Andy Shaw (Storman BDM), Jason Suarez (PTI BDM) Johnno Wildon (Storman Product Owner) at the 2019 SSAA conference in Cairns.
We sat down with Johnno Wildon, the product owner for Storman and asked him to share with us some insights into the man behind Storman Cloud and what we can expect this year from Storman.
Q: Firstly, what is a product owner?
Ha, even I don’t know! But really to put it simply, I am responsible for making sure we build the products our users want and need to manage their storage facility or facilities. All suggestions, requests, ideas and reports find their way to me. I analyse these and put them into workable projects for our development team in Auckland to build. When ready, we announce them to you, our users!
Q: Tell us about yourself. Where were you born and raised? How long have you been at Storman?
Well, I was born in Auckland, New Zealand. I’m a kiwi through and through, I live in Brisbane but I still say fush and chups whenever I get the chance!
2020 will be my 7th year with Storman, starting in August 2012. My first two years here were spent in the support team, where I learned the ins and outs of Storman, would answer emails, phone calls and teamviewer into facilities to help out with sticky issues.
The next 3 years were a mix of programming, development and IT infrastructure and network. In June 2017 I moved to Brisbane and am now based in our Australian office, with a full focus on the future of Storman which is Storman Cloud.
Johnno Wildon presenting Storman Cloud at a Storage King conference (2019).
Q:What is it you are most passionate about outside Storman?
I love playing paintball, computer games and exercising my dogs, one is a German shepherd and the other a Rottweiler.
Q:What will Storman Cloud add in 2020 that is exciting for current users?
I can’t say too much yet, our product backlog (to do list) for Storman Cloud changes almost every week, although there are a few things that I am really excited about.
The first one being our facility map, which has been given to a few select users so far and the feedback has been amazing – I can’t wait to give this to everyone else!
We have individual unit based pricing coming, the ability to edit and manage your templates (SMS, Emails, Letters), and a lot of cool new features that will benefit our multi-site groups. We’re also looking to improve our Unit Check app, and incorporate the Facility Map into it too!
Many of you that went to the SSAA Conference in Cairns would remember Johnno showing you the Storman Cloud product in the Storman lounge.
Q: What is one thing you really enjoy about working on Storman Cloud?
A: I love creating all the different login screen logos we have for different holidays and events! See below.
Q: Storman Cloud was your project to design, build and deliver management software that is second to none. Give us an overview of the product and why it is easy to use.
A: Storman has been keeping storage facilities operating since 1992, and our users love it.
So from day one of Storman Cloud we have looked at everything our users love, taken that, moulded it and made it better, faster, easier. As well as looking into the parts of Storman that could be simplified, improved and/or removed / excluded from Storman Cloud.
A huge part of Storman Cloud’s focus is to be kept as familiar as possible to the Storman One everyone knows and loves, and of course the ability to run them both in parallel to help with the transition!
My goal is to make a piece of cloud based software that is easy to learn, and even easier to use. As I said above, all feedback, comes directly to me and no suggestion is too big or too small – I want to make sure we are building the Storman Cloud you all want and need.
