Inside WebTrends Engage 2009: Jascha Kaykas-Wolff

I was able to sit down with Jascha Kaykas-Wolff, VP Marketing at WebTrends, for a while during the Engage conference. Here are some of the thoughts that he shared with me.

[Craig]: Customer’s perceptions of WebTrends may not be as good as it could be. Do you have any theories as to why and any plans for improvement?

[Jascha Kaykas-Wolff]: I’m a film buff, and like to describe Webtrends as an epic movie, 15 years in the making, where many of the best scenes never made it off the cutting room floor. There is a challenge inherent in the technology industry in that we, for the most part, dehumanize what we do. The story we tell about what we do becomes a discussion about features and functions and not much else. Webtrends is, and has been historically, respected as the most flexible and powerful platform in the industry. The challenge is that flexibility isn’t a narrative that can be told to everyone and thus flexibility morphs into ‘everything to everyone’ which manifests itself as ‘nothing to anyone’. With Alex Yoder at the helm, along with our new management team, we are taking a decidedly different approach. Strange as it might sound, we’re not really in the business of analytics – We’re in the business of helping our clients build relationships with customers. Relationships built on understanding people. That purposefully human approach to our business and industry is what you will see from Webtrends moving forward. That approach is Webtrends Open Exchange.

[Craig]: People I’ve been talking to are excited about the new Data Access Services. Are there other Open Exchange initiatives that we can look forward to?

[Jascha Kaykas-Wolff]: First off, we are thrilled about our new data access API. As I spoke about at engage, we have been wrongfully conditioned to pay for convenience. This conditioning impacts the way we pay for getting our own money out of our banks via the ATM network, to having to pay more money for locally grown, organic food. The same conditioning has been reinforced in the analytics industry – Not anymore. Webtrends and our customers have an equitable value exchange and we believe it is our responsibility to help our customers make sense of their data, and get to its understanding within the context of their business in a way that works for them. Making the data access API available to our customers without nickel and diming them for its use is the president we are setting for the industry. We also pre-announced our data collection API available later this summer, and you will see us continuing to invest in helpful tools and services like tag builder. Open Exchange is also a philosophy that governs the way we work and the partnerships which we formalize. Webtrends Social Measurement powered by Radian6 is an example of how the Open Exchange provides a platform for partnerships that can have a meaningful impact on the industry. You will see more partnership announcements from us and within our Open Exchange in the near future.

[Craig]: How important are consulting services to WebTrends?

[Jascha Kaykas-Wolff]: Webtrends is, and historically has been, focused on our best in class support. As we looked back over our 15 years of experience in the industry and the customer successes that have been enabled, there are a handful of consistent components in the successful equation. Our consulting services are one of those extremely critical components. To that end, and though the leadership of our VP of services Dave Canelis we have made substantial investments in our consulting services. Those investments include the reorganization of the team to include our solution engineering team and added practices like digital marketing optimization and training. Expect some very exciting and relevant advances from our services team in the coming months.

[Craig]: What sort of impact has Google Analytics had on the industry? Is WebTrends doing anything special to respond?

[Jascha Kaykas-Wolff]: Rising tides float all boats. Google has introduced web analytics to a percentage of the industry that previously hadn’t been served. With their free web analytics offering Google has up leveled the entire industry’s expectations that analytics are a critical component of everything you do online. Our business is quite a bit different than Google’s. Our customers run businesses that are much bigger than just the internet channel. They care about call centers, IVRs, CRM and any other of a myriad of possible data silos that help them manage their business. You will see us continue to make investments in capabilities that allow our customers to break down data silos in their business – Investments in industry firsts like data access APIs at no charge.

[Craig]: You’re commuting to Portland but still living in Seattle. What are your biggest challenges with work and your family?

[Jascha Kaykas-Wolff]: Balance is incredibly difficult. I have three small children (Simone, Sofie & Julien) and it’s very tough to be gone the majority of the week and not see them all. Our youngest is 6 months and he is growing so fast it’s almost like he is a different kid each week when I come home! I’m a bit of a type A personality and when I come home I operate like I never left… which sometimes drives everyone nuts as they have all established a routine that I quickly disrupt. I’m fortunate to have an amazing partner in life, Rebecca, who makes it possible for me to do what I’m doing; I told a story at Engage about my number is really the story about how I met her. It also helps us that she has been a customer of Webtrends in the past and is an incredibly accomplished marketing executive that understands what I do and whom I can bounce ideas off of. While the balance is tough, and we are anxious to sell our house and move to Portland, I’m lucky to be surrounded by amazing people in the office and an very supportive family. It wouldn’t be possible if both weren’t the case. If you know anyone looking to move to Seattle, let me know… we have a wonderful house they can buy.

[Craig]: Thanks for spending some time with me, Jascha. I know that you are a very busy person and I appreciate you fitting me into your schedule.