From Verizon’s burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) team to a successful stint at Pluralsight, Mike Soldan has built a reputation around simplifying lives and solving complex problems through technology. Soldan has once again embarked on a unique journey, and this time, it involves enabling our most critical first responders: Firefighters.
Soldan’s passion for technology and its impact on society can be traced back to his early years at Verizon’s IoT team. There he witnessed how connected devices and technology-driven enterprises like ride-sharing services were transforming urban landscapes. Through his work, he saw the huge potential for making people’s lives better.
It was a passion that would eventually lead Mike to Pluralsight, the technology learning platform that believed in the power of technology skills to improve people’s lives. Here, Soldan quickly related to the company’s ethos, having gained significant career acceleration through constant tech-skill upgradation himself. His four-year tenure included a highly rewarding IPO. Yet, the drive to make a difference couldn’t keep him stagnant, leading him to join Shmoop, an education-focused company.
At Shmoop, Soldan turned his attention to resolving non-academic issues that impacted students’ academic performance. He worked on in-app surveys and was moved by the responses that testified to their positive impact. When it was time for his next adventure, Soldan knew he wanted to maintain that sense of purpose and create tangible societal value. That’s when he discovered Intterra.
Intterra, with its focus on firefighters and first responders, resonated deeply with Soldan. The company’s success in melding the traditional challenges of public sector work with the burgeoning opportunities in the fire safety and emergency response technology sector made it a compelling choice for him. He brings the same energy that marked his time in edtech during the COVID crisis to his current role at Intterra.
“In this space,” Soldan states, “we’ve seen a fascinating convergence of pressures and potentials. We are navigating through budgetary allocations aimed at reducing fire damage, especially in wildland/urban interface areas, coupled with an explosion of technology.”
Soldan believes that Intterra’s strong position in providing a common operating picture for emergency command staff sets it apart. As the industry inevitably goes through consolidation, he expects Intterra to emerge as the leader in providing essential situational awareness during crises.
But what about the future? Soldan believes artificial intelligence, large language learning models, and generative text will play a significant role in the evolving tech landscape. But, interestingly, his gaze is more focused on no-code/low-code innovation.
“No code/low code has the potential to democratize the creation of killer software by drastically reducing the translation from idea to production code,” Soldan explains. He foresees a future where anyone with a solid idea can turn it into a production app or tool.
Soldan also sees significant advancements in the blend of hardware and software in daily consumer applications, a cross-pollination that has remained largely elusive because of its inherent complexity. He anticipates that smart minds, adept at solving R&D problems across hardware, software, and firmware, will introduce innovative products that have hitherto been unseen.
As Soldan leads Intterra towards a future marked by no-code/low-code innovation and the fusion of hardware and software, his motivation remains centered on his core belief: leveraging technology for greater societal impact and bettering lives. From Verizon to Pluralsight, Shmoop, and now Intterra, Mike Soldan continues his hot streak, passionately blazing trails on the uncharted paths of tech.
