As CTO at Ippon USA, there are moments that make me pause, take a step back, and feel genuinely excited about the future of our company. Today, I’m thrilled to share one of those moments with you. It’s not every day that we get to announce the launch of something as transformative as our two brand-new Centers of Excellence (CoEs).
Innovation isn’t just a buzzword at our company. It’s our daily rhythm. Ippon engineers are highly skilled and dedicated to craft and learning. Our teams hone that craft by constantly experimenting, individually, in teams, and in our communities. For example, Ippon hosts and sponsors RVATech meetups and seminars at our US headquarters in Richmond, VA. Ipponites can be found organizing or delivering talks any given week near our offices in DC, Atlanta, and NYC or speaking at conferences and partner events. We have a long track record of developing and contributing to open-source software. And our teams have long made an impact on software used by US credit card holders — a testament to the quality and reach of our contributions.
This spring, we borrowed a leaf from the Harvard and NASA playbook for innovation and took a major leap forward by launching two Centers of Excellence (CoEs). Our CoEs reflect our dedication to shaping the future of technology. One is focused on AI, and the other on Snowflake—two pillars of modern data strategy. Our CoEs are the result of months of effort, collaboration, and strategic planning, all to empower our clients and partners and transform the way businesses leverage data, AI, and the cloud. They’ve brought new leaders to the forefront, sparked fresh ideas, and turned up the heat on innovation across our company. It’s like having a supercharged R&D department, but instead of just dreaming up ideas, we’re actively delivering real-world solutions. Let’s have a look.
AI can be an expensive and confusing journey. Our AI CoE is chartered to help businesses not just experiment with artificial intelligence but do so strategically, thoughtfully, and with measurable results— without breaking the bank. Whether a client is new to AI or already has a few projects underway, we now offer consulting packages that help businesses select the right use cases and technologies to meet their unique goals.
We’ve developed AI experimentation packages that allow businesses to dip their toes into AI without diving headfirst. These packages help companies identify high-impact use cases, experiment safely, sort out buy vs. build, and scale confidently. At the same time, with select customer participants and organized through our CoE, Ippon developers are using generative AI in daily tasks. Pro tip: developer productivity with AI includes but is not limited to generative code. Whether you're a startup exploring your first AI project or a large enterprise seeking to refine your strategy, we’ve got the right tools and expertise to guide you.
Data is power, and Snowflake is leading the charge in turning data into insights, decisions, and actions. Through our partnership with Snowflake, we’re helping businesses modernize their data strategies, making their systems faster, more agile, and infinitely scalable.
Our Snowflake CoE is where we marry expertise with innovation and sensible offerings. We've developed specific accelerators for Cortex because we believe that moving fast while staying secure and compliant is key to unlocking the value of data. On top of that, I’m very proud that our CoE has also introduced our new Concierge Service. Our Concierge provides a managed service that ensures that our clients can manage costs effectively and keep up with the rapid pace of new capabilities while experimenting with AI models in a Snowflake environment. Not only that, Concierge brings access to Ippon’s global talent network on-demand. This allows our customers to consume services the same way you do the cloud: as-needed, when-needed. Stay tuned to hear a lot about this one.
Snowflake isn’t just a data warehouse; it’s the foundation of the future of data, and we’re proud to be building on it.
What sets our CoEs apart isn’t just the technology —it’s the leadership driving them. We’ve identified new consulting leaders who bring not only technical expertise but also a vision for the future of AI and data. Their mission is simple: to help our clients win.
With fresh leadership comes fresh offerings. Our Snowflake and AI CoEs are delivering more than just consulting—they’re delivering tailored solutions. From pre-packaged services to fully customizable strategies, our new offerings are designed to meet clients wherever they are in their digital transformation journey. Whether it’s adopting AI, integrating Snowflake, or both, we have the right team and the right solutions.
While we’ve already achieved a lot, we’re far from done. The launch of our Centers of Excellence is just the beginning. We have a series of exciting announcements planned and we can’t wait to share them with you. Expect to hear more about new tools, services, and partnerships that will continue to push the envelope in data and AI.
In the meantime, we encourage you to visit our new website to learn more about our services and the ways we can help your business thrive in the age of AI and data. Stay tuned for what’s next —because the best is yet to come!