06 Jan 2015 Spotlight on D&B Cloud Innovation Center

Packed with talent and unafraid to strut in blue wigs, the team at the D&B Cloud Innovation Center knows exactly what “culture” and “passion” is all about. With the recent acquisition last spring, their team has more than doubled and are creating huge impact on a global Big Data problem. We are excited to see this local company grow and look forward to seeing more exciting developments in the near future! Read on to learn more about D&B Cloud Innovation Center.

1. Describe your company and your primary product(s) and/or service(s).

Dun & Bradstreet is the world’s leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses. At the D&B Cloud Innovation Center we build awesome, cloud-based analytics software for D&B’s global customer base, right here in Vancouver. We have a mandate for innovation within a 173 year-old company and the world’s largest business database at our fingertips—some 235 million business records, from across 200 countries, updated 5 million times a day. We’re developing software to transform and modernize the way we process, analyze and deliver that data, starting with D&B’S flagship credit decisioning product, DNBi.

The D&B Cloud Innovation Center was founded in April 2014, following the acquisition of Vancouver-based cloud analytics startup, Indicee.

2. How many employees currently work at your company?

Our team has grown rapidly over the last 8 months. The end of 2014 saw our team double, and this month we’re welcoming 16 new hires, including our very first co-op students to the Center. For anyone interested in joining us, check out our careers page.

3. Where are you located?

We’re currently on the 17th floor of the Bentall 1 Tower in Downtown Vancouver, but will be moving to a brand new, custom-designed office later this year. Located in the heart of Vancouver, the new space will have a wraparound sundeck, several socializing and multi-function spaces, and access to private lockers, bicycle lock-up, and parking. The best in shopping, dining, transit, and assorted other leisure activities will sit just outside our brand new doors. We can’t wait!

4. Describe the culture at your company.

At the D&B Cloud Innovation Center we talk a lot about being a family. Our culture is about more than video games and free drinks (although we have those too), but about transparency, mutual respect, a shared sense of fun and opportunity, and a passion for what we do. We’re working on solving a truly global Big Data problem and the sense of being a part of something bigger than just what goes on inside our offices is truly uniting.

5. What does your leadership team (and company as a whole) do to support/grow that culture?

Our managers and team leads don’t hide in offices with closed doors. Everyone has the freedom to work when they are at their best and we approach challenges as a team. We huddle on a regular basis to discuss progress and celebrate milestones, and we pride ourselves on team communication and transparency.

We have an established Ministry of Fun (self explanatory!) and a Ministry of Learning program, designed by our Team Leads to facilitate knowledge sharing internally. Of course, as a part of a global team, we’re also reaping the benefits of working directly with D&B partners and business leaders from all around the world.

6. When your employees talk about your company, what do they brag about?

If you ask anyone in the office about why they work here, they generally start by saying it’s because of the amazing people they work alongside everyday. We have all the benefits you’d expect from a modern technology company—free drinks, regular social events, and an Xbox—but it’s our fantastically talented and nice people that set us apart.

Next, we talk about the leading-edge technology we are working with to develop solutions for our global customer base. We’re building a new generation of cloud-based, globally-consistent products for D&B, on top of the world’s largest commercial database, in an agile way.

And finally, we talk about all the perks of working like a startup but with the backing of a worldwide team. As a product team within D&B, we have the freedom to innovate, the opportunity to work with product leaders and thought leaders around the world, to educate, debate and inspire businesses using cloud computing, and to solve a true Big Data challenge.

In short: we brag about our team, our tech, and the opportunity we have to make a global impact with our work.

7. Describe your most recent achievement, milestone, reason for bragging rights.

Following our acquisition in April, our team has grown rapidly and has more than doubled in size in just 8 months. The Center is a global hub for product innovation and excellence in cloud computing. As well as sending team members to work in D&B offices in Texas, New Jersey, England, and Ireland, we host many international team members here in Vancouver. Our overworked cappuccino machine never stops and is often surrounded by people with multiple passports and accents.

We were also the top fundraising team at last year’s TechPong event, where we totally rocked the blue wigs and sweatbands combo!

8. What kinds of roles are you hiring for?

For more information, visit our careers page.

9. What kinds of people are you looking for?

We’re looking for smart, talented, passionate and nice people—software engineers, cloud operations, QA experts, and more. Learn more on our careers page.

10. What is your company goal for the coming year?

2015 is going to be an incredibly exciting year for us as we unveil our first release of the next-generation, cloud-based DNBi product, to drive better business insight for organizations around the world.

We are also moving in to our brand new, sexy office space. It’s going to be all Mad Men meets Star Trek meets Wallpaper Magazine. Watch this space!

For more information about D&B Cloud Innovation Center, visit www.dnbcloud.com or follow @dnb_cloud on Twitter!