Mastering the Cloud – Insights from a Business Developer at Sunrise

Nicolas, in the autumn of 2024, you launched Cloud Foundations together with your Sunrise Business team. How does that feel? 

It feels amazing – almost like having another child (laughs) even though I already have five real children! But seriously, I think the most fulfilling aspect of my job is witnessing the journey of an idea as it evolves into a tangible solution that delivers value to our customers. From the initial concept and the development of a proof of concept (PoC) right through to the creation of a minimum viable product (MVP) and its deployment for a client, each stage brings its own set of challenges and rewards. Seeing the genuine interest from the market is particularly gratifying though. 

What does this positive impact look like in the case of Cloud Foundations, your latest product development? 

Cloud Foundations represents a significant step in our broader cloud strategy to offer SMEs standardised, cost-effective «plug-and-work» solutions that address their specific business requirements without the complexities and expenses of fully customised services. Additionally, customers receive support from our cloud advisors. 

The SME-specific landing zone (a predesigned AWS account with security policies and additional features), developed together with Amazon Web Services (AWS), simplifies the process of transitioning to the cloud for our customers. This serves as a starting point for integrating cloud applications into their daily operations quickly, without needing to develop additional expertise internally. 

This sounds disruptive. How did the idea for Cloud Foundations evolve? 

My specific role at Sunrise involves analysing market trends, identifying emerging technologies and developing innovative cloud solutions based on our findings. By identifying the pain points and needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through extensive customer surveys, interviews and valuable feedback from our sales teams, we realised that there’s a market gap for scalable cloud solutions that specifically cater for the needs of SMEs. Our findings showed: 

• SMEs often prefer ready-made solutions, as custom options are typically over-engineered and too expensive. 

• Many SMEs lack the internal IT knowledge or resources needed to handle complex projects. 

• Swiss SMEs tend to prefer working with a local provider nearby over collaborating directly with large hyperscalers like AWS or Microsoft. 

Cloud Foundations was designed specifically to address the needs of SMEs. By combining AWS's technological expertise as one of the leading cloud hyperscalers with the strong relationships Sunrise Business has formed with Swiss SMEs, we deliver a best-in-class cloud solution. It offers cutting-edge technology paired with security requirements, customised with individual support and perfectly aligned with a fair price point. 

How and with whom do you work to launch such a product innovation successfully? 

Success as a business developer is highly dependent on close collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. In my case, these range from various internal teams, such as solution architects, sales and marketing managers, through to external technical partners like AWS, who provide market insights, technical expertise and operational guidance from the Swiss SME market. Together with a team of design thinkers, we focus on customer feedback and practical design methods. This collaborative process fosters customer-centric innovation and ensures that solutions are tailored to SMEs, well-rounded and effectively meet market needs.  

You mentioned Amazon Web Services (AWS). What role did this technology partner play in the innovation process? 

As we tap into new opportunities in the telecommunications sector, we rely on specialised partners to offer our customers best-in-class solutions. In the realm of cloud solutions, I work closely with technical partners such as AWS. As a leading cloud hyperscaler (with a global market share of more than 30%), AWS has extensive experience in building and delivering tailored cloud solutions for companies of various sizes. When we combine our expertise in network infrastructure and personal support with theirs, we’re capable of providing our customers with well-established solutions while catering for the specific needs of the Swiss market and its SMEs. It has certainly helped that we’ve obtained various AWS certifications, such as AWS Solution Provider. 

This is where SCION comes to the rescue: it offers the highest level of protection – especially against DDoS attacks – and ensures efficiency, flexibility and control of data flows. For IoT systems with particularly high requirements for compliance and capacity, Sunrise Business has been offering SCION as a new, efficient alternative to common networking technologies since 2024. Together with its partner Anapaya, IoT devices are connected within an isolation domain so that the paths can be controlled from end to end. The connections are invisible to external parties, and this is what makes them invulnerable.

The partnership has proven to be very important and fruitful in the business-development process. Using a customer-oriented approach, we’ve co-designed a minimum viable product (MVP) within a very short period of time and further refined it based on customer feedback. Thanks to this agile way of working, we were able to take advantage of exclusive AWS funding programmes to help SMEs achieve their digital-transformation goals in record time. 

You mentioned challenges along the way. How did these present themselves? 

Some of the main challenges in business development include the inherent uncertainty and hesitance that come with introducing new products or solutions. People are often cautious about change, and this shows in their objections or reluctance. To combat these, we need to remain composed and shouldn’t take objections personally. Resistance is a natural part of the innovation process. At Sunrise, we’re fortunate to have open-minded colleagues who are passionate about our cloud strategy and technological innovation, especially when it comes to delivering exceptional services to our customers. 

It sounds like perseverance is a crucial characteristic to be successful as a business developer. In your opinion, what else does it take?  

Success as a business developer also requires curiosity. Cultivating a mindset of continuous learning across various domains is essential, as it enables you to stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies. Personally, I am currently exploring the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) very intensively. You can acquire skills through education and experience, but genuine curiosity is what drives innovation and creative problem-solving. 

Additionally, being open to serendipity can lead to valuable insights and solutions that you might not have anticipated. Sometimes, the most effective ideas emerge through unplanned encounters or unexpected sources. 

So what’s next for you and Sunrise Business? 

As a telecommunications service provider, we’ve recognised the increasing interdependency between cloud solutions and network infrastructure. Customers need more than just reliable connectivity – they’re looking for support before and after the <line> to ensure seamless services. That’s why the Sunrise Cloud Solutions are designed to cover the entire cloud journey of SMEs. This also includes topics such as data, AI and flexible workplaces. We’re continuously developing relevant offers and adding new ones – always tailored to the specific needs of Swiss SMEs. I can't say too much about the next release yet. But I’ll say this much: it will be all about data storage.