Listen to this articleZefflin is a purely software and services startup focused on integrating best of breed technologies that minimize the cost of implementing automation and private cloud solutions for its customers. Below is our interview with Sam Melehy, CEO of Zefflin:
Q: Zefflin is a systems integration company, what’s your core competence?
A: Our core competence is in integration of leading automation technologies to enable our customers to run their data centers with minimal staff. Our solutions are of two types. First is a cloud readiness assessment. This enables our customers to gain a solid understanding of their current processes and environment and how it relates to their ability to achieve a fully automated operation. After analyzing the environment, we provide a short, medium and long term private cloud roadmap, showing investment and expected return along each milestone. The second type of solution is consulting and integration services focused on the key operational processes required by private cloud: request/catalog, approvals, chargeback, provisioning of operating system, storage, database, application and network, post provisioning governance and compliance. By focusing exclusively on these processes, we can enable IT operations to increase speed of delivery and agility while dropping operational costs through enhanced productivity of existing staff.
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Q: Tell us how you founded the company and something more about your startup background?
A: I see a tremendous opportunity in data center automation and private cloud. IDC reports it as $3.4B with 9% annual growth rate for the next five years for software alone. With the maturity of automation software, it is now not an option, but a requirement that IT organizations invest in some level of automation. I have a long history in the technology services industry and have built and run technology solutions organizations for 21 years now. My startup background goes back to 2002, when I started a systems integrator called JCube. We grew rapidly in 4 years and I sold it to a larger systems integrator, Pepperweed in 2006. While at Pepperweed, I participated in a management buy-out of the company where I became a major shareholder. When the time was right, we developed an industry roll-up plan in the HP software integration space and pitched it to private equity companies and strategic acquirers. We sold Pepperweed to Avnet, a Fortune 109 company in 2012.
Q: How does Zefflin differ from other systems integration companies?
A: We are different because we are looking at this from the point of view of solving our customers’ problems. We are a purely software and services company focused on integrating best of breed technologies that minimize the cost of implementing automation and private cloud solutions for our customers. For example, many of our customers have VMWare orchestration tool through an ELA or previous purchase. This can be used in a complementary way with OpenStack components to automate processes without the customer having to purchase new software.
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Q: Who is your ideal customer?
A: Fortune 1,000 customers who are faced with shrinking or flat IT budgets combined with the need to satisfy business users and give them a secure alternative to public cloud options.
Q: What can we expect from you in 2015? What are your plans?
A: We will be going to market with both direct and indirect channels in 2015. You can expect to see us sign strategic partnerships with VARS around the county as well as establish ourselves with some high profile projects. We will ramp up our ability to deliver affordable automation and private cloud solutions to our customers and partners.
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