Creating a Legend: Hard Work, Tenacity, and a Track Record of Success

Creating a Legend (Part 1): Hard Work

Kristen Bridgers, Sr. Product Marketing Manager

My name is Kristen Rose; I am GTT’s Sr. Product Marketing Manager.

I am a new addition to the team but not new to the space. I’ve been in the ITS and Transit industry for going on five years. I’ve been a marketer since I graduated college in 2009, so for about 13 years and specialized in Product Marketing for four years.

One thing that has and continues to be difficult, not just for GTT but for many legendary companies in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) space, is the continuous dedication to digital transformation.

We are living in a digital age, and there is a great need to connect physical devices to the internet through “The Internet of Things.” When we’re able to make that connection of physical infrastructure to the cloud through centralized solutions, we get BIG Data. And Big Data can drive big, POSITIVE change for our customers.

In theory, this may seem simple, but in execution, it means legendary companies that have been around for decades must make fundamental changes to the way we do business and service our customers.

My role at GTT as a Product Marketer is to tell the story of our innovation. Of the hard work put in to build our centralized, cloud-based solution. To know our products in and out and to simplify the complex.

GTT is legendary in that we have led the market for Preemption and Transit Signal Priority for more than 50 years.

But we will continue the story of legendary because we invest in our people and our customers. We listen to their needs, and we are agile to address them. We work harder and smarter than anyone else in the business.

And we develop solutions that save and improve lives.

 

Creating a Legend (Part 2): Tenacity

Shannon Bailey, Strategic Account Director

My name is Shannon Bailey, and I’m a Strategic Account Director at Global Traffic Technologies.

I’ve been in the Transit Signal Priority and preemption solution space with GTT for about two years now, but I would like to think of myself as a tenured technology expert since I’ve been immersed in the public transportation and ITS markets for the past 12 years.

If we’ve ever worked together, then you know my passion for the transportation industry. I pride myself on the work I’ve accomplished with my agency partners and cities.

I always try to keep in mind as I consult with my customers that no two cities or agencies are alike. Being a great technology partner requires listening and understanding the daily challenges and pains individuals face. That’s the only way you can determine the best solution to fit their specific needs.

This isn’t always easy. Technology changes rapidly, and as new requirements surface in the ITS space, we must be agile. This requires strong, trusted partnerships with our customers, relationships GTT has built over the last 56 years. This fast pace requires us to roll up our sleeves and dive deep into what solutions look like today and what they may look like in one, five, even ten years from now.

At GTT, we often ask, what can we take from the past and build upon for a better solution in the future? What are your challenges? What does your infrastructure look like, and how can we help you improve or change?

Understanding a legendary solution like Opticom allows GTT to stay at the forefront of Transit Signal priority and preemption-based solutions for the next generation of systems.

GTT supports our customers. Not just in the preliminary stages but during implementation and, most importantly, after deployment. Customers are not just clients; they are long-term partners. The relationships you build in transportation require a great deal of trust. As a technology provider, you invest in them as much as they are investing in you.

But we don’t stop when the system is signed off. That is the difference between failure and success.

To put it simply, we exhibit tenacity – that fierce blend of determination, persistence, and grit to collaborate as a team and see these projects through while continuously supporting our partners long after the solution has been deployed.

That above all is why GTT is legendary. We have been supporting some long-time partners for more than 50 years. We have helped cities grow, from the original IR technology to advanced centralized solutions deployed in their cities today, all while saving lives and improving transportation efficiency.

GTT is an innovator! We are Legendary because of our tenacity.

Kevin Ashton, who coined the term “Internet of Things” (IoT), once said:

“Tenacity is far more important than talent. Innovators don’t do things that have never been tried; they do things that have never been done. The difference between successful innovators and everybody else is that innovators keep failing until they don’t. They have to be irrationally passionate. Innovators keep banging their head against the wall until they make a door.”

 

Creating a Legend (Part 3): Record of Success

Josh Lehman, Sr. Product Manager

How can Opticom pave the way for next-generation safety and efficiency in transportation?

My name is Josh Lehman and, as a senior product manager at GTT, this is a question myself and our product team are always trying to answer.

In our pursuit to bring cities to the next generation, we have been participating in worldwide ITS, fire, police, and transit events and working with hundreds of customers to identify their key pain points that we can help solve. Listening to our customers has helped guide our product enhancements, and ultimately, these solutions are helping save and improve lives. I’m proud to be a part of that.

Without revealing too much, we are looking to revolutionize the safety and efficiency of communities through the use of large data sets, including vehicle and intersection data. Our goal is not only to solve the problems of today but also to address the issues of tomorrow. We are also building more flexible and scalable solutions that will be even easier to deploy while reducing and sometimes eliminating maintenance needs. We believe these improvements will continue to keep Opticom’s legendary legacy as a premier solution for emergency response, traffic, and transit agencies worldwide.