The Customer
Protex AI is helping enterprise EHS leaders revolutionize how they make proactive safety decisions that help contribute to a safer work environment. Their AI-powered technology enables businesses to gain greater visibility of unsafe behaviors in their facilities in real time. The privacy-preserving platform plugs into an organization's existing CCTV infrastructure and uses its computer vision technologies to capture unsafe events autonomously in settings such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and ports.
The Challenge
As Protex AI expanded, the complexity of managing customer relationships grew. The team found themselves grappling with a lack of visibility into their customers’ interactions and progress. "We just didn’t have a clear view of what was happening with our customers," explained Taran Hercules, Head of Client Success at Protex AI. This issue was more than just an inconvenience—it was starting to impact their ability to make informed decisions and support their clients effectively.
The turning point came when the team realized that their existing tools—a combination of HubSpot, Notion, and Slack—weren’t cutting it. Data was scattered across multiple platforms, making it difficult to get a consolidated view of customer information. As Taran put it, "It was difficult to gather accurate data, and we often questioned whether we were looking at the latest information."
This lack of visibility caused several issues such as
- Difficulty in making informed decisions due to incomplete or inaccurate data
- Manual work which wasted time and resources
- Reactive service that put the company in danger of lower customer satisfaction and higher churn
Frustration was mounting within the team, and it became clear that they needed a more efficient way to manage their customer data. This realization triggered the search for a new solution—one that could centralize their data, streamline their processes, and provide the visibility they desperately needed. That search led them to Velaris, a Customer Success Platform that would help Protex AI overcome these challenges and continue their growth trajectory.
The Solution
Protex AI was looking for a tool that would bring their data and operations together, reduce the manual effort required to track customer interactions, and ultimately support their growth without adding more complexity. After evaluating several options, Protex AI chose Velaris—a Customer Success Platform that promised to deliver the visibility, efficiency, and scalability they were seeking.
Using Velaris, Protex AI implemented the following changes to their Customer Success operations:
- Centralizing data for better visibility:
With Velaris, Protex AI finally had a single source of truth. All customer interactions, progress updates, and success metrics were now centralized, making it easier for the team to stay informed and aligned. This newfound visibility meant they could monitor customer health in real time, anticipate needs, and take proactive steps to support their clients.
- Automating key processes
Velaris automated many of the manual processes that had been bogging down the team. Data aggregation, reporting, and even some customer interactions were streamlined, freeing up valuable time for more strategic work. This shift allowed the Protex AI team to focus on what truly mattered—improving customer success and driving business growth.
- Streamlining reporting and information-sharing
Velaris transformed the way Protex AI visualized their data. Gone were the days of struggling with spreadsheets and rudimentary charts. Instead, Velaris offered customizable dashboards that provided clear, actionable insights at a glance. The team could now track key metrics, spot trends, and make informed decisions with confidence.
The Results
Implementing Velaris brought significant improvements to Protex AI’s operations, directly addressing the challenges they had been facing.
- Improved data visibility and access
With all customer data centralized in Velaris, Protex AI gained real-time visibility into their customer interactions and success metrics. As a result, the Protex AI team was able to save 10 hours a week per CSM and saw a notable boost in productivity across the board.
As Taran says, “Now, we have dashboards. If you have a question, I can get you the answer. Anyone can ask me anything about the customers, and I can say, ‘I have a dash for that.’”
This immediate access to accurate, up-to-date information allowed the team to monitor customer progress quickly, identify trends, and make well-informed decisions.
- Increased efficiency and productivity
The automation capabilities of Velaris significantly reduced the manual effort required to gather and report on customer data. Taran shared her experience of the shift, explaining, "It felt like a chore to gather accurate data before, but with Velaris, we’ve reduced that effort and can now focus on more strategic initiatives."
Protex was also able to streamline several key processes using Velaris. By standardizing deployments through Playbooks and automating manual processes through Scenarios, Protex reduced their time to go live by 10%.
- Stronger collaboration across teams
Velaris facilitated better collaboration among Protex AI's departments by providing a single, cohesive platform for all customer-related data. This alignment ensured that everyone was on the same page, fostering a more unified approach to customer success and helping the team work more efficiently together.
- Improved decision-making with unified insights
With all their data in one place and easily accessible, Protex AI was able to make faster, more informed decisions. Whether it was identifying at-risk accounts or spotting upsell opportunities, the team had the insights they needed to act quickly and effectively.
“Having all the information organized in Velaris has been fantastic," says Taran. "We can now identify at-risk accounts or spot upsell opportunities much more effectively." Protex was able to not only substantially increase their ARR through expansions but also surpass the amount of New Business ARR via expansions amongst their existing customer base.
By providing the tools necessary to innovate their customer success operations, Velaris positioned Protex AI for continued growth and success. The ability to influence feature development and customize the platform meant that Protex AI could keep evolving and improving their processes, staying ahead of industry demands.
Why Velaris
The decision-making process for a CSP vendor was thorough, with Taran and the team comparing multiple solutions before choosing Velaris.
Velaris proved to be the perfect fit for several reasons.
✅ Alignment with growth and flexibility needs
As Taran explains, "We needed flexibility in getting this thing stood up, and Velaris provided just that." The platform’s ability adapt to Protex AI’s needs was crucial for a company that was rapidly expanding.
✅ Comprehensive feature set
The platform’s robust features, from task management to data visualization, met all of Protex AI’s critical needs. Among these features, Velaris’s multi-layer customer hierarchy was especially valuable to the Protex team as their customer base consisted of three layers: parent organizations, location-based accounts associated with the parent organizations, and individual contacts. Velaris was able to accommodate these data complexities and provide them with unparalleled visibility over their complete portfolio.
✅ Ease of integration
Velaris seamlessly connected with Protex AI’s tools, making the transition smooth and efficient. This ease of integration ensured that the team could continue their work without disruption, an important consideration for a fast-paced company like Protex AI.
✅ Strong support and partnership
The level of support provided by Velaris was another major factor in Protex AI’s decision. The partnership approach that we take meant that Protex AI was never left to "fend for themselves," but rather had consistent, ongoing support from our team.
When Protex AI sought a customer success platform, they needed more than just a set of features—they needed a partner that would grow with them and adapt to their unique needs, and that’s exactly what they got.