Lampstellar

a CX blog by Pralhad

Customer-First.
Production-Grade.
AI Adoption.

Read the latest

AI Deployment Manager - drives AI from pilot to production.

✦Fresh light

The latest entries

FULL ARCHIVE →
What an FDE Must Uncover About Agents During Customer Discovery?8 MIN READAI AdoptionForward Deployed Engineer

What an FDE Must Uncover About Agents During Customer Discovery?

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AI Adoption Without a Deployment Manager Is Just a Procurement Event4 MIN READAI Adoption

AI Adoption Without a Deployment Manager Is Just a Procurement Event

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Wiring the MCPs: What an FDE Must Uncover About MCP During Customer Discovery7 MIN READAI AdoptionForward Deployed Engineer

Wiring the MCPs: What an FDE Must Uncover About MCP During Customer Discovery

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Security Posture in the Discovery Phase: What the FDE Has to Surface Early7 MIN READSecurityForward Deployed Engineer

Security Posture in the Discovery Phase: What the FDE Has to Surface Early

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Beyond the Model: The Four Pillars That Turn AI Infra Into Scalable Base6 MIN READInfrastructureAI Adoption

Beyond the Model: The Four Pillars That Turn AI Infra Into Scalable Base

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Mining for Skills: What an FDE Must Uncover During Customer Discovery7 MIN READAI AdoptionForward Deployed Engineer

Mining for Skills: What an FDE Must Uncover During Customer Discovery

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Reading the Room: Onboarding Across Every Seniority in One Call8 MIN READOnboarding

Reading the Room: Onboarding Across Every Seniority in One Call

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The AI Adoption Ladder: Skills, MCP, and Agents in the Real World5 MIN READAI Adoption

The AI Adoption Ladder: Skills, MCP, and Agents in the Real World

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✦Pillars of Customer Success

From first hello to trusted advisor.

01Onboarding4 POSTS →02Product Adoption3 POSTS →03Retention4 POSTS →04Expansion2 POSTS →05Advocasy2 POSTS →06Strategic Advisor4 POSTS →

✦Tech Events

Holding the stage.

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Pralhad Sonar speaking at TEDx SCMSPuneTEDx SCMSPune · 19 Sept 2025READ THE STORY →
Still riding the energy from OAISYS 2025Still riding the energy from OAISYS 202530 NOV 2025 · 1 MIN→Pralhad at OpenSourceConfWhat a moment - speaking at Open Source India 2025 in Bengaluru!06 NOV 2025 · 1 MIN→Pralhad as a TEDx Speaker1x TEDx Speaker: A Stage, a Story, and 18 Minutes That Mattered 19 SEPT 2025 · 3 MIN→Next.js Summit PuneNext.js Summit Pune23 MAY 2025 · 1 MIN→

✦Build - Deploy - Sustain

AI, from pilot to production.

ADMAI Deployment Manager
Core focus
Drives AI from pilot to production
Success metric
Pilots shipped & delivering value
Works with
Data, ML & platform teams
Technical depth

Owns AI delivery · technical, light coding

FDEForward Deployed Engineer
Core focus
Builds & ships custom integrations and code
Success metric
Does it work in production?
Works with
Engineering & dev teams
Technical depth

Writes code · deepest hands-on build role

TAMTechnical Account Manager
Core focus
Advises on architecture, handles escalations
Success metric
Technical health of the account
Works with
IT, admins & technical leads
Technical depth

Knows the product deeply · rarely codes

CSMCustomer Success Manager
Core focus
Owns adoption, renewal & expansion
Success metric
Net revenue retention (NRR)
Works with
Business & exec stakeholders
Technical depth

Relationship-first · business fluency

✦Credentials

8x certified CSM

8x

Certified CSM

Gainsight ×3 · SuccessCOACHING ×5

Gainsight Customer Success Leader certification badge

3× Gainsight

Pulse+ professional track · CSM, Advanced, Leader · 2021-2022

SuccessCOACHING Certified Customer Success Manager badge

5× SuccessCOACHING

CCSM ladder · Level 1 through Level 5 · 2022-2023

  • Certified against the industry standard, so every playbook here is studied - not improvised.
  • Two schools, one discipline: Gainsight for the platform and leadership track; SuccessCOACHING for the full methodology ladder.
  • Proof of intent: the craft was studied end to end, then practiced in the field for a decade.