Can you share your vision for Ad|MOTO’s technology roadmap over the next 12–24 months?
At the start it was making sure the technology worked perfectly, to play adverts at the right time and place as well as counting the number of impressions accurately, every single play! Then we moved onto making that data available to our clients, so building really good reports showing in incredible detail where client adverts were played and how many people saw them.
Having now built an industry leading data suite, we are now looking at how AI can help us going forwards. Spotting trends, helping our clients choose where to play their adverts, and using technology to allow clients to make a last minute decision to play an advert, maybe based on the weather.
How do you see our technology shaping (or being shaped by) industry trends?
I think in many ways we are trend leaders rather than followers. Our reporting dashboard is probably one of the best available. Our data is collected almost instantly (or at least within a few minutes). We have adopted programmatic technology, and we allow our clients incredible control. Our fleet is fully electric and we can even do air quality sampling. We lead, and everyone else seems to follow!
What’s the biggest technical challenge you see on the horizon for Ad|MOTO, and how are we preparing for it?
We’ve met some huge challenges head on, for example how to make electric bike technology run the advertising system without flattening the battery. We tested it by driving two bikes all the way to Berlin, playing adverts the entire journey there, and collecting live data throughout the trip. If we can manage that, then running Ad|MOTO in a city is fine!
The biggest challenge is probably going to be when we launch globally, in places like Bahrain, the heat there is extreme in the Summer and we need to make sure everything works perfectly.
How do you balance long-term innovation with short-term deliverables (e.g., feature releases / performance goals)?
This is always tricky. I split effort between those two areas. I am always working on long term projects, whilst every day delivering small releases that help address problems, or speed up delivery for the team. I discuss with all of the teams here what their pain points are, what costs them time, and what do our clients need. We then as a company collectively prioritise, and then the delivery fun begins.
What lessons have you learned from past scaling experiences that you’re applying here?
In technology, when you want to do a software release, knowing how to do the release without impacting the business is key. Understanding fully the requirements, and remember to use technology to solve real life problems rather than building tech just for the sake of tech.
It’s also knowing when something is good enough! Can I honestly say every release has been bug free? No! However, the defects have been minor and easy to manage.
What drives you personally to be in tech leadership, and what motivates you about Ad|MOTO specifically?
The 10 year old me would have been very excited, I would do the exact job I dreamt of doing when I was a child (well, be a tech leader, or sailor, either was fine). Technology allows us to do things that only a few years ago we could only imagine. Someone once said to me that it was the closest thing we have in this world to magic, which is true. Most of the things that tech does now would have been considered magical, just a few years ago.
Sharing that knowledge with others has always been a passion, and delivering technology correctly, without going over budget, or being delayed, or releasing things that don’t work. If you combine my love for this area, with the people I get to share it with, in a company that completely embraces innovation, you can understand why I have my dream role.
