CloudBase3, a content provider of expert advice for finding, choosing, and implementing cloud services, has launched its Expert Network. The CloudBase3 Expert Network is a platform to efficiently connect advice seekers with advice givers, explains Patrick Houston, founder and editor in chief. “It’s making one-to-one advice affordable,” says Houston.
The platform is a tool for engaging new customers who are looking for advice in a specific area of cloud expertise. The smart Q&A platform directly connects buyers to the experts most relevant to their needs.
Most of the advice buyers receive today is “from one to many,” Houston says. “When you’re making high-stakes decision you want advice that applies to your circumstances. In terms of cloud and small business, there’s usually no IT department. We’re connecting, in the case of cloud, a business decision maker to someone who can give them advice about what is best for their business.”
On the supply side of this equation, Houston says the network is an opportunity for channel providers, certified IT solution providers, and business consultants “to engage with potential new clients in meaningful ways.” The experts receive sales leads and extend their marketing reach.
The network works like this: A potential buyer submits a question on the site, free of charge. Only the most relevant providers to that topic that are registered with the network receive the question via email. Any or all of those relevant providers may answer the question. Should the advice seeker want to further engage with an expert they then can take it offline, Houston says.
“We encourage that,” he says. “We want to get to the point where we manage a micro consulting engagement. We’re not there now, but that’s the value proposition.”
The Expert Network is currently in beta, and CloudBase3 is recruiting experts now. Houston says CloudBase3 has about 150 experts in the system to date. Early adopters will get a free listing on the CloudBase3 site, which also provides cross references among partners and products.
“One of the reasons we love the channel is they are trusted advisers with a portfolio of products. We welcome vendors, but tell them to engage in light marketing, and use your subject matter experts.”
Houston says all experts are screened, and the site will eventually provide the ability for advice seekers to rate the experts, similar to the way car-share apps like Uber and Lyft allow riders to rate drivers. “It’s a peer-to-peer marketplace. Instead of matching buyer with driver, we match advice seeker with domain expert,” Houston says.
For now, sales leads are free to the experts. There will be a charge for listings on CloudBase3.com “down the road,” Houston says, as well as the possibility of a premium model.
Houston says the Expert Network can also be syndicated. “We’ve got a widget that can appear on channel partner sites. They can be a part of the network and it goes to their experts first, then to our experts, or we can create a walled environment for only their experts.”
The Expert Network is answering an unmet need in the market, he says. “We know people want one-to-one advice, and we know there’s a huge supply of expertise in the market.”
For more information, go to CloudBase3.com.
