Employee Spotlight: Jodi Foulger

Over the coming months we’ll be getting to know various members of the Cloud Gateway team. We’ve grown from 3 employees in 2017 to nearly 50 as we head into the second half of 2023. We’ve got some great people working behind the scenes to deliver our services and we wanted to showcase some of the brilliant work they’re doing. This series will give you an insight into the people behind the product, and a taste of what it’s like working at Cloud Gateway.

This month, we spoke to Jodi from our Operations team about her recent promotion, what she’s working on currently, and life outside of Cloud Gateway. We hope you enjoy it!

Let’s start with an easy one. Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I am 27 years old and I live in Norwich with my partner and dog. I joined Cloud Gateway in September 2020, having previously worked as a Service Account Manager for a print and publishing company in Suffolk. I was originally hired as a Customer Service Manager, but moved into Service Operations relatively soon after. I’ve actually just moved position again, but I think we’re going to come to that later.

Let’s begin there then. Tell us about your role at Cloud Gateway?

I’m the Service Delivery Manager at Cloud Gateway. I moved into this role last month having previously been the Service Operations Manager, so it's been an exciting few weeks with lots going on in the team.

We’ve seen a steep rise in the number of new and existing customer projects over the last 12 months or so. We quickly realised that this area of the business needed more focus to continue delivering the best customer service possible. There is a lot of work ahead of us but I’m really enjoying it so far! 

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?

I love that I get to contribute to so many different projects across our customer base. We’re lucky to work with some really cool, innovative companies that are disrupting their respective sectors in ways I wouldn’t believe unless I’d seen it for myself. Some of our healthcare customers, in particular, are doing some amazing things that are making a real difference to the lives of the patients in their care. It’s cheesy, I know, but it is incredibly rewarding being a part of these projects and seeing the positive impact they’re having!

I also want to shout out the team of people I’ll be working with too. We have a tonne of very talented, lovely people at Cloud Gateway, especially in Service and Tech where I spend most of my time. Like everyone, we have challenging days where the pressure to meet a deadline or deliver a service can be stressful, so it's a nice feeling being surrounded by such a capable (and fun) team!

Tell us about a typical day in your role at Cloud Gateway?

I rarely have 2 days the same at the moment so that’s a tricky one. Prior to meeting you, I was on a call with our Head of NetOps going over BAU processes for a new WAF service we’re rolling out imminently for an existing customer. I have a catch-up with Tina, our Major Accounts Manager (and one of my favs!), later this afternoon. She is probably the person I am working closest with right now. She’s brilliant! We’ll go through everything that we have in progress at the moment and make sure we’re on track.

I’m travelling down to London tomorrow to meet a key customer for our monthly review. I work from home most days so it’s nice to get out of the office and catch-up with customers and colleagues in person. I’m actually in Manchester next week for an internal Ops meeting too, so that should be fun! It’ll be a busy day or two but I always look forward to seeing everyone and catching up on all the cool things going on across the department.

What are you most proud of about your time at Cloud Gateway?

I would say the work I’ve been doing recently reviewing and rebuilding the customer onboarding journey. We had a good framework in place already but I think it’s important to continually look at ways to optimise and improve the way we handle onboarding. I got to work with Marketing, Sales, Commercial, Ops and the Helpdesk team to better understand their respective parts and then map the whole process out from start to finish. I think the result is a more seamless experience for our customers that makes working with us super easy.

That leads on nicely to the next question. What is your favourite thing about your job at Cloud Gateway?

Oh, that’s an easy one. Definitely the people. There are some really exciting things going on across the business right now, all of which are only possible because of the brilliant people driving them. I’m fortunate that my role requires me to work and collaborate with different departments, so I get to see first hand just how good our people are. They’re also a lot of fun at the company socials and away-days!

What in your view makes Cloud Gateway different?

I think the key thing that sets us apart in the telecommunications space is our focus on customer service. I know it might sound cliche, but we want our customers to genuinely enjoy working with us.

The technology we have behind the scenes is the core enabler - our platform allows us to deploy solutions more quickly and affordably than our competitors, but we also pride ourselves on delivering an excellent customer experience, whether that’s digitally or with our personal interactions.

The industry generally isn’t renowned for its customer service and we’re determined to change that perception. The first step was to understand where expectations weren’t being met historically. We found that too many of our customers were frustrated by inflexible commercials, slow response times or poor support - sometimes all three. As a start-up in a market dominated by large incumbents, we wanted to do things differently. And we do! 

Our founders have a vision to bring networking into the cloud age through a combination of cultural, commercial and technical innovation. As part of that ethos, one of the things we couldn’t compromise on was customer experience. 

I strongly believe that our commitment to customer satisfaction is a massive factor for organisations - it’s one of the reasons they choose Cloud Gateway. The testimonials in some of our case studies speak for themselves!

Outside of work, how do you like to spend your time? 

My favourite thing to do is spend time with my partner, Kyle, and our miniature dachshund, Elvis. We love trips away and long dog walks together. I also have a passion for interior design and take great pride in our 1900s terraced house that we are continuing to renovate and put our stamp on. Most weekends tend to involve some kind of DIY in the house or garden.

What is your most precious possession?

Oh, well that definitely has to be Elvis. He’s the best! Not sure if he really counts as a possession but I think that’s the best I can come up with.

What is the one word that sums you up best?

Ambitious

Find out more

Check out some of the case studies that Jodi referenced above to learn how we’re helping the health sector deliver better outcomes for its patients.

If you’re interested in joining the Cloud Gateway team, then please check out our job board. We’d love to hear from you!