by Hugh Raiford | September 15, 2020

Why CData Software? It's Like Lighting in a Bottle

For the last 20+ years, I have had a front-row seat to many transformative innovations across the data management solutions ecosystem. Building and leading operations within the data connectivity tools space, I've even had the opportunity to help drive some of those innovations myself.

So, when I had the opportunity to join CData Software, I knew I couldn't pass it up. I wanted to share with you what I have found here, and why I am super stoked about this opportunity and my ability to contribute as its Chief Revenue Officer.

CData's Strengths Put It in Rarified Air

Strength in Market Position

The data connectivity market is growing exponentially. With the explosion of APIs, data processing platforms, and SaaS applications reliant on live connectivity, CData's standards-based approach allows it to stand out from the crowd. While other players may have reduced R&D investments, CData has aggressively pushed ahead by leaps and bounds in connectivity. CData possesses the breadth of coverage, proven technology, talented team, and ever-growing customer base to absolutely skyrocket.

Strength in Products

CData offers an impressive suite of products with the highest performance connectivity in the market. Its easy-to-use drivers and adapters democratize data access to hundreds of data sources for citizen analysts, integrators, and developers alike. For data warehousing and backup, CData Sync is a next-gen ELT solution poised to capture a growing share of an expanding market. CData Cloud Hub and the upcoming CData Connect platform are positioned to serve enterprises worldwide transitioning to pure cloud and hybrid data connectivity. Customers regularly give CData high marks for product quality and support, and I have seen the detailed dedication behind its engineering and customer care teams.

Strength in Customer Base

More than 10,000 organizations across the globe directly rely on CData products. From the Fortune 500 and Global 2000 to midsize organizations, higher education, and massive government entities & NGOs, CData's customers span the entire market. On the ISV side, CData is genuinely the best-kept secret in data. Most of the biggest names already rely on CData connectors to provide broad data connectivity within their applications. CData provides the pipes connecting much of the market, with much more opportunity still to tap.

Strength in People

The success of any organization begins and ends with its people. CData has the right team to scale. It is immediately evident the CData team possesses the talent, motivation, and collaborative spirit to build something of real significance. The leadership team, board, and investors are experienced technologists and innovators with an expert understanding of the integration market.

Unrivaled Potential

Broadest Portfolio of Connectors

CData provides live, high-performance data connectivity to 200+ data sources and counting. No other vendor has amassed anything close to CData's level of high-quality, rich connectivity. With easily accessible standard interfaces to SaaS applications, databases, data warehouses, ERPs, CRMs, marketing, sales, accounting tools, etc., CData Drivers represent the fastest and easiest way to connect applications with data from virtually anywhere. In addition, internal development processes deliver an unparalleled product matrix, with the ability to rapidly deliver new platform adapter technologies for 3rd party applications like Power BI, Tableau, Mulesoft, etc. to provide optimal data access experiences across tooling.

Best-in-Class Technology

CData provides technology hardened over years of use in the enterprise marketplace. The CData team is known for their dedication to product quality and has stood the test of time, continually positioning the company at the forefront of innovation in the market. All while ensuring the kind of reliability that thousands of organizations trust for their mission-critical integrations.

Proven Process

The team has put in place a robust product development process with proprietary technology that allows for the rapid development of additional data source connectors and adapters. With its connectivity development process down to a science, CData is positioned to capture any market opportunity that arises. Supported by a broad set of partnerships across leading cloud data services, CData consistently gets the first look at emerging technologies and trends, allowing the company to stay ahead of their customer base's markets and needs.

Ease of Adoption and Deployment

CData offers uniquely user-friendly data access to its customers, including point-and-click data replication, cloud connectivity, and configuration. Through its drivers, CData enables a rapid, set-it-and-forget-it installation process and allows SQL access to every API of consequence. Its intuitive products enable CData customers to free IT and product development teams from the burden of connectivity development and shave months or even years off project timelines. Many CData customers like to say the work has already been done for them.

We're Here to Build Something

Building and leading teams for 20+ years at the intersection of integration technology and sales have provided me a unique vantage point. As data and technological innovations have transformed every industry and enterprise globally, I have seen, first-hand, the rise of data fragmentation and the growing need for data connectivity.

CData is positioned and poised to fill that need, and I am excited to join them and help bring the business to mass-scale. Our mission is to eliminate the friction commonly found in data access & integration and help organizations leverage one of their most critical and unique assets – their data. Through our proven technology, rich yet intuitive connectivity experience, and unmatched breadth of integrations, we are well on our way to becoming the de facto standard in data connectivity.

See you soon!

-- Hugh