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      INAP Executive Spotlight: Matt Cuneio, Vice President, Network Operations Center


      In the INAP Executive Spotlight series, we interview senior leaders across the organization, hearing candid reflections about their careers, what they love about their work and big lessons learned along the way.

      Next in the series is Matt Cuneio, Vice President, Network Operations Center (NOC). He oversees our customer support teams, ensuring that our customers get top tier technical support. During his two-and-a-half-year tenure at INAP, he’s aligned all support employees to form team of roughly 95 members who support customers across all INAP products. This shift has yielded fantastic customer surveys and has put INAP on the map for top-notch service.

      Read on to learn more about what makes Matt tick, and how he’s worked to shatter silos in order to build a stronger INAP.

      The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

      What do you think makes the NOC team successful?

      Hustle! Customers want to be ‘happily uninvolved’ in their products and services. When they log on, they just want things to work. It’s really that simple. When that does not occur, responsiveness and crisp communication is the key to a good experience. I’ve been in the industry 20+ years now and what sets INAP apart is our product and engineering team. They work around the clock to ensure our platform is robust. When events happen, it’s all hands-on deck and we work together to drive resolution. We have industry leading ASA (Average Speed to Answer) times and our customer surveys reinforce our effort to be a ‘Best In Class’ support organization.

      What do you love about your role in tech? What is the best part of being in the industry?

      I love people, and I love having the ability to set people up for success. I’ve used this phrase over the years: Come, Grow and Go. I want people to come into the support organization. I want them to take advantage of the opportunity to crack into the industry, to learn technology and to grow their skillset. And then I want them to spread their wings and make a difference—make a difference for the company, their families, their community. Having the opportunity to lead in the technology industry is exciting and very rewarding.

      Of all the qualities you possess, which do you think has the greatest influence on your success?

      When I started at INAP, the silos that existed were extreme for a company of our size. I’ve been able to bring folks together. If I were to market my skillset as a leader and what I can do, it’s that I’m pretty damn good at bringing people together. The talent we possess as a company is unrivaled in the industry. We have some of the greatest engineering minds I’ve ever been around. Aligning all of this talent and getting everyone to pull the rope in the same direction is what we will do better than anyone in the days ahead.

      What does a typical day look like for you?

      One thing I tell our leaders is that the NOC life is a ‘lifestyle’. Last night I was on the phone with a customer at 9:30 and helped them work through their issue. It’s a 24/7/365 gig. There’s no walking away at 5 p.m. when you’re done with your last call. We have a great team, we have fun together and the feedback we receive from customers makes it all worth it.

      What advice would you have for someone pursuing a career in tech?

      Zone in on certifications. I talk to my kids about this, about getting their CCNA and the different technology tools that are available. There is a lot and it’s always changing, so if you can get in on the front end of technology, then that’s going to really benefit you.

      And my other advice is to be a great teammate. If you’re a great teammate and you work hard and you give your best, it’s going to work out. I’ve seen it time and time again with people who have worked for me. It’s what’s worked for me personally. If you treat people with respect, if you hustle, if you don’t cut corners and do the small things right it will all work out. Pay attention to the details. If you focus on the basics, success lies ahead.

      Who are some of the people that have mentored or been your role models throughout your career?

      I love this question because I’ve been incredibly fortunate in this area. So many people to talk about, but I’ll keep it to two. Keith Hayes took me under his wing and gave me my first vice president role. I still talk to him often. He taught me those core principles of treating people with respect, staying grateful and having a servant approach in leadership. Greg Wood is another mentor who has had a lifelong impact on me. He really emphasized the relationship piece. He stressed that you can get things done by yourself, but you can get a lot more done as a team and with people aligned and all focused on the same thing. And he gave me a lot of great tools to do that.

      What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

      People make the difference. Process, products, services are all critical to success. The foundation of delivering the business though all comes down to having the right people in the right place. Treating people with respect and encouraging them has a greater influence than constant criticism. Mistakes happen, and when they do it’s critical you address them head on. But an energized, motivated workforce can accomplish great things and that’s what we have in motion here at INAP!

      Laura Vietmeyer


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      INAP Executive Spotlight: Jackie Coats, Senior Vice President, Human Resources


      In the INAP Executive Spotlight series, we interview senior leaders across the organization, hearing candid reflections about their careers, what they love about their work and big lessons learned along the way.

      Next in the series is Jackie Coats, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. In this role, she puts her passion for helping employees and leaders unlock their potential and accomplish goals to good use.

