An interview with Nguyen Manh Thang, CEO AgileTech (Vietnam) 

How are you doing in the COVID era?

Under the strain of COVID-19, Vietnam was quick to respond and remained in control. Now, we are in a "new normal" time. People are still advised to wear face masks and use hand sanitizers.  Overall though, we are remain optimistic about a post-COVID-19 slow but stable economic recovery.
 
Can you tell us a little background about AgileTech?

AgileTech has had over 5 years experience in the technology era. With a talented team and a transparent working process, we are always ready to move forwards with you on the way to pursuing innovative ideas.

What makes AgileTech unique from other companies?

The secret is our team member. We focus greatly on offering training and supporting to ensure employees are able to face new challenges and develop as individuals. We also seek to promote an active lifestyle among our team in different sporting events. It is our conviction that we all feel and perform better when we have a healthy lifestyle.

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected your business and if so, how are you adjusting?

It has affected my business. The traditional approach is person to person. However, the COVID-19 has moved almost all sales online. At an early stage, it's hard to adapt to that change. But after one month, our team seems to be happier with the new arrangements. Video platforms like zoom and live chat are helping us seal the deal.

What do you think are the major trends happening in the field?

We've already blogged about the top technology trends from 2020 See: https://agiletech.vn/fastest-growing-industries-2020  

What are the keys to customer success and satisfaction and has that changed in the era of COVID?

The pandemic has significantly shifted the B2B marketing landscape. The essence of a strong social presence, as well as a powerful direct channel, is no longer evitable. Therefore, the keys to a resilient business for now and then are to advance their business model drastically to adapt to the heavy demand for digital channels, which are vigorously becoming the primary customer-engagement model. The ways they learn from and adjust to today’s crisis will deeply influence their performance tomorrow.

How would you see your company ten years in the future?

COVID-19 helps us change our thinking. It is a breaking po...more

An interview with Bo Pedersen, Marketing Manager at Seven Peaks Software (Thailand) 

How are you and your family doing in the COVID era?

Both my family and I are healthy and doing well. The only impact of COVID-19, family wise, is that this year's Christmas will be over a video call. Not the Christmas we have looked forward to, but we have to adjust due to the world wide pandemic.

Can you tell us about how you joined Seven Peaks Software? 

I joined Seven Peaks Software in August 2019. I sent an unsolicited application to Seven Peaks Software, and by that moment the company never had any marketing or business development employees. The company reached 35 employees and the time has come to invest in growing the company as it has now established its mature state and the concept was proof. We've built Seven Peaks Software to be an all encompassing experience. We achieve this by bringing everything in house and training our teams on what matters most to our clients, this helps us engineer the right solution to our clients business needs. Since I joined Seven Peaks Software in August 2019 we have expanded the marketing team and we started to offer digital marketing services, as we saw our client base had a need for this.

What makes Seven Peaks Software unique from others in the field?

What makes Seven Peaks Software unique comes to being a family. We care about our employees' work life balance. To strengthen our internal 'life at Seven Peaks' we'd many social activities, such as Muay Thai Tuesday, Running Wednesday and Thursday Lunch. We also have regular Friday bars either at our office with xbox, Playstation, board games. Special themed Friday Bars such as Oktoberfest and Christmas are also initiatives to getting together. Next month we are going for a company outing on a Catamaran yacht.

But besides all the social activities, we are an engineering first company, and our biggest strength is that we are mainly seniors working here. Our leadership team are all engineers and have an engineering first approach. We are primarily senior engineers which ensure the delivery of the best possible quality every time. And this is important for our clients, which is mainly local and international enterprises. You can clearly see that quality is everything when it comes to our clients, as we are their trusted technology partner. 3+ years is our average client...more

An Interview with Alejandro Peña, CEO of Consensus (HQ: Argentina)

Let's start with some personal questions. How are you and your family doing in the COVID era?

The family is fine, taking care of us and still in quarantine waiting for the vaccine!!!

Can you tell us about how you founded or joined this company?

I was a Commercial & Marketing Manager for one of the biggest LATAM IT Company for 20 years. In 2007, I created from scratch my own company and I had being very lucky after 13 years having a company with very talent’s people around several business unit. We have offices in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, London, in few months we are opening in Montevideo, and next years, after Covid, we will be open an office in the USA

What makes your company unique from others in the field?

I have the firm conviction that an IT software and services company is 100% based on people, not the smartest, but the most passionate. I was lucky to have a team with all these passionate people, and if you have the right people, all our clients' problems (which are people's problems) can be solved and I firmly believe that in this way we become a unique company for each of them.    

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected your business and if so, how are you adjusting?

We had to go from all people sitting in the offices to 100% home office. Our business is growing, but we are adjusting new ways to find and communicate our capabilities to new prospects and customers and but also we need to improve our internal communication procedures, ie when new fellows are coming in to the company, how to transmit our company DNA?, it is a continues work to discover new ways to talk each other, to listen & understand each other.

What do you think are the major trends in your field?

