Product culture at Balabit…and your role in creating products

WHAT MAKES A PRODUCT GREAT?

● for the user● it fulfills a real, deeply-felt need● works as expected, and perhaps even better than expected

● for the vendor● it targets people they are able to and want to reach● it brings enough value for the users to make it commercially

viable to sell● technologically possible to deliver

WHAT IS OUR GOAL AS A SOFTWARE VENDOR?

Bringing outstanding revenue for the shareholders?

Leading the industry with technology

innovations?

Building security products customers

love?

BUILD GREAT PRODUCTS, AND EVERYTHING WILL BE EASIER● customers will want to buy

● if you solve a real problem for real users, you salespeople will have a much easier job convincing customers

● partners will want to sell● you have something everybody needs and loves – who wouldn’t want a slice of

the cake?● end-users will be happy

● you are solving their problems and making their lives better – they will put up with the small bugs you have

● you can choose the best technology for the solution● you can focus on the tech stack you need for that given product and solution

and create something extraordinary there

BUT

● people need solutions to

their problems and not

technology● hard to let go and

change directions if

needed● harder to be agile

TECHNOLOGY IS THE FOUNDATION

● world-class developers can do world-class things

● superior technology can indeed lead to superior products

● good tech is a big advantage on the market

BUT

● creating something that

can be sold to 10,000

customers is better

business than doing

specials for one who has

the $$$● the customers don’t

always know what they

want● playing catch-up with

competitors is not a

winning strategy

WE MAKE MONEY BY CREATING GREAT PRODUCTS

● shareholders want their profits (the capitalist bastards!)

● we have to listen to the customers: we have to go where the money is

● talk is cheap – if someone’s willing to pay, we need to pay attention

PRODUCT MANAGERSWhat are they doing, anyway?

QUITE A LOT, ACTUALLYBusiness & strategy

Technical

Marketing

FIND THE RIGHT PRODUCT

BUILD THE RIGHT PRODUCT

BE THE CEO OF THE PRODUCT

TASKS IN A NUTSHELL

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FIND THE RIGHT PRODUCT

TASKS IN A NUTSHELL

01● talk with customers & other stakeholders● know the market, the trends and the competition● know the technology possibilities

TASKS IN A NUTSHELL

● create a vision & strategy and get everyone on board● start and track its execution● work every day with developers, sales and marketing

and help them with their job

BUILD THE RIGHT PRODUCT02

TASKS IN A NUTSHELL

● coordinate work amongst departments● represent the product outside the company: events,

large sales accounts, PR● represent the product inside: reports, budgets,

headcounts, strategies all need the product perspective

BE THE CEO OF THE PRODUCT03

PM? PO? WTF?

Product Manager Product Owner

• responsible for features and execution

• available for the dev team• focuses more on technology• …but still knows the market,

the users and talks with sales & marketing

• several POs per product line

• responsible for high-level vision & strategy

• is the CEO of the product• focuses more on users, sales and

marketing• …but still knows about tech

possibilities• one PM per product line

OTHERS IN THE PRODUCT TEAM

● VP of Product● mythical person, leader of the team, representing product in the C-

suite● User eXperience designers

● help us understand humans, not just bits● documentation team

● so that we can tell users to RTFM● community management

● there are over 1 million places where syslog-ng is installed – that’s a nice community to build on

IS THE PM MY BOSS?

● probably not.● they aren’t

● devs● marketers● salespeople

● nobody reports to the PMs, especially not the dev team● (OK, POs do report to their PMs, but that’s everyone)

● product is a separate team under the VPoP

GOOD PRODUCTS DEPEND ON EVERYONE

Your role in product management

WE NEED ALL SIDES

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IS NOT A WATERFALL PROCESS!

● 8 out of 10 new features are failures.● Seriously. Everywhere. Nobody cares about 80% of the stuff we create.

● the good news: the other 20% will make up for it ● Agile development is not enough!● Change the relationship with customers!

● understanding over negotiations● cooperation over contracts● open communication over self-defense● fast iterations over detailed specs

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

● keep your mind on the goal● always remember that our goal is to make great products customers

love● gather ideas and feedback

● you are the eyes and ears of the company: tell us what you see● keep an open mind

● you are the ones who know what’s possible● do your part

● be that development, marketing, sales or back office, you play an important role – make sure we can count on you

Questions?

Leading the industry with our

technology innovations

Building products customers love

Bringing outstanding revenue for

the shareholder

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