Back during VMware Explore 2023 US, ControlUp made an announcement that it had hired a new CEO, Jed Ayres. Ayres brings to ControlUp a vast experience in leading multinational software organizations, successfully executing strong organic and inorganic growth strategies, building groundbreaking leadership teams, executing on strong partnership and expanding internationally.
VMblog has a long history with Ayres, and was immediately excited upon the announcement to see what would happen next at ControlUp, a company already on the fast track in the Digital Employee Experience (DEX) market.
To learn more, VMblog reached out to Jed Ayres to explore things further.
VMblog: Why did you decide to join ControlUp as its new CEO? What was it that brought you there?
Jed Ayres: Throughout my years in the end-user computing industry, I have been watching the opportunity at ControlUp grow dramatically. Asaf Ganot and his incredible ControlUp team have developed a fantastic solution at the core of the most essential element of end-user computing (EUC) – digital employee experience (DEX). As we embark on a new era of work – where the hybrid and remote-first workplace is paramount – empowering a delightful work-from-anywhere experience is a top IT priority. The ControlUp vision capitalized on this fact early on and has since developed the benchmark for an exploding DEX market category.
I saw the powerhouse potential of ControlUp and wanted to be part of its future. There is a genuinely huge growth opportunity here with a multi-billion-dollar valuation potential. It is the secret sauce for IT teams that want to build employee confidence, empower productivity, and accelerate employee engagement. By helping IT get to resolutions faster and lowering overall computing costs at the endpoint, ControlUp is the key to making the work-from-anywhere paradigm work.
VMblog: What is your take on the current state of the digital employee experience management (DEX) market?
Ayres: The DEX market has genuinely met its moment. Digital experience has become central to every business success metric with hybrid work now the corporate default. There is a direct correlation between employees’ digital experience and business performance and productivity. It’s proven that digital workers are more productive and inspired when they are more engaged, innovative, collaborative, and happy. When IT can efficiently deliver this highly productive experience and wrap it with security and reliability, it creates significant business value that genuinely impacts the bottom line.
VMblog: The elephant in the room is what’s going to happen with VMware after the Broadcom acquisition. What message does ControlUp have for existing VMware users as it relates to any potential fears they might have?
Ayres: ControlUp has a deep commercial and tactical partnership with VMware. We continue to invest in the technical telemetry that enhances the VMware Workspace ONE and VMware Horizon suite. You will see us run towards this market opportunity like never before. We believe these VMware solutions are world class and we are doubling down on our investment there.
ControlUp has one of the most technically and commercially integrated solutions for VMware, with hundreds of customers and millions in annual recurring revenue attached to it. No matter who is ultimately the owner of VMware, it will remain a leading solution for end-user computing, and you will see ControlUp alongside it to optimize the digital experiences it delivers.
It’s also worth noting, however, that VMware is not the only environment ControlUp will be doubling down on. We will continue to drive innovation and enhanced capabilities for users of Citrix, Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and more as we further our mission to enhance the digital experience of any app, on any desktop, anywhere.
VMblog: What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing ControlUp in the next few years?
Ayres: Over the course of the next few years, the opportunities I see for ControlUp are three-fold: accelerate our go-to-market strategy, penetrate global markets, and listen and act on customer input. Our challenge is to make the most of these three areas. How do I seek to achieve this…?
- Optimize our sales model. ControlUp has built a fantastic business that has primarily been product-led. I will salt that formula with a world-class enterprise selling team and massive investments in the channel. This will see us double the amount of business going through the channel in the next year alone. Adding to that will be increased focus and tighter integration with key alliance partners, including Citrix, VMware, Microsoft, and ServiceNow, as well as significant endpoint hardware players. This will amplify our reach and activate a diverse go-to-market strategy that reaches the market more efficiently.
- Increase our global presence. The need for DEX is indeed a global one. We will quickly ramp up our market presence throughout EMEA and APAC while deepening our penetration in North America. By investing in growing our sales resources, channel partnerships, and marketing campaigns globally, we will drive exponential opportunities worldwide to power the ControlUp growth model.
- Advocate for our customers. I firmly believe that customers should be at the core of everything we do. Our opportunity unfolds faster if we can accelerate customer value and let the customer’s voice guide our innovation and priorities. We’ll do this through an intense focus on customer advocacy. By investing in programs that encourage greater customer input and feedback, we’ll be able to deliver the DEX solutions and capabilities customers want with greater speed and affinity.
VMblog: How do you see ControlUp’s technology differentiating itself from the competition?
Ayres: The top way ControlUp differentiates itself from the competition is innovation. The company has proven to be at the leading edge of the DEX industry with each inspired product release. And even while setting the benchmark for the industry, ControlUp is also praised for delivering the industry’s fastest time-to-value. With ControlUp, IT is up and running in just minutes so that they may almost immediately deliver better employee experiences while lowering overall endpoint computing costs.
VMblog: What are some of the most exciting new features or capabilities that ControlUp is working on?
Ayres: Our incredible ControlUp development team is working away on new innovations that will again lead the market. Upcoming features include deeper integrations with endpoint management solutions such as Microsoft Intune, greater visibility and optimization of web applications, and rich features for improved endpoint security and compliance and optimizations using advanced AI. In addition, new integrations with vendors such as ServiceNow as well as SaaS monitoring and security solutions are now being tested to provide customers with expanded monitoring, troubleshooting and remediation offerings.
VMblog: What is your vision for ControlUp’s future?
Ayres: ControlUp is in a perfect position to get to a multi-billion-dollar valuation in record time. We are at the perfect confluence of having the right technology, people, resources, and market opportunity to make a software play that will be demanded by customers and revered by the investment community. With flawless execution, we will be unstoppable.
VMblog: What advice would you give to other aspiring CEOs?
Ayres: My advice for other CEOs is to always remain humble and work to empower employees and teams with the support and resources they need to be amazing. Hire the best people and give them what they need to succeed. I also advise staying very close to your customers and partners. Keep your ear to the ground to remain valuable to your customers’ priorities, and you’ll always have a seat at the table.
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