      In our conversation, Coats discussed what drew her to this role at INAP, how she’s working with the other senior leaders to build a strong company culture and much more. Jackie brings her enthusiasm to the forefront of everything she does. Read on to learn more.

      The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

      You joined INAP in May as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. What excites you most about this new role?

      The people at INAP are what attracted me to this role. I’d been consulting on my own and wasn’t in the market for going back to a regular full-time gig. I had the opportunity to come on as a contractor for INAP earlier this year. Every single person that I interacted with was smart, helpful and aligned with taking the business forward. The opportunity to be part of this team was a key driver in accepting the role. And as the company has now moved from public to private, I have the chance to build people functions that support the organization.

      You came into this role during the COVID-19 pandemic. How does this impact company culture and what’s being done to connect with employees during this time?

      The good thing is that our President and CEO Mike Sicoli genuinely cares about every single employee. It’s refreshing that he doesn’t delegate that to me alone as head of HR. All the senior leaders give a lot of thought to not only the productivity aspect of these times, as it’s important to keep a business running, but the emotional and personal impact that employees have undergone as a result of being remote. We’ve increased support tools and we’ve done surveys to check in with individual employees to take the pulse of the organization. We’ve connected leaders and given them tips on how to stay in sync with their teams. We’ve encouraged video one-on-ones in team meetings and all hands, etc. It’s something we definitely won’t stop beyond the pandemic. Knowing how our employees are feeling is important.

      With all the social unrest going on in the world, diversity and inclusion is really important. Can you tell us about the steps INAP is taking in those areas?

      We finalized the selection of a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant partner, and they have an amazing approach and lots of tools and partnerships that will help guide us. We’ll be doing work as a senior team, both together and individually, which I think is vital. We’ll also be doing an assessment of the organization to really get a baseline of where we stand. This consultant partner will help us identify areas where we need to focus.

      It’s obvious from looking at the organization that we need to support the growth and professional development of our women and people of color, because as you go up in the organization, there’s fewer and fewer people in those categories. We’ll be working on development activities and support for those individuals. We’ll take a hard look at our policies and practices to consider how we promote, hire and transfer.

      What changes have you see related to diversity and inclusion over your career? What do you still want to see?

      What I have learned over the years is that grassroots-type exercises really are more valuable than big, government-mandated exercises. I’ve seen a lot of success with mentoring programs where you identify individuals and what they’re trying to achieve from a development perspective, and you match them with a senior person who has that expertise. Both parties learn a tremendous amount.

      The need to hire quickly is generally what drives the hesitancy to take the time to find a diverse palate of candidates. As an organization and as a society, it’s absolutely critical that we develop our minority applicants and employees and go the extra mile to find people that bring diversity to the organization, because it’s critical for our success. There is a lot of data that shows businesses that are diverse are more productive and more successful.

      You’ve worked in HR for other tech companies prior to joining INAP. What do you like best about being in the industry?

      I’m a big believer that when you have pride in your organization, and in the products and services offered, employees are loyal and engaged. For me, technology touches absolutely everything. The fact that we’re powering and supporting businesses that are making our economy go brings a great sense of pride. And learning that some of our customers are in the gaming industry, I can connect that to having a kid who does all that stuff, so I love that.

      How you go about setting goals for your team?

      You need to have an overall vision for where you want your department or function to go. I talk a lot to my team about what we’re trying to achieve and what success would look like. We’re looking to add value to the organization, not just from an administrative or transactional standpoint. Our goal is to become consultative to the business leaders and help leaders and managers make excellent people decisions, support the growth of their individuals, improve the productivity of their teams, break down communication barriers across departments, recognize high performers and key contributors. That’s the big picture in what we’re trying to do.

      Did you take any detours to get to where you are today?

      I have a fashion merchandising degree and started in retail as a manager right out of the gate after graduating from college. Right away, I gravitated towards leadership and management. I realized that I had good transferrable skills, like hiring, coaching and training. I ended up taking a personnel training coordinator job at Lowe’s Home Centers, which tied the retail in with the HR function, and immediately saw a huge path of opportunity for me.

      Of all the qualities you possess, which ones have the greatest influence on your success?

      Enthusiasm. I bring a lot of positivity and enthusiasm for things that I believe in. My function should enable success, not get in the way. I have a quick ability to identify things that are getting in the way for people, and if they’re open to hearing it, I’m pretty good at helping them adjust their style to help them grow.

