At Nexus Technologies, Inc., a big part of its successful pre-sales game plan is customization of services. It employs various strategies that focus on creating cybersecurity solutions that are retrofitted for each of their clients’ needs. It is this approach, among many other elements, that makes Nexus the leading provider of IT solutions in the Philippines.
Nido Molejon, head of pre-sales – Cybersecurity Architecture and Engineering, explains his department’s role in maintaining this direction:
“What we do is similar to what an architect does when they design a house,” he says. “We help companies design the cybersecurity requirements they need to establish or further strengthen their business in the digital age. We see that each company, especially if they’re from the same industry, will have the same requirement to comply. But we anticipate that they will have their own unique needs.”
At the forefront of those needs is data privacy. Although Nexus has clients across diverse industries, the IT solutions firm has found that the need to protect data is among the top priorities of companies regardless of the industry they belong to.
As Nexus tackles this humongous issue, its main challenge stems from making sure that, first, clients’ data privacy is not breached, and, second, the data clients are processing complies with the country’s data privacy requirements.
In looking for solutions to these technological challenges, Nexus sees it as one way for the company to step onto the global stage.
Global Standards
“In order for us to be globally competitive, we always bear in mind that the solutions we provide customers are globally known,” says Molejon, who has been with Nexus for over a decade.
These solutions include data privacy programs that are compatible with the laws of other countries. If a client wants to branch out into Europe, for example, Nexus helps create a data privacy program for them that complies with European data privacy laws, which are much stricter than those in the Philippines.
“We look for solutions that are well-known and are enterprise-grade,” says Molejon. “Aside from this, we also partner with organizations that stay for the long term. We don’t want to leave our clients in the air because of products that are suddenly discontinued.”
One of these reliable products Nexus offers is Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing platform within the Microsoft suite of products, which includes Microsoft 365 and Copilot.
Continuous Training
“We heavily invest in training because the technology is rapidly evolving,” says Mella Peñaranda, senior lead solutions consultant for Microsoft Azure. “That’s why we are very committed to continuous innovations and learning. We send our people wherever there are emerging technologies so they can learn these technologies.”
As Peñaranda described, aside from providing clients with good, world-class products and services, equally important is Nexus’s focus on constantly building its people’s skills.
The average training period a Nexus employee goes through for a new product or service is six months. This is particularly vital for Molejon’s team, who sells products and services that go through near-constant evolutions. For them to be able to effectively sell these to clients, they need to, first, understand what and why they are selling.
To ensure that the training sticks, Nexus finds the right people to train.
Molejon expounds: “We look at the background of the person,” he says. “Using a sports car analogy, you have two people. One likes Ferrari but he doesn’t want to drive it; he just wants to look at it. The other person likes to drive any sports car, regardless of the brand. In all likelihood, the one who likes to drive any sports car will learn faster than the one that still needs to be convinced to drive it.”
It is this analogy that Molejon shares with his team to explain why they need to constantly train to build up particular skill sets.
The regular training and personal development is part of why Nexus is a beloved company.
“What I like about working for Nexus is the culture,” says Peñaranda, who has been with Nexus for seven years. “As a mom, this system fits me very well. It’s output-based, and the bosses are always open to listening to suggestions from newbies.”
Company-Wide Solutions
For Nexus’s solutions—particularly their cybersecurity programs—to work, clients have to understand that these must involve everyone, not just the IT department. If the front desk isn’t trained to recognize phishing or voice scams, for example, that poses a threat to the entire company’s security program.
To this end, part of Nexus’s value-added service extensions, handled by Molejon’s team, is to give regular cybersecurity awareness workshops for their clients who request these.
“It’s not only about selling the solution,” says Molejon. “We also see our customers as our partners. It’s a continuous collaboration between us and our customers.”
