Interview with Sarfraz Ali of Smartsheet
In this interview, Smartsheet EMEA VP and General Manager Sarfraz Ali sets out how, with its revamped UI and integration of AI, Smartsheet is sounding the death knell of data silos and sweeping away obstacles to communication so as to boost team collaboration regardless of location.
Good day, Mr Ali! To start this interview off, can you tell us a little about how your journey in work management started?
When I worked at Microsoft and Infosys, I gained a lot of insight into the importance of effective collaboration in order to drive organisational goals. Thus, when I first discovered Smartsheet, over 10 years ago, the company’s mission to empower teams to achieve more resonated with me.
Smartsheet has quickly become a key player in work management platforms. Can you walk us through the evolution of the company in the EMEA region and the factors that contributed to its growth?
Smartsheet has grown dramatically in EMEA. We first established a presence in the region in 2018 and have continued to expand by opening offices in key locations and building a robust partner ecosystem, with a quarter of all our partners based in EMEA. This growth has been driven by our ability to adapt to the unique needs of diverse markets and to attract a talented team, and our commitment to delivering value to our customers.
How does Smartsheet adapt its product and go-to-market strategies to meet the unique needs of diverse markets across the EMEA region?
We tailor our product and go-to-market strategies by working closely with local partners and customers. We ensure that our platform is localised and compliant with regional regulations, and we provide region-specific support to address the specific challenges businesses face in different markets.
You’ve written about cultivating high-performance teams. How does your platform help businesses instil and sustain high performance?
Smartsheet’s versatility as a platform helps us achieve this. By integrating AI and a no-code philosophy, Smartsheet empowers teams, no matter how tech-savvy, with features like automated workflows, real-time dashboards, and collaborative workspaces. These tools enhance collaboration, streamline workflows, and improve visibility into projects, ultimately enabling teams to work more efficiently and stay aligned with their goals.
Smartsheet is known for its value-driven culture. Can you tell us how those values influence your team? How do they translate into customer relationships or in practice?
At Smartsheet, we take great pride in our value-driven culture and try to make it the core of everything we do. Our ultimate mission is “to empower anyone to drive meaningful change”. To achieve this, we must strive for innovation, customer success, and integrity, which guide every decision we make.
Our ultimate mission is “to empower anyone to drive meaningful change”. To achieve this, we must strive for innovation, customer success, and integrity, which guide every decision we make.
These values foster a collaborative and supportive work environment amongst our teams, where everyone is encouraged to contribute and grow. In practice, this translates into strong customer relationships, as we prioritise understanding and addressing our customers’ needs, ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes with our platform.
Our values have become part of our vocabulary. We refer to them when we need to make tough decisions, and we also recognise team members who are great examples of living them.
You’ve just held your ENGAGE 2024 conference. How does Smartsheet leverage such conferences to drive innovation and customer success?
We’ve been running ENGAGE since 2017, and it gets bigger and more exciting every year. ENGAGE provides an immersive, interactive experience packed with actionable sessions, real-time solutioning, and thought-provoking speakers for our customers and our teams. It enables us to showcase the best of the best at Smartsheet, bringing together minds that may have otherwise never collaborated and providing a space for them to innovate.
What are some key takeaways from the conference that you believe will have the most impact on businesses in the EMEA region?
One of our most significant announcements from this year’s conference was the introduction of a whole new user experience, and a suite of innovative features that are game-changers for organisations striving to operate at their peak, regardless of their technical expertise.
We’ve designed the new interface in a vibrant, modern style that is appealing to all users, whether they manage entire portfolios or need to reference dashboards on their phones. The new data visualisation experiences, such as board and table views, further enhance the platform’s usability and efficiency, making it easier for teams to track progress and collaborate effectively.
One of our standout new features is the introduction of collections. This unique capability allows for secure and scalable sharing of specific assets, enhancing collaboration and data security. Imagine a project manager keeping track of all content related to a campaign in one workspace while giving end users access to only the information they need. This level of precision and control is unprecedented and will undoubtedly streamline project management processes.
How does Smartsheet facilitate collaboration among teams with diverse functions and skill sets, ensuring that everyone stays aligned and productive?
We recognise that organisations thrive on collaboration between diverse teams across IT, marketing, finance, and customer service. However, these teams often work in silos, leading to inefficiencies and communication gaps. Smartsheet addresses this through its inherent flexibility, adapting to different teams’ needs by seamlessly integrating with popular cloud services such as Google G Suite, Office 365, Slack, and DocuSign, while enabling the storage, management, and processing of high volumes of data.
The new collections feature allows secure and targeted sharing of assets, ensuring that everyone can access the necessary information without being overwhelmed.
For instance, the new collections feature allows secure and targeted sharing of assets, ensuring that everyone can access the necessary information without being overwhelmed. By facilitating this kind of streamlined information sharing, Smartsheet helps eliminate silos and fosters a more collaborative, efficient work environment across diverse teams.
The new user experience we launched at ENGAGE also helps meet the needs of diverse users. Users want different ways to interact with a project, program, or process. We enable this need using a portfolio of views such as board view, table view or enhanced dashboard views.
What role do you see the company playing in shaping the future of work, particularly in fostering more flexible and decentralised work environments?
As the workplace continues to evolve, we see ourselves as enablers of this transformation, providing the tools and infrastructure necessary for teams to thrive in increasingly distributed settings.
Our platform is designed to remove the barriers to remote collaboration. By offering a centralised hub for project management, communication, and data sharing, we enable teams to work seamlessly across different locations and time zones.
Moreover, we’re continuously innovating to address the emerging challenges of decentralised work. For instance, our focus on customisable workflows and integrations with popular cloud services allows organisations to create tailored digital workspaces that suit their unique needs.
How about AI? Could you give us an insight into Smartsheet’s AI roadmap and how you plan to democratise project management with it?
We’re revolutionising our platform by weaving generative AI throughout its fabric, beyond basic text enhancements. We are integrating AI-powered features like predictive analytics, automated task prioritisation, and intelligent recommendations to help users make data-driven decisions and optimise their workflows.
Our customers have made it clear: they want AI that delivers real value by making their Smartsheet experience more efficient, intuitive, and cost-effective. We’re answering this call by developing features that simplify platform navigation, enhance discoverability, and provide tailored recommendations. At the same time, we recognise that responsible AI development is paramount, so security, privacy, and transparency are at the core of every innovation we pursue.
Our goal is to empower everyone, regardless of their technical expertise, to leverage AI to improve their work processes.
In talking about all these upcoming events and trends, what’s next for Smartsheet?
Smartsheet will continue to innovate and expand its offerings to meet customers’ evolving needs. We are committed to enhancing our platform with new features, improving user experience, and expanding our global presence. Our focus remains on helping organisations achieve their goals and drive success through better work management.
And lastly, how do you define success?
Success is meaningfully improving our customers’ work lives through innovations and creating lasting business value. We know we have succeeded when our customers achieve their goals and see tangible improvements in their work processes. It’s about creating value, fostering innovation, and building lasting customer relationships.
Executive Profile