What was supposed to happen in the next 5 years is happening now thanks to COVID. From the small business to the largest corporation regardless of their industry, a great digital transformation is going through them, so the main trends will be the large-scale use of software and / or business applications. The global market will need all kinds of software and services that strengthen relationships between people.

What are the keys to customer success and satisfaction and has that changed in the era of COVID?

All relationships have an emotional component — and that hold...more

We’re living in an era of grim news: the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the globe, forcing many businesses to close doors and make challenging decisions about staffing, assets, and strategies. We’re bracing for an economic downturn, with some estimates expecting 34 percent fewer goods and services from April to June in the US this year compared to last, according to recent predictions from Goldman Sachs.  But even with all the dire predictions, with the right mindset and strategy, your business could actually boom in the midst of this gloom. Look at Warren Buffet, the business magnate, investor, and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway who hardly needs his credentials noted.  Buffet advises, “Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy. Profit from folly rather than participate in it.”  He also acts. In 2008, Buffet’s confident investment in Goldman Sachs rewarded him to the tune of $3.7 billion, according to Fast Company. Although no other business has the funds Buffet does, you can take a page from his playbook and take his advice to find the upside for your business in the downturn. Here are a few things to consider: Now is the perfect time to streamline your operations. Are your teams working with the most efficient technology stack, or are they bouncing around between a plethora of tools that hardly talk to one another? A small investment in a better software solution can mean a large gain in operational efficiency in the long term. 

Focus on innovative, proactive steps instead of restrictive, defensive steps. When it comes to the bottom line in a recession, your business has two options: cut back, or find new revenue streams. While many will hunker down to make it through the tough time, your innovation solutions could propel your business forward so you come out ahead. 
Lean into your marketing efforts. Surprisingly, even while people tighten up personal and business budgets in a recession, research shows advertising in a downturn can lead to growth. As early as the Great Depression, General Motors outpaced market leader Ford by 1931, thanks in part to its innovative use of outdoor billboards and radio advertising that lauded the company’s budget brand, Chevy. Looking at the 1985 Recession, McGraw-Hill’s Research noted companies that kept or increased advertising budgets saw a 256% increase in sal...more

An Interview with South Geeks CEO, Julia Duran

Let's start with some personal questions. How are you and your family doing in the COVID era?

I live in Argentina where we’ve had the longest lockdown in human history followed by a million COVID cases, so we’ve been in coping mode for 7 months now. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for everyone and we are trying to keep ourselves busy, to use the time to reflect, and to lend hands whenever possible. 

Can you tell us about how you founded or joined this company?

I have a technical background in Software Development and for years I was one of the nearshore team members working for blue chip corporations and providing services to clients in North America and Europe. After some time in the business we identified some aspects that could be improved in the nearshoring business. For some months before launching we identified a set of ideas that laid the foundations of South Geeks’ strong culture.

We wanted to create a company that would build long-term relationships with clients and team members and that would focus on high quality, professionalism and community. Followed by some of the professionals we worked with in the past, and counting on the trust of some of my former clients, we started this very fulfilling journey.

What makes your company unique from others in the field?

There are many ways in which we are unique, but if I had to name 3 I would go with:  we care for our clients deeply, we are very selective with the people we bring on board, and we run our business consciously.

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected your business and if so, how are you adjusting?

Of course! We are lucky enough to be in an industry that has not been as severely affected as others, but we have been impacted nonetheless.

Some of the areas that were more affected are:

-        Teams and clients morale: people were touched in many ways by this pandemic, and it is now more important than ever to be sensible to our counterparts’ situations.

-        We were already used to working remotely, so that hasn’t changed, but everyone accommodating having their families around (try coding with a 5 year old on your lap), struggling with connectivity and dealing with isolation has been particularly challenging. Our performance coach has been f...more

A discussion with Ameer Al Saati of Main Source 365 Tech Innovators

1: Let's start with some personal questions. How are you and your family doing in the COVID era?

We are staying safe at home kids are on homeschooling and, I'm working from home as well adjusted to this new remote reality
 
2: Can you tell us about how you founded or joined this company?

Founded in 2012 as a sole proprietor with my mom in NewYork and my self-managing the development of operations with a team of technology experts providing  remote support services from the Philippines.

3: What makes your company unique from others in the field?

We make I.T easy for everyone!

4: Has the coronavirus pandemic affected your business and if so, how are you adjusting?

The coronavirus has affected everyone globally but for us less than others as we are a remote-first company from day one.

5: What do you think are the major trends in your field?

Helping companies and individuals with cybersecurity, cloud computing, IoT, and adapting to the new remote really with technology.

6: What are the keys to customer success and satisfaction and has that changed in the era of COVID?

Staying connected with our customers to build loyalty and peace of mind with technology in uncertain times.

7: How would you see your company ten years in the future?

We all know technology is the future, and keeping up with innovations in this technology-driven world we live in not easy.  Main Source 365 Tech is about providing reliable IT solutions, making IT easy for everyone all around the world.

8: Any final thoughts?  

Our goal is to provide businesses and homes with reliable CyberSecurity & IT Solutions anywhere,  at any time, making IT easy for everyone.  

Website: www.mainsource365.com 
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