Innovorg: Interview With Founder & CEO Elya McCleave About This Workforce Optimization Platform

Innovorg is an AI-powered skills-building and workforce optimization platform purpose-built for the cloud and data center space. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Innovorg founder and CEO Elya McCleave.

Elya McCleave‘s Background

What is Elya McCleave‘s background? McCleave said:

“I have a diverse background that combines education and technology in the digital infrastructure space. I founded and manage Innovorg, a company focused on workforce optimization and advanced learning solutions for data center and cloud companies. My journey began with a passion for maximizing the potential of people and companies I worked with and a keen interest in leveraging technology to solve complex problems. This passion led me to establish Innovorg, where we aim to bridge the skills gap in the digital infrastructure sector and fully take advantage of the latest technology. Our platform is designed to identify and fill skill and certification gaps, delivering high-quality, AI-powered experiences tailored to your unique needs. Additionally, it connects teams, roles, skills, products, services, and outcomes, providing a real-time, ongoing view of skill levels, capacity, talent mobility, and more.”

Formation Of Innovorg

How did the idea for the company come together? McCleave shared:

“The idea for Innovorg came from observing the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure industry and the growing demand for skilled professionals. Companies struggled to keep up with the pace of technological advancements, often facing significant skills gaps. Having spent many years as an operator, leading Global Services organizations across the world, I saw an opportunity to create a platform that not only cataloged and evaluated skills but also provided adaptive learning and certifications to address these gaps effectively. This vision led to the formation of Innovorg.”

Core Products

What are the company’s core products and features? McCleave explained:

“Innovorg is a workforce optimization platform designed for the data center and cloud industry. Key features include:

1. Skills Inventory Cataloging – Allows companies to document and track all the skills required to run the company, from Product Development and Sales to Services and Infrastructure teams, ensuring readiness for today and the future.
2. Roles and Skills Libraries – Provides access to a rich library of ready-to-use roles and skills, enabling companies to establish their own roles within minutes and start the skills gap analysis.
3. Customization: Work alongside Innovorg-AI to customize any of the roles, skills, content, objectives, and more to meet the unique needs of your organization.
4. Skills Gap Analysis – Continuously identifies gaps in skills within the organization.
5. Adaptive Learning – Provides personalized learning resources and pathways to address identified skill gaps. High-quality, individually curated content is sourced from across the web and presented to learners. Additionally, we index and curate each client’s internal training content and use AI to generate micro-learning content and quizzes.
6. Always Up-to-Date Content Library – Believing that learning happens through various channels, in different formats, and at different times, we offer a rich selection of content. This includes industry events like Bisnow’s data center series of events called DICE and Structured Research global series of events. We aim to partner with more industry-specific event providers and content producers to enhance our customers’ experiences.
7. Certification Management – Tracks and manages external partner certifications and provides companies with the ability to build their own in-house certification programs.
8. Job Scorecards – Offers a comprehensive roadmap for personal and professional advancement, empowering both employees and businesses. By designing clear expectations and pathways for career growth and success measurement, we align individual ambitions with organizational development goals.
9. Advanced Analytics – Provides deep insights into workforce skills, learning trends, and learning outcomes. Our analytics help organizations make informed decisions on hiring, onboarding and career pathing, optimize their workforce, and track the impact of training and development initiatives in real-time.

Problems Being Solved

What problems does your company solve? McCleave replied:

“Innovorg addresses several critical business problems in the data center and cloud industry:

1. Recruiting and Onboarding Talent – Recruiting and onboarding employees with the appropriate skill sets is a formidable challenge. With a high failure rate of newly hired employees, Innovorg establishes clear standards for technical, soft, and functional skills, enhancing the onboarding process to align with evolving business needs and expectations.
2. Skills Gap Identification and Management – Many companies struggle to continuously identify and address skills gaps within their organization. Innovorg provides a structured approach to assess knowledge on specialized topics, offering real-time insights into what employees need to learn, what they have already mastered, and how they are progressing.
3. Customized Training and Development – Organizations often face difficulties in providing relevant and timely learning resources. Innovorg’s adaptive learning system delivers personalized learning paths, curates high-quality content, indexes internal training materials, and uses AI to generate micro-learning content, ensuring employees receive the training they need.
4. Certification and Compliance – Managing and tracking certifications can be complex. Innovorg simplifies this process, enabling companies to build and manage in-house certification programs and track external partner certifications.
5. Career Development and Retention – Lack of clear career advancement opportunities is a significant reason for employee turnover. Innovorg offers comprehensive job scorecards, enabling employees and managers to collaborate on individual development plans, providing continuous training and upskilling, and facilitating proactive learning pathways, thereby enhancing employee engagement and retention.
6. Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration – In a remote work environment, ensuring effective knowledge sharing and collaboration is challenging. Innovorg’s platform promotes regular use of the skills catalog, enabling better information sharing, content rating, comments, and learning campaigns, which helps teams perform more effectively even in a distributed setting.
7. Advanced Analytics for Informed Decision-Making – Businesses need actionable insights to optimize their workforce and training programs. Innovorg’s advanced analytics provide deep insights into workforce skills, performance trends, and learning outcomes, helping organizations make informed decisions and measure the impact of their training initiatives in real-time.

