UpCloud, the world’s fastest and most reliable cloud hosting provider, uses Cognism to:
- Increase its connected call rate from 4% to 27%.
- Generate 100% of its opportunities.
- Gain access to compliant quality data.
- Save its BDRs 8 hours per week in manual work.
- Double sales opportunities in the first 2 months.
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The company
UpCloud is a top European cloud service provider with a global cloud platform spanning four continents. It offers a reliable, cloud-native product portfolio accessible from 13 different data centres in Amsterdam, Chicago, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Madrid, New York, San Jose, Singapore, Sydney, Warsaw and Stockholm.
Founded in 2012, UpCloud is based in Helsinki, Finland, and has a global team operating worldwide. Its 100% SLA guarantees uninterrupted service, empowering businesses around the world to succeed.
Which teams use Cognism?
Currently, UpCloud’s business development team is using Cognism. After evaluating Cognism and one other provider, UpCloud was won over by Cognism’s quality data.
The challenge
We interviewed Dan Orbach, Head of Sales & Partnerships at UpCloud, to discuss how Cognism’s contact data boosted his sales team’s connected call rate.
How did you first find out about Cognism?
“Our first encounter with Cognism was through Charlie (Account Executive), who did a fantastic job prospecting for UpCloud. Access to contact data was essential for us, so we discussed how to obtain it with Cognism’s sales team.”
“Cognism is very highly regarded in the B2B industry; I don’t think there’s anyone in this field that hasn’t heard of them!”
What problems was UpCloud trying to solve?
“Our previous provider wasn’t meeting our needs. It lacked accurate data, which prevented our BDR team from prospecting effectively.”
Dan continued:
“Our BDR team could only manage to dial 100 calls per week as it was impossible to do more without having the right phone numbers. We spent more time searching for numbers rather than picking up the phone and dialling.”
“Cognism significantly changed this for us. Now, 100% of our opportunities come from using its data.”
The solution
How does UpCloud use Cognism?
“We upload a list of company domains and retrieve phone numbers and email addresses through Cognism’s Web App. We also gather extensions from Sales Navigator.”
“I have to say, the workflow runs extremely well with Cognism’s Browser Extension. Three of my BDRs have direct access to it, and I haven’t had any complaints so far!”
“We’ve also found the tool integrates very well with Salesforce. That’s how effective it’s been for us.”
Who is UpCloud’s ICP/target audience?
“At UpCloud, we mainly target Heads of Infrastructure and CTOs, and occasionally tech leads.”
“In terms of our ICP, we’ll go after mid-market organisations and SMBs operating in highly regulated industries across Europe. These include medtech, telecommunications, health tech, web hosting and blockchain.”
Dan added:
“We have customers in Asia and the US, but we’ll only use them for outbound purposes.”
How does Cognism perform against its competitors?
Dan explained:
“One thing that is very important to us is strict GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and licensing.”
“When searching for our provider, Cognism and one other were the only ones that were GDPR-compliant. Both providers offered free trials, and although we preferred the other provider’s UX and pricing, Cognism won us over with their quality contact data.”
But it wasn’t just the quality data that led UpCloud to choose Cognism! As Dan said:
“Cognism’s sales team were super-helpful. Charlie in particular was fantastic, and the whole team boosted our confidence!”
“From a legal perspective, our legal advisor recommended we use Cognism over the other provider.”
The results
How has Cognism helped UpCloud?
Dan told us how the data obtained from the free trials increased their connected call rate:
“Since using the data obtained from Cognism’s free trial, we’ve seen an increase in our connected call rate from 4% to 27%. This is by far our biggest result and the one we’re most proud of.”
“With that increase in connected calls, we have a much higher chance of securing meetings. It’s a no-brainer, and all thanks to Cognism!”
“We started using Cognism in January 2025, and in 2 months alone, we have seen the same number of sales opportunities generated as the whole of Q4 before using Cognism.”
“With this trend continuing, we will see a 100% increase in opportunities this quarter.”
“I feel so grateful as Cognism has helped my sales BDRs hit their KPIs and quotas. They are super happy and motivated as a result.”
UpCloud has also seen significant time savings:
“Thanks to Cognism, my BDR team now saves 8 hours per week. The team became frustrated with the time it took to build contact lists, only to get two email addresses back. It’s not sustainable to work in that way. It’s much better to have quality data, in my view.”
Have there been any intangible benefits to having Cognism?
Dan told us:
“Thanks to Cognism’s knowledgeable and friendly sales team, we’ve become more confident in our capabilities. Anytime we needed to get in touch, Charlie was always on hand to lend his support - he’s been a big influence!”
“Cognism’s contact data quality is far better than the other provider we evaluated, and everyone on my team is happy to work with them.”
How did UpCloud find Cognism’s onboarding process?
Here’s what Dan had to say about the onboarding experience:
“We have zero complaints about Cognism’s onboarding process. Everything was clear, and Charlie helped us massively with his professionalism and commitment.”
Why UpCloud recommends Cognism
Dan shared some key reasons why he would recommend Cognism:
“I would 100% recommend Cognism. Compliance is a big factor, along with data quality. We truly believe Cognism’s data quality is incomparable.”
“When you have this and a positive sales experience, it’s very easy to recommend it to others.”
“Finally, the Cognism team is enjoyable to work with; they’re relatable, professional and present great sales skills. Working with great people and great tech that gets results - what more could you ask for?”