      What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

      It’s important to surround yourself with people who possess talent and skills that you don’t have. I’ve learned to appreciate that you don’t have to have it all. You have to know what you need and you have to be able to find people to build a team with complementary skills. Bringing those complementary skills out in each of them has really helped me find success, for me and my teams.

      Is there anything you would do differently now if you were just starting out?

      I would’ve spent more time learning about data and metrics, and how to utilize them. Most business rely on data to help inform decisions and the people function is no different. Productivity, employee satisfaction and demographics are all KPIs that leaders need to know. Knowing the KPIs for your business helps to eliminate subjective decision making.

      Laura Vietmeyer


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      COVID-19 Pandemic Shines Spotlight on How Essential Soft Skills are to the Future of Tech


      In the day-to-day life of a workplace, success often hinges on how well a team works together. All the technical skill in the world won’t help an IT team or company reach its goals if it’s plagued by poor communication, poor leadership and lack of flexibility, among other things. These soft skills have proven even more important in the age of COVID-19, with a rise in remote work and the corresponding shift in the ways we work with each other.

      Even before COVID-19 disrupted work as we know it, soft skills were so important that one study found 67 percent of human resources professionals declined to offer a job to an otherwise qualified technology candidate because of a lack of soft skills.

      Prior to the pandemic, we asked 500 senior IT professionals and infrastructure managers to rank the soft skills they thought would be most important for future IT professionals to possess. The attributes were ranked 1-6, with 6 being the least important. Below are the average ranks.

      Most Important Soft Skills for Future IT Professionals

      Soft Skills in Tech

      Since these results were collected, the world has obviously changed. And yet, our “new normal” only underscores the results.

      Flexibility Is the No. 1 Soft Skill for IT Pros

      Based on the rapid changes we’ve seen in tech and the world at large, it should come as no surprise that “flexibility” was ranked most important. Working with a team that’s willing to step up to the plate and roll with the punches will lead to better outcomes than working with players who are rigid and unwilling to bend as priorities shift.

      “Hiring managers need to identify flexibility as a key behavior and skill set during the hiring process,” said Jackie Coats, INAP’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources. “To evaluate it, have the candidate explain a time when they had to deal with an unforeseen situation, and what they did to accomplish their goal regardless of the surprise.”

      Business priorities are often adjusted and the demand on IT teams will move with them. Or a team member might leave unexpectedly, and the rest of the team will need to fill in.

      “Another question to determine flexibility would be to ask how the employee has helped outside of their role when the team was short-staffed or under a tight deadline,” Coats added.

      As we’ve seen remote work become the norm for many businesses, flexibility is an important trait for both employees and for supervisors to possess.

      “Being flexible during these times is a critical tool we as leaders must leverage,” said Matt Cuneio, INAP’s Vice President, Global Support. “Nothing is more important to the health of a team than confidence that we’re all in this together. We’re going to be flexible with each other, ensuring we all win.”

      A Need for Innovation Necessitates Creativity

      Change often feels unexpected, as we’ve seen with the pandemic, but it’s always inevitable. In another pre-pandemic survey, we wanted to get an idea of what exactly will be driving change in IT roles now and in the future, so we asked our participants to choose the top driver. The need for innovation took the top spot, selected by 27 percent of participants. (Robust security and infrastructure scalability came in a close second and third.)

      All of this change and need for innovation emphasizes the importance of creativity — the second ranked soft skill for IT pros. IT teams are also asked to problem solve on a daily basis and come up with new solutions to help the business achieve its goals or to find solutions to unique problems, like how to adjust networking strategies for a decentralized workforce.

      Undervalued Empathy?

      Empathy is the ability to identify with another person by sharing in their perspective and feelings. This soft skill is commonly valued in the helping professions, like counseling and social work, but can bring great value to teams in all professions by helping develop camaraderie and trust. Yet empathy ranked lowest on our list.

      Cuneio shared his thoughts on the impact of empathy for IT, both within a team setting and with customers. “I had a friend tell me once, ‘Listen to understand.’  A listening ear is a powerful and necessary tool in today’s world,” he said.

      Fostering empathy between individuals helps people feel heard and understood, which in teams can benefit collaboration and brainstorming sessions where colleagues feel empowered to share ideas.

      “Every interaction you have is an opportunity to impact someone’s life,” Cuneio added. “It always amazes me the response I get by asking the simple question ‘How are things?’ The key component to this question is to listen and inquire to the response.”

      It’s also been shown that companies that have a more empathetic culture outperform less empathetic companies by 20 percent. The bottom line: Individual empathy shouldn’t be overlooked.

      Laura Vietmeyer


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