considering various options going forward in terms of either upgrading Exchange or transitioning to something like the Google Platform. After discussions with Google and Maven Wave, we decided that this was the right platform for us to facilitate collaboration and communication across our organization, which is quite scattered geographically.

How did you originally discover and choose to work with Maven Wave?

Google recommended Maven Wave to us directly based on our headquarters being located out of Chicago. We did look around a little bit as well, but felt that we had a good initial working relationship with them and decided to go down the path.

SOLUTION

Could you tell me a little more about the project itself?

We started probably the better part of two years ago, and went through an extended pilot – more so from our side. Maven Wave helped us organize a group of approximately 50 people. We took that through what we considered to be a pilot. We had those 50 people living on the platform for probably over a year, more so from us going back and forth on what we wanted to evaluate, and how we wanted to make the decision.

Once we did reach the decision to go ahead and move to the platform, that’s when Maven Wave’s work began in earnest. They took us through all the preparation work for planning for the impending integration and/or conversion, did all the background work of getting the information from us in terms of what we needed to bring over, then setup the platform itself for us to execute the conversion, and migrated all the data for us as we went through the actual conversion process. At that time we migrated 1,800 users in the first batch. That was the standard parking at the time. Then, we went through a merger in the fall of last year and successfully migrated another 2,000 users in a second wave with Maven Wave.

How long ago was the most recent batch completed?

We did that conversion in January of this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How satisfied are you with the work that Maven Wave did?

Extremely satisfied. It was one of the most straightforward and trouble-free implementations I’ve seen in the IT area.

Is there anything that you noticed as being unique or special about Maven Wave compared to other IT vendors that you’ve worked with?

The particular depth of knowledge of the platform that they possessed and the specific individuals that we had on our team were both extraordinary. Going through the second deployment, the project management was clearer and evident, and the value of that was much more directly beneficial to us. Really, I would say, what sets Maven Wave apart from my perspective is they’ve got a very close-touch model with their clients. We can get to them easily, and they’re thinking about how to help us take advantage of the platform from a business perspective, not solely an IT perspective.

Looking back on the work they did, is there anything that you would do differently a second time around or think they can improve upon?

I mentioned they added more dedicated project management resources on our second deployment, and that was definitely a positive addition from what we went through the first time. Not that it didn’t go well, but it certainly helped to have more dedicated project management resources as we progressed through the second time. Other than that, we were effectively following the same strategy. Based on how well it went the first time, it was an easy thing to go through it again the second time. We had far less to worry about. You look at it and you realize that you have to convert all of the users simultaneously; it becomes a very stressful situation. They’ve got the process down. It was architected very well. Once you’ve gone through it, you realize it isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main goal or objective for undertaking the project?

We migrated roughly 200 of our salespeople from one email platform to Google Applications for business. Maven Wave was responsible for helping us identify the process, fulfilling the business requirements, managing of the provisions, and the credentials to transfer the agents to the new Google applications.

What was the main reason for migrating to Google Apps?

The contract negotiation with our existing email service provider had expired. We were then looking for new options. Our existing partner wished decommission the server that they hosted for our piece of business. That left us with no other option other than search for a new service.

SOLUTION

What was your process for discovering and choosing Maven Wave to work with?

They were on a top supplier/consultant provider list that our Google sales representative recommended.

How long ago was the project completed?

Less than a month ago. We had an extremely critical deadline, and very little time to work, because by the time we had all the information of the end-of-life process from our current supplier, we had literally no time to create the plan, the communication, the training, the process, and the positioning to make the transition. I mean, it was less than a 30-day turnaround. The situation is not recommended for any other customers, but now we have the best methods in order to accomplish the task.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Considering the time restraints, how do you think Maven Wave performed?

Beyond expectations, exceeded expectations, and outstanding. I would recommend this company and – I worked directly with the leaders of the company, people that were assigned to our account and our project. I have already recommended them and referred them to other segments within our company. They were tremendous.

When you’re working with them, is there anything that stood out as being unique or special compared to other developers or vendors that you’ve worked with?

They have an outstanding communication approach. They’ve got a knack for savvy explanations of highly complex, critical tasks. I am dealing with customers and sales managers from five different geographies whose English is their second language, and never once did they have any issues understanding, like translating what Maven Wave was trying to explain to them.

Looking back on the project, is there anything that you would do differently a second time around, or think they can improve upon?

You know, I prepared for that question because I assumed that it might come up. Honestly, I don’t know if we were a special case because we had a critical task. I don’t know if this team of four superstars would be assigned to any other customer. It felt like we were granted extra special treatment. My question would be: if one of my other business partners approached them with a similar situation, would they get that same kind of expertise from this topnotch team? But I mean, even the handoff, one of our critical project managers was going on vacation, I was traveling on business overseas, those handoffs were as seamless as it could be. I’m assuming it was perfect all the way around. We didn’t miss a beat. We did have to overcome time zone challenges; the fact that people weren’t where they were supposed to be sometimes. Then again, we also brought in a third party to help us in support. But even at its worst, it was still a positive experience. I can’t think of anything that I would improve other than really giving them the amount of time that they really require to migrate a small group like this.