Britannica Knowledge Systems Makes Strategic Customer-Focused Organizational Changes

February 13, 2018  Britannica Knowledge Systems (www.britannica-ks.com), developer of the leading commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software, the Fox Training Management System, is restructuring its business to enhance both product and customer responsiveness. It is reinventing two complementing customerfacing departments: Customer Solutions & Delivery and Product Management.

The Customer Solutions & Delivery (CS&D) department merges two previously separate units (Project Management and Customer Solutions) for greater customer focus and internal management efficiency. The CS&D department will be led by Barak Kirmayer, formerly Britannica's Program Management Director. Since joining Britannica in 2015, Mr. Kirmayer has successfully led large projects for major airline, governmental and aviation manufacturer customers. Mr. Kirmayer has 12 years of prior experience serving worldwide customers for high-tech companies as a CRM and ERP project and solutions manager.

Responsible for delivering full product solutions to high scale customers from initiation to delivery, the merged group will leverage customer expertise to transfer knowledge faster and shorten project durations. The CS&D department is structured to support Britannica's new project management approach, which harnesses both customer expertise in their own businesses and Fox's robust built-in aviation-focused processes and capabilities.

"Since our customers understand their needs better than anyone, our approach puts the products, knowledge and power in their hands at a very early stage." said Asher Dagan, Britannica's Vice President, Product and Project Management. "Moving the solution under the delivery creates one harmonious orchestra composed of our fully robust, mature COTS products and customer expertise. Barak Kirmayer, with his vast experience and excellent customer rapport, is the perfect conductor."

Britannica's Product Management department will also undergo a fresh approach with its new leader, Adi Silagy. Mr. Silagy is Britannica's former head of Customer Solutions and before that, Britannica's Chief Product Manager. Having joined Britannica in 2007, Mr. Silagy has worked directly with every major Britannica customer across industries including civil aviation, defense, finance, government, and education.

Leveraging Mr. Silagy's prior customer success and vast technical and industry knowledge, the department will transform itself from a largely back-office function to a more dynamic customer-facing entity. The Product Management team will work closely with customers to analyze their requirements and collect feedback on the high-level design. They will lead a new interactive customer community, allowing customers to share best practices while Britannica increases their understanding of the market and customer needs for ongoing roadmap enhancements. They will also regularly present customers with system upgrade and new functionality detail. 

One of the triggers of Britannica's structural changes was the customer feedback at the Britannica Users Summit in November 2017. The first-hand customer accounts of their experience working with Britannica experts and systems had a powerful impact on executive management, who formed these structural changes to enhance ways of understanding their needs for completely customer-focused products.

"The best way to improve our products is to stand in our customers' shoes, see their gaps and challenges, and understand where the industry is going from their perspective," said Dagan. "We see this restructure as our new shoes for the next steps in the continuous product enhancement journey."

About Britannica Knowledge Systems (www.britannica-ks.com)

Britannica Knowledge Systems has a proven track-record of more than 30 years in providing innovative efficiency solutions to the most prestigious and demanding civil aviation, defense, security forces and corporate training operations. Delivered by experts who ensure its products’ precise fit to distinct customer needs, its comprehensive training management solutions reduce costs, maximize resources, optimize scheduling, ensure personnel competency, assure regulatory compliance, and deliver BI for strategic decision-making. For more information, please visit http://www.britannica-ks.com.