Building Scalable Go-to-Market Infrastructure: A Blue Print for AI Enterprises The challenge of scaling an AI company requires a distinctive blend of innovation, strategic insight, and technological expertise. At the vanguard of this transformative movement is Sudhakar Reddy Jukanti, a luminary who has extensive experience in driving digital transformation projects for Fortune 100 companies
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In the dynamic landscape of business, where digital transformation is not merely a trend but a fundamental shift, the challenge of scaling an AI company requires a distinctive blend of innovation, strategic insight, and technological expertise. At the vanguard of this transformative movement is Sudhakar Reddy Jukanti, a luminary who has extensive experience in driving digital transformation projects for Fortune 100 companies during his tenure at Deloitte and Conga. He is known for his thought leadership in Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ), a key business process that enables revenue growth. During his tenure at Conga (Previously Apttus) 10 years ago, he was at the forefront of the transition from on-premises to SaaS business models, and he now feels that he is experiencing a similar transition from SaaS business models to Consumption / usage-based business models as more and more companies are built as AI companies. As AI companies can grow revenue quickly, Sudhakar highlights the importance for all budding organizations to build the foundational business processes when the companies are small, so that they don't hinder growth.
Here are the core components of building go-to-market (GTM) infrastructure:
Product-Led Growth (PLG)
Product-led growth (PLG) drives consumption transformation by offering customers frictionless entry points like free trials, freemium plans, or pay-as-you-go pricing with credits or promotions, allowing them to experience the product before making a significant financial commitment
Use Case Management
Effective use case management is vital for businesses transitioning to consumption-based models. This involves proactively identifying and tracking customer use cases to align product capabilities with evolving customer needs, enabling companies to optimize offerings and pricing strategies based on how customers derive value from the product.
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Processes
Consumption transformation necessitates a revamp of traditional CPQ processes. Companies must develop the capability to configure their products based on various billing metrics that are particularly relevant to AI and other consumption-based offerings. This includes setting up rate cards and enabling customers to tailor their agreements based on factors such as data volume, compute power, or API calls.
Consumption Billing and Rating
At the heart of consumption transformation lies the ability to accurately measure, rate, and bill for customer usage. Companies must implement robust metering and rating engines that can capture and process usage data in real time, enabling accurate and transparent billing based on actual consumption.
Consumption-Aligned Compensation
To fully embrace the consumption model, organizations may need to revamp their compensation structures, moving away from traditional commission models that incentivize large upfront deals. Instead, they should implement consumption-based compensation plans that reward customer success and long-term value realization, aligning incentives with customer consumption patterns.
Consumption Forecasting
With revenue streams becoming more dynamic and closely tied to customer usage patterns, consumption forecasting becomes a critical capability. Companies may need to leverage data science models and advanced analytics to accurately predict and plan for future consumption trends, optimizing resource allocation and ensuring sustainable growth.
Sudhakar's Impact on the Industry
As the senior director of the Go-to-Market System at Confluent, Sudhakar played a key role in building systems infrastructure to support the company's consumption transformation. Prior to Confluent, Sudhakar helped multiple customers with their consumption transformations during his stint as Director of Professional Services at Conga / Apttus. As a member of the Customer Advisory Board at Salesforce Revenue Cloud, Sudhakar provided key inputs around product strategy and capabilities to support a consumption-based model. As a Limited Partner at GTM Fund, Sudhakar provided his inputs on consumption transformation to various startups.
Recognized as a thought leader, Sudhakar's insights have been featured in esteemed podcasts like Novas CPQ and Monetize Now, and he is a prominent voice at industry events such as Salesforce Dreamforce, Apttus Accelerate, and the Workato Automate conference. Sudhakar's thought leadership paves the way for AI companies to transform challenges into opportunities. His vision encompasses a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, customer-centric business models, and scalable growth strategies. By leveraging his insights into CPQ, go-to-market, and consumption-based models, Sudhakar is not just a participant in the AI industry's evolution; he is a key architect of its future, guiding AI companies towards a new era of growth and innovation.