Challenges In The Space

What are the challenges in the digital infrastructure space? McCleave pointed out:

“The Digital Infrastructure industry is facing several significant challenges as it evolves to meet the demands of a rapidly changing technological landscape. The top five challenges include:

1. Skills Shortages and Workforce Gaps – One of the most pressing issues is the shortage of skilled professionals. It is predicted that by 2025 the Data Center industry will have 300,000 unfilled jobs. Furthermore, the sector is expected to grow 3x within the next decade. The rapid advancement of technology has created a demand for highly specialized skills in areas such as cloud computing, data center management, cybersecurity, and AI, far exceeding the supply. This skills gap hinders the industry’s ability to innovate and maintain operational efficiency.
2. Cybersecurity Threats – As digital infrastructure becomes more complex and interconnected, the risk of cyber-attacks increases. Ensuring robust cybersecurity measures, trained staff and staying ahead of evolving threats is a significant challenge. Companies must invest in advanced security protocols, regular audits, and continuous employee training to mitigate these risks.
3. Rapid Technological Advancements – The fast pace of technological change creates constant pressure on digital infrastructure companies to stay current with new technologies and integrate them effectively. Emerging trends like edge computing, 5G, and IoT require new skills and infrastructure investments, demanding ongoing adaptation and innovation.
4. Regulatory Compliance and Standards – The industry is heavily regulated, with strict compliance requirements that vary by region. Navigating these regulations and ensuring adherence to standards and data protection laws is complex and resource-intensive.
5. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency – There is growing pressure on the industry to reduce its environmental footprint. Data centers consume significant amounts of energy. Implementing sustainable practices, improving energy efficiency, and adopting green technologies are essential to meet environmental standards and reduce operational costs.

Significant Milestones

What have been some of Innovorg’s most significant milestones? McCleave cited:

“Innovorg has achieved several significant milestones that have marked our journey and contributed to our growth and success since being founded in 2021:

1. Seed Capital Raised and Board of Advisors Formed – Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we successfully raised seed capital and attracted some of the most successful and well-known leaders and founders in the infrastructure industry to back Innovorg. Our small group of investors also serve as advisors, providing invaluable guidance and support that we consider a major asset to our company.
2. Building a Strong Team – Innovorg is fortunate to have an amazing team. I count my blessings daily as I work with these talented individuals. We are all passionate about the latest technologies and making a positive difference in people’s lives. Our company culture is free of politics and bureaucracy, allowing us to focus on innovation, quality work, and fast outcomes, which our customers notice and appreciate.
3. Product Commercialization – Successfully launching and commercializing our first product, the Skills Module, in 2021 was a critical milestone. Over the next two years, we followed up with the Training Module, Certification Module, Job Scorecard Module, and introduced the Partner Module to drive channel enablement. We also have been heavily focused on AI integration and enhancing the vertical development and functionality of each module.
4. Major Client Acquisitions – Securing partnerships with key industry players was a significant achievement. We serve a variety of companies across Cloud SaaS, MSP, Hosting, and Data Center spaces. Many of our clients started with one department and expanded their engagement with us over the years. We listen to our clients intently and consistently follow through on our commitments.
5. Strategic Partnerships – Forming strategic alliances with top training providers and industry-specific event organizers has enriched our content library and learning pathways. These partnerships have enhanced the learning experience for our clients and ensured our content remains current and relevant. We were proud to announce our partnership with Besnow DICE and Structured Research this year, with more exciting collaborations to come!

