KSS January eKourier 2024

FEATURE

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME... THE ROAD TO HUMMINGBIRD

energy, commitment to a roadmap, a build that works in AU and NZ, including our wish list. A long program to deliver and business wide transformation looms. Overcoming legacy systems, market nuances and interpretation, and ensuring seamless integration are all crucial components in rebuilding the ecosystem while getting the success criteria right. By the time it’s all said and done, we are looking at an early 2025 go live. Beyond a technology shift, Hummingbird presents a comprehensive transforma- tion that necessitates careful navigation through change and challenges. Essentially a heart transplant, cultural success criteria will play a vital role, recognising the profound influence on operations, customer experience and our regular working day. Conscious that changes of this scale can be daunting, comprehensive training programs are critical. As the program matures, engaging teams with regular communication, workshops, and feedback sessions will be key in keeping everyone aligned and success criteria measured. It’s still early days. Right now we are working with Tenant to fine tune require- ments and understand operating differ- ences before these go into develop- ment. In parallel we are exploring simultaneous and parallel changes to business processes, a new web platform, integrations with payment flows, localisation for AU and NZ and getting a minimum viable demo up and running as a baseline to iterate on for the duration of the program. Jeff Xanthos Chief Information Officer Navigating change and challenges in a considered way Where we are now?

Back in 2009 we came very close to bringing Centre Shift (self storage software) to Australia. Centre Shift was born out of Extra Space and ahead of its time. The opportunity fell through at the 11th hour with the board citing Australia as a distraction to their core market, the US.

F or two decades there have only ever been two AU/NZ options (Sitelink and Storman). Things go stale and complacency creeps in when there is little competition. Our appetite to be better is evergreen. We developed an operating and customer ecosystem around Storman, being the first to market on many initiatives, all the while playing the long game until a viable and compelling opportunity presented itself. In early 2022 it did. That introduction came from the Centre Shift CEO of 2009, he said “hey you should have a look at Hummingbird (Tenant Inc), they are young, but different in a way you would appreciate”. Relationships, in our industry, are good like that. We resonated with their consumer tech first approach, passion for product and desire to disrupt. We do like a wildcard. What followed was an intense year of discovery, negotiation, and partner- ship viability. We both needed to be commercially spirited and aligned. We needed each other and recognised this was going to be a big leap

for both businesses, and mutually beneficial.

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It's not about a one-time event, it's

about a commitment to continuous improvement and ongoing product innovation

Paving the way for long term competitive advantage and scale

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It's not about a one-time event, it's about a commitment to continuous improvement and ongoing product innovation, ensuring that our competi- tive advantage is not just maintained but perpetually leveraged. Technology modernisation aside, Hummingbird presents a strategic leap into a future where innovation, customer-centricity, and operational efficiencies converge for sustained scale and success.

The road ahead

The road ahead is not without challenges. Getting it done is a different animal altogether, it requires a lot of

8 Kennards Kourier Jan 2024