The problem of trying to work on the next big thing in software without bankrupting the company on research and development can be a tricky balancing act. To successfully manage such operations, leaders need to think tactically.

Reza Rooholamini is the Vice President of Enterprise Architecture and Technology at CCC Information Services Inc. One way that CCC has managed this issue is by creating an innovation lab that is like its own startup within a company. On this week’s episode of Innovation and the Digital Enterprise, Reza discusses the pragmatic approach that CCC takes toward innovation.

Listen in for Reza’s four-pronged approach to successful innovation and his criteria for success.

• [00:24] - This week: Reza Rooholamini
• [00:54] - Gaining experience dealing with inflection points
• [03:28] - Leveraging technology at CCC Information Services
• [14:17] - Striking a balance with the innovation lab
• [19:06] - Qualifying opportunities
• [22:25] - A solution within solutions
• [25:39] - Start-up inside a big business
• [27:55] - Innovation theater
• [32:25] - Center of excellence
• [36:22] - For the sake of service

Dr. Reza Rooholamini is responsible for the architecture, development operations, new technologies, Innovation Foundry, Data Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, and advanced product development at CCC, AI and tech leader for the automotive, insurance, and collision repair industries. Since joining CCC in 2013, Dr. Rooholamini’s responsibilities have included the full end-to-end architecture and technologies associated with the SaaS operation of CCC suite of service offerings. 

Before CCC, Dr. Rooholamini was responsible for the operating systems and complex computer solutions at Dell Inc. These solutions included database, messaging, super computers and data centers. He also worked as the engineering manager and architect at NCR and AT&T and as the professor of computer sciences at University of Wisconsin. His current research interests are SaaS, cloud computing, DevOps, mobile computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics and hyper scale data, and application platform design and implementation. 

Rooholamini earned a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MS in electrical engineering and an MS in computer science from the University of Wisconsin. He also earned his Ph.D. in computer science/engineering from the University of Minnesota.

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This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.