Total Addressable Market

What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? McCleave assessed:

“Innovorg is targeting a substantial and growing Total Addressable Market (TAM) within the digital infrastructure industry, particularly focusing on the data center and cloud sectors. Our TAM can be broken down into several key segments:

1. Cloud Computing Market – The global cloud computing market is projected to reach over $1 trillion by 2028, driven by the increasing adoption of cloud services across various industries. Innovorg’s platform is well-positioned to serve cloud service providers, SaaS companies, and enterprises migrating to cloud-based solutions.
2. Data Center Market – The global data center market is expected to exceed $105 billion by 2027. As data centers continue to expand and evolve, the demand for skilled professionals and effective workforce management solutions becomes critical. Innovorg addresses this need by providing tools to manage skills, certifications, and training within these organizations.

By targeting these interconnected segments, Innovorg is pursuing a TAM that collectively amounts to several hundred billion dollars. Our solutions are designed to meet the growing demands of these markets, enabling organizations to optimize their workforce, close skills gaps, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure landscape.”

Differentiation From The Competition

What differentiates the company from its competition? McCleave affirmed:

“Innovorg stands out from its competition through several key differentiators:

1. Industry Focus – Innovorg is purpose-built for the Cloud and Data Center industry. Unlike competitors that try to serve a broad market, our platform is specifically designed to address the unique challenges and needs of cloud and data center organizations. This specialization ensures that our solutions are highly relevant and effective. Unlike traditional LMS systems trying to rebrand as skills management platforms or large corporations that have struggled to integrate multiple acquired products, Innovorg offers a fully integrated purpose-built solution.
2. Workforce Optimization Platform – Innovorg offers a holistic platform that integrates skills inventory cataloging, skills gap analysis, adaptive learning, certification management, job scorecards, and advanced analytics. This comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of workforce optimization are addressed in one cohesive solution. This solution is built by operators for operators managing high complexity products, services, systems, and tools.
3. Customization and Flexibility – Innovorg automation drives the design and content curation, while also allowing clients to customize roles, skills, content, objectives, and more to meet their unique needs. This flexibility ensures that our platform can be tailored to fit the specific requirements and goals of each organization, providing a personalized and relevant experience.
4. Adaptive Learning and AI Integration – Innovorg leverages cutting-edge AI technology to provide adaptive learning and generate micro-learning content instantly. Our AI also creates quizzes and validates skills gaps, ensuring that learning is personalized, current, and aligned with the latest industry trends and developments.
5. Real-Time Insights and Advanced Analytics – Innovorg’s platform offers real-time insights and advanced analytics, providing deep visibility into workforce skills, development trends, and learning outcomes. These actionable insights help organizations make informed decisions, optimize their workforce, and measure the impact of training and development initiatives in real-time.”

Future Company Goals

What are some of Innovorg’s future company goals? McCleave concluded:

“Innovorg is committed to continuous growth and innovation in the digital infrastructure industry. Our future goals include:

1. Expanding Market Reach – We aim to increase our presence in the global market by targeting more cloud and data center organizations. By showcasing the unique benefits of our platform, we plan to onboard a diverse range of clients worldwide. While we have a strong presence in North America, we were excited to expand our footprint with service providers from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, reflecting our growing international reach.
2. Enhancing Platform Capabilities – We are focused on continuously improving our platform’s features and functionalities. This includes advancing our AI-driven adaptive learning technology, expanding our content library, and integrating more sophisticated analytics to provide deeper insights into workforce performance and development.
3. Strengthening Strategic Partnerships – Forming and nurturing strategic alliances with top training providers, industry-specific event organizers, industry analysts and other key stakeholders is a priority. These partnerships will enrich our content offerings and enhance the overall learning experience for our clients.
4. Driving Innovation in Workforce Optimization – Innovorg is dedicated to staying at the forefront of innovation in workforce optimization. We plan to invest in research and development to explore new technologies and methodologies that can further improve our platform’s effectiveness and impact.
5. Expanding AI Capabilities – We will continue to push the boundaries of AI integration within our platform. Our goal is to develop more advanced AI tools for personalized learning, skills gaps validation, and predictive analytics, ensuring our clients can proactively address their workforce needs.

6. Promoting a Culture of Continuous Learning: Innovorg is committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning both within our company and for our clients. We will promote initiatives that encourage ongoing professional development and skills enhancement to help people stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.”