StartUs Presents: IMT Cloud

Describe IMT Cloud in 50 words or less.

IMT is a platform which allows management and interaction among bunches of technologies and both open source and private software applications. It design eases a non-stop software adding, thus helping to both reduce integration costs and optimize its distribution.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

Years ago, I closed a stage of my professional path, in which I had the chance to work with and learn from high level professionals with a great understanding of Linux. However the company was closed down due to economic reasons. I started searching for a new job but I did not find the right company to work in nor the appropriated environment to develop my professional concerns. At that point It was frustrating thinking of all the effort and energy I had already put on top of the table and I felt I deserved better opportunities to develop my career and where to apply all gained expertise. This is why I decided to launch IMT as a company and to develop IMTCloud.

7 years from now: How did your startup change the world?

I foresee a scenario where anyone can download from the cloud a system like ours. A future in which hundreds of ready-to-use technologies and applications will be available and easy to run, including either existing software or new ones.

Developers will have the chance to upload their software to this networking platform and could take advantage of sharing anyone else’s contribution and benefit from the wide range of functionalities available. They will be able to interact either within the cloud, locally or even communicating with other open shared or private systems, thus generating a “Hybrid Cloud”.

The clue will be to control and centralize any type of networking software, getting a quick deployment and control of it. This way new software will be easily spread and known, as it happens nowadays with the mobile apps. Quick spreading is crucial in a market in which obsolescence always plays against us.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

In my opinion “Success” is to see that a project in which I believe in and I have dedicated years of tough work finally sees the light and is commonly used and accepted. Success lays in making ideas to come real, and what is even better that your idea promotes other ideas behind to also come real. But a project need resources to be born, and when those resources are very limited, open source software is an excellent path to achieve project’s success. IMT is conceived a powerful networking system to aim a quick deployment and use of third’s software. The key issue is to bring together everything with everything in a perfect, practical, recognized and useful harmony.

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

Sometimes I work in our office, sometimes I do it remotely from home or travelling, as it happens to the majority of nowadays professionals. No matter where you are, you only need to be connected, everything is in the cloud. I organize every working day agenda and duties with enough advance to have everything running smoothly, again the key is to have a good synchronizing system and delegate accordingly, either technical or commercially speaking. First time in the morning I check and answer emails and messages, then I have a briefing – and assist if needed – with all technical staff to make sure services and solutions will be provided on time. Later on I get in contact directly with some clients that may be cooperating in adding or suggesting potential improvements to discuss and agree on them. And of course I do an important task of approaching potential clients to analyze how we can help them in solving their ITC issues and thus let them focus on their core business. Late in the afternoon I focus much more in improving programming tasks as well as internal aspects of the company, marketing and commercial actions, etc.

Already pivoted? Did customers use the software ecosystem like you imagined it in the beginning?

Our customers know that they have access to a whole range of functionalities, available in various networking products and isolated applications, at a reduced and affordable cost, and compiled in a single device, IMTCloud. This eases their daily management and control on one hand and allows them to incorporate new software on demand and as their needs appear on their regular business basis. So, IMTCloud is perceived as a friendly and useful platform in which whatever the client needs at any time, is available through IMT.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

Up to date I have not needed external crediting, I have used close relatives’ economic support. Obviously to jump internationally we are discussing with several potential investors which many of them were already our customers and believe in our system so much that they are even ready to support us financially, because they are also convinced that the most we can grow abroad the most new improvements will be quickly developed and thus them benefiting from them.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

The present evolution of IMT v3 to IMT v4 and the following liberalization of this process’ kernel will allow a more active participation of third party´s software applications, both private and open source. My intention is to get in touch with a major number of universities, software technology centers, free software associations and communities (berliOS, Ubuntu, Moodle, Odoo, etc…). IMT Cloud could be used by hosting companies, operators or even hardware producers. Anyone could make use of IMT to incorporate their software, thus having access to the uploaded software created by others and under the developer’s conditions, as mobile apps works nowadays.

Although it is a tough challenge our aim is to offer IMTCloud to key companies in the industry such as IBM, Intel, Google,… and to have them actively using IMTCloud, at that point the platform would evolve into an strong software ecosystem compiling networking applications management with a full set of networking functionalities that incorporate products such as UTM, like Juniper or Cisco do.

What do you look for in team members?

I strongly believe that within our team is essential to take initiative and to be ready to smartly teamwork, share ideas and help each other, being flexible and multitask, technically skilled to deploy software needs and able to test them.

Why would a talent join your team?

To be able to share our proven long track experience of over 14 years focused on the everlasting integration of technologies and networking applications throughout middleware working in critic productions environments.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

Few years ago I had the chance to get in contact and meet personally the VP of Intel for LATAM, and I introduced my Project to Intel Capital. Due to the global crisis no business between them and IMT succeeded at that time. However I keep good memories of that event and I cherish the hope that in a short period big companies use and incorporate IMT.

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

My humble advice is that they carefully manage their financial resources right from the beginning. They should value their software not only because of its features being practical and useful for a whole majority, but also measuring if the market would consider it valuable and would pay for it, value for money. To closely analyze potential cooperation to look for synergies with other project developers to have a stronger and sustainable market position, as well as reinforcing their own software. They should never forget that the path is tough and steep for every player, thus only perseverance, work and wit will lead to a deserved success, where others would fail.