Every business with a presence in the cloud is going to pursue projects that are clearly defined, with roadmaps, deliverables, milestones, and a deployment to show for it in the end. But technology is moving so quickly and in so many directions that it behooves organizations that want to stay ahead in their industry to tap the ongoing expertise of cloud managed services to tackle the unexpected. At SADA, Flex Services sets the standard for managed service expertise.
For instance, the Flex team recently achieved a significant 85% reduction in BigQuery slot usage for Madhive, cutting down costs without compromising client performance—an optimization that not only mitigated cost increase risks but also ensured that current BigQuery expenses are lower than the previous year. Similarly, for Tailored Brands, the team improved GCP tagging coverage from 49% to 92%, enhancing cost allocation accuracy and resource utilization, which opens up potential for substantial cost reductions.
SADA Flex Services are designed to adapt, pivot, and focus on value over the long term beyond single solutions. No one at SADA understands the value of having an empathetic champion better than Director, Flex Managed Services Pashtoun Youssof, whose day-to-day involves providing customers with greater value, lower costs, and expanded opportunities on Google Cloud. We sat down with Pashtoun to check in on how SADA Flex Services are helping customers fulfill the promise of GenAI, the program’s upcoming presence at SADA Ground School and more.
An introduction to cloud managed services
Hi, Pashtoun! Let’s start off with an introduction to this program. How does SADA Flex Services support businesses in managing and optimizing their cloud costs?
Maximizing your cloud spend means getting the most out of your technology stack without being distracted by bells and whistles. SADA Flex Services works with a customer-for-life mindset, meaning you’re not going to get upsold on products you don’t really need. The way we look at it, the more you can spend on your organization’s core mission, the better. Cutting costs wherever possible is always top of mind.
Once we’re aligned on our customers’ priorities, we’re able to both provide support to core business activities, and also start introducing new possibilities for solutions in the cloud. That’s where it gets really exciting. It’s about helping organizations get even better at the things they’re good at, and becoming really good at things they weren’t even imagining a short time ago.
SADA Flex Services at Ground School 2024
SADA Flex Services are going to be one of the subjects featured at SADA Ground School, the complementary cloud innovation symposium coming up September 12 (with a keynote by Ryan Reynolds!). What can you tell us about how Flex Services will be represented at this event?
Yes, we’re ready to make a splash at Ground School! If you’re at all curious about what SADA Flex Services can do for your business, I encourage you to attend two Ground School sessions in particular.
The first session you won’t want to miss is with our partner Madhive. Madhive’s super impressive infrastructure-as-a-service enterprise software powers a lot of the media we all enjoy. In our Ground School session, you’ll hear about how the Flex team worked closely with Madhive to achieve an 85% reduction in BigQuery slot usage, a move that not only dramatically cut costs but also maintained peak performance levels across their systems. This optimization ensured that Madhive’s BigQuery expenses are now lower than the previous year, directly contributing to the company’s bottom line by freeing up budget for other strategic initiatives. Additionally, by implementing auto-scaling during non-peak hours, Flex further optimized Madhive’s resource utilization, reinforcing a culture of cost-efficiency and operational excellence. This session will feature Elan Ashendorf, Software Engineer and Neil Arlo, Principal Engineer, both from Madhive, in conversation with SADA Senior Solutions Architect Ramon Kidd, offering deep insights into how these outcomes were achieved and the impact they’ve had on Madhive’s business strategy.
Another session I’m looking forward to is the one with Tailored Brands, a major player in the retail industry. Here, you’ll learn how Flex Services helped Tailored Brands improve their GCP tagging coverage from 49% to 92%, which significantly enhanced their cost allocation accuracy and resource utilization. This improvement wasn’t just about better reporting; it enabled Tailored Brands to identify underutilized resources and take action to rightsize them, leading to potential cost savings and more strategic use of their cloud infrastructure. Beyond cost management, the Flex team made significant strides in Tailored Brands’ security operations, which played a pivotal role in accelerating their business velocity. By enforcing security best practices across all GCP projects, Tailored Brands significantly reduced the risk of unauthorized infrastructure changes and minimized privilege escalation risks. Adding automated scanning bolstered their security posture without slowing down their operations, empowering Tailored Brands to increase their development and deployment velocity without compromising safety. This one will be led by SADA’s own Fabian Duarte, Director, Associate CTOs and Rajesh Gajula, Sr. Director, Infrastructure Engineering & Operations, Tailored Brands, where they’ll discuss the importance of maintaining a continuous, mutually beneficial service relationship between provider and customer.
Empathetic champions supporting cloud transformation
Can you explain the core mission of SADA Flex Services and how it’s different from other professional and managed services in the cloud industry?
When it comes to tech, we all have a learning curve. SADA Flex Services starts with a core of understanding your business challenges and filling in the gaps of your knowledge, with an eye toward expanding the realm of the possible. Your Flex Services experts are empathetic champions who understand your core mission and what it takes to achieve it.
Cloud managed services and AI
How does AI fit into Flex services?
AI, particularly generative AI, has been the biggest story in tech going on a year now. We’re quickly moving beyond the experimental phase into a time when use cases and custom solutions are ready to launch. SADA Flex Services works closely with experts at SADA who have been deep in the weeds of everything AI has to offer.
Google’s Gemini for Workspace is one example of how these powerful new tools are becoming more and more relevant to the day to day tasks you want to achieve. Settling on the right strategy means figuring out how GenAI fits into the rest of your tech stack. Do you plan to incorporate GenAI into your customer-facing apps? Are you looking to empower your marketing and sales teams with Gemini, or your development teams with Vertex? We can definitely help you navigate the lay of the land when it comes to AI and figure out how it can best support your core mission.
Cloud security and managed services
What role does FLEX Services play in ensuring cloud security and compliance for its customers?
The thing to keep in mind about cloud security is that threats don’t stop evolving. We all wish that weren’t the case, but the truth is that bad actors can innovate, too. The name of the game is staying one step ahead of them. Flex Services is built to engage your business on an ongoing, long-term basis. Having Flex in your corner means we’ll pass along the latest intelligence on evolving attack vectors and cyberthreats before they even become a problem. Think of Flex Services as an ally to your security team, constantly keeping an eye on the horizon, tipping you off to new security solutions and making sure you stay apprised of tomorrow’s disruptive cybersecurity threats.
In what ways does FLEX Services contribute to a business’s overall digital transformation strategy beyond just cloud adoption?
Once you get to the cloud, it takes a moment to absorb the power of the platforms that are available to you. This starts with getting a handle on the features that are built into Google Cloud. Maybe you’re working with a hybrid or multicloud environment–no problem. There are methodologies that we’re happy to share that will help optimize that environment for you.
Another area you’ll want to consider are the plethora of third-party solutions that may be specific to your industry or mission that become available, for example through Google Cloud Marketplace. You can think of SADA’s partners as a sort of team of superheroes who’ve developed platforms and applications that augment, streamline, and enhance your business processes. Your Flex Services expert can help orient you to the innovations that are readily available to you now that you’ve embraced Google Cloud.
Getting started with SADA Flex Services
How can businesses get started with FLEX Services, and what should they expect during the initial engagement phase?
Get started by giving us a call! You should expect to answer a lot of questions about your most ambitious business outcomes, your core values, and the things you do best. SADA Flex Services leads with empathy, and you should expect to quickly get to know your SADA experts on a first-name basis. Expect us to gush about the coolest technologies that are hitting the cloud. We’re nerds that way, it’s true. And don’t forget that SADA’s complementary Ground School is a great way to learn about Flex Services, and so much more.
