🔒 Note on confidentiality

Disclaimer
The data and company information in this case study have been anonymized to protect sensitive business details.
The problem-solving approach, methodologies, strategic decisions and resulting percentage improvements accurately reflect the project's success.

Building a Global Enablement Ecosystem for Industrial IoT

Role: Technical Evangelist & Education Architect
Domain: Industrial Automation & Remote Connectivity
Timeline: 2014-2020

Bridging the IT/OT Skills Gap in Industrial Automation

A pioneering industrial connectivity company faced a critical adoption barrier: their advanced remote access solutions required networking expertise that most factory engineers and maintenance teams lacked. This resulted in:

  • Extended Deployment Cycles: 60+ days for basic implementation due to technical complexity
  • Underutilized Platform Capabilities: Customers used only 20-30% of available features
  • Global Support Strain: Repeated basic configuration issues across different regions and industries
  • Slowed Market Penetration: Lengthy sales cycles as prospects hesitated due to perceived complexity

Creating an Industrial Education Movement

I developed a comprehensive enablement strategy that treated customer education as a core product feature:

Multi-Layer Learning Architecture
  • Designed role-specific certification tracks for field system integrators, partners and sales collaborators.
  • Created industry-specific implementation blueprints for manufacturing, energy, and infrastructure sectors
  • Developed localized training materials accounting for regional technical standards and language needs
Practical, Hands-On Enablement
  • Built virtual lab environments simulating real-world industrial networks for risk-free practice
  • Produced video libraries demonstrating everything from basic setup to advanced API integration
  • Authored "solution cookbooks" with proven configurations for common industrial applications
Engagement-Driven Platform Experience

  • Established global user forums facilitating peer-to-peer troubleshooting and best practices

  • Launched customer success story programs showcasing real-world implementations

  • Developed partner certification tracks to build a qualified implementation network

Transforming Customer Capabilities at Scale

The enablement ecosystem drove unprecedented adoption and customer success:

500+
Industrial Professionals Certified
across 156 countries, creating a large community
of industrial connectivity experts
70%
Faster Implementation
reducing typical deployment time
from 60+ days to under 3 weeks
50%
Advanced Feature Adoption
as customers gained confidence
to utilize full platform capabilities
Testimonials related to this project
"I had the chance to work with Nicola at XYZ for many years, though we were in different departments. He always brought clear thinking and thoughtful ideas that made working across teams easy and focused. Nicola has a way of keeping the big picture in mind, whether it’s product strategy or handling challenges.

He’s calm and easy to approach and helps everyone stay on track and motivated, even when things get tough. I’d happily recommend Nicola to anyone looking for a steady, confident leader who gets things done!!"

— Moses M.  Former [National Sales Manager] Source: LinkedIn

LET'S MEET AND TALK

Download my CV
Send me an email
Connect on LinkedIn