Meet Gordon Taylor, the Product Owner Lead here at EncompaaS. Gordon has over 20 years of experience designing, building, and deploying solutions that improve the way people work with information. Gordon’s passion for the upcoming features our development team is working on, along with his unique perspective on AI application in compliance, exemplifies the exciting and forward-thinking atmosphere that defines EncompaaS.

Who are you and what is your role at EncompaaS?

I’m Gordon Taylor, the Product Owner and Lead for EncompaaS. My role involves overseeing a team of product owners, which encompasses general management, product design, and coordination of development and testing. It’s a hybrid role, blending traditional product management with the agile definition of a product owner.

How did you get into this role?

I started in governance and compliance with Taylor software around 2000 where I worked in the US for the services team helping to deploy Trim to US customers. I also worked as a consultant before eventually leading the global presales team for HP in Southeast Asia. After running a couple of startups and a stint in sales, which gave me a great chance to see that side of things, I ended up with EncompaaS at Jaimie Tilbrook’s request and I’ve been here for three years now.

What are you excited about for the future, either professionally or personally?

I’m really excited about the upcoming features our small development team is working on. Getting these features into the hands of customers to make a difference is what makes software development truly rewarding.

Are there any exciting trends in the industry that you’re interested in?

There’s definitely excitement in the industry, and while AI remains a hot topic, I think there’s a unique perspective to consider. The development of language models and machine learning has been a long journey. Initially, I anticipated a plateau where custom models would be needed for specific problems, causing a lag behind the rapidly changing world. However, the creative idea of building models to predict the next word in a sentence was quite revolutionary and significantly advanced AI. I think as the hype around AI starts to settle, it becomes evident that the most useful applications are actually based on quite straightforward concepts.

Could you elaborate on how EncompaaS is utilising AI differently from others in the industry?

One of the ways we integrate AI is, rather than using language models to generate documents or responses, we employ AI to determine which category an item belongs to based on a set of criteria. This approach, especially when provided with a concise instruction set, proves to be very accurate. So, our focus is on leveraging AI to solve the record identification problem in compliance, streamlining the process and revolutionising information management.

Outside of work, do you have any hobbies or interests that you’re passionate about?

Certainly! I’m into synthesizers and play the guitar. I also enjoy surfing and playing golf. I have four kids who have all grown up and moved away now, so I’m always exploring new activities to keep busy.

In your own words, what problems does EncompaaS solve?

EncompaaS really addresses the challenge of managing and standardising information within an organisation. While software has long been able to locate and organise information, EncompaaS goes beyond by identifying patterns, standardising metadata, and assigning a standard form to every piece of information. This unique approach allows for the creation of policies, particularly in compliance, and opens up possibilities for innovative solutions, including advancements in enterprise search.

What’s it like working at EncompaaS?

Working at EncompaaS is truly tremendous. Our small, smart team with extensive experience fosters excellent dynamics. The transparency within the organisation is refreshing, with everyone working toward the same goal and no hidden agendas. Although there’s a desire for more in-person interactions, given our distributed team, EncompaaS is an exciting and rewarding place to work.