Why are Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) crucial?
SMEs are vital for delivering work on time, with quality, and to the client’s satisfaction. But it’s not just about having experts—it’s about using them correctly.
Here’s a story that taught us this lesson the hard way:
We had to set up an Azure environment for a client. Simple enough, right?
But there was a catch—the client had a Startup Founder’s Credit from Azure that needed to be applied.
We brought an Azure expert onto the call with the customer, but he didn’t have experience with Founder’s Credit. The call dragged on for 15 minutes, and the client grew uneasy, questioning our Azure expertise and whether AWS would be a better alternative.
I knew we had the right skills—just not the right person on that call.
So, within 15 minutes, we re-arranged another call with a different cloud engineer. This time, the setup was done in 15 minutes.
The takeaway?
It’s not just about having tech expertise; it’s about matching the right expert to the specific need.
Always ensure your SMEs are the right fit for the task at hand.