BizXPro is a free online tool that we’re launching that allows businesses to automate their request to qualified providers for quotes for IT projects. In a few simple steps, they’re matched with providers who can address their needs and budget. Business users are in control of selecting which providers they’d like a call back from, with full transparency in the process.
Normally, people have to sift through the internet for hours to figure out which company could address their requirements, and even then it’s hard to figure out if the company can meet their pricing philosophy. So that’s the type of transparency we’re looking to provide with this tool. It will help everyone avoid frustration.
After high school, I took the financial services diploma program at Centennial College. I had hopes of becoming a certified financial planner but sidetracked by my involvement in student politics. I wound up starting my career at Bell. The diploma program was nice from a foundational standpoint, but I understood the importance of continuing my education.
I was working at Cogeco, and one of the folks in the marketing department there mentioned that the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies was starting a cloud computing program. Cloud computing is the ability to access server resources on demand. It allows you to do things as your needs require.
I was working in the Information and Communications Technology sector, and there was a big push in my industry to provide value-added services for our business clients. I and my business partner, Judy Escobar, understood the importance of cloud computing and what it meant for us as sales professionals. I knew from a career standpoint it was critical to have a deeper understanding of it in order to have more meaningful conversations with executives.
Tanja-Tiziana
We both enrolled in the program in 2014. The three-course certificate program wasn’t too long or too short.
The most significant thing Judy and I learned in terms of launching BizXPro involved understanding the underlying infrastructures I could be leveraging. In the course, you learn the three types of cloud computing models: infrastructure as a service, platform as a service and software as a service. I had a deeper understanding of platform as a service, specifically. Developers gravitate toward that model because it’s so much easier to work with.
The program has three parts. The first course helped provide good foundation in terms of understanding some key terms. For folks that are new to the industry and don’t have a great understanding of computing models and how they work in different scenarios, it gave that context. The second course went deeper into financial metrics, what cloud computing means to the business community and how technology projects can be sold on the business side. The third course was hands-on learning.
This program is well suited for someone within the sales community because it really does ramp up the knowledge base you need. You learn to speak the language at an executive level. For people who want to learn more about technology and cloud services, it really gives you deep knowledge of what is involved.
When I was starting the company, one of the things we had to do was bootstrap our operations, which means we self-funded. But having been in sales previously, it was important for me to make some closing deals, make more commissions, make sure I was successful in my current job and parlay my way into this new venture. I was able to sell so many more solutions and do it faster because of this course.
The program was pivotal in my life and in the life of my business partner. She and I have been friends for many years, but we’ve also worked together at arm’s length. We’d never had an opportunity to work together in such an intense manner. Not only did the program open our eyes to the right computing model, it showed us how well we worked together and became the catalyst for launching the company.
Where to study: Continuing Education
