NTT DATA - Trusted Global Innovator

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23.01.2020
NTT DATA - Trusted Global Innovator
23.01.2020

NTT DATA - Cantemir Mihu

Cantemir Mihu is Chief Technology Officer at NTT DATA Romania and Site Manager of the Sibiu subsidiary. A young manager who wants to take the IT field to another level in our city. The NTT DATA Sibiu branch is developing and growing every day under Mr. Mihu's eyes. Below, you can read the discussion we had with him regarding the future prospects and the change that NTT DATA brought in Sibiu.


Cantemir Mihu is the Chief Technology Officer within NTT DATA Romania and the Site Manager of the Sibiu branch. A young manager who wants to take the IT field to another level in our city. The NTT DATA Sibiu branch is in full development and grows every day under the eyes of Mr. Mihu. Next, you can read the discussion I had with him regarding the future prospects and the change that NTT DATA has brought to Sibiu.

1. Hello, Mr. Mihu. Thank you for agreeing to talk with us for this project that New Concept Living is carrying out in Sibiu. For those who don't know, please tell us who NTT DATA is and what it does.
The NTT DATA Romania company provides specialized development and consulting services for IT service providers, system integrators and software companies in various industries, including the automotive and manufacturing industries. NTT DATA Romania is part of the Japanese group NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), one of the ICT-leaders (Information and Communication Technologies) globally, with over 303,000 employees and a wide portfolio of global infrastructure, communications and IT services solutions.
NTT DATA Romania has a team of more than 2000 specialists, distributed in 7 branches in Romania and Serbia.

2. What does NTT DATA mean for Sibiu and what does Sibiu mean for NTT DATA?
NTT DATA has been present in Sibiu for over 13 years (initially under the name EBS Romania) and currently has over 200 employees and collaborators. From the point of view of the Sibiu market, we can proudly say that NTT DATA is an important and well-known employer within the IT area. Due to the fact that most employees of the Sibiu branch provide direct services to customers abroad, we are therefore an important „intelligence exporter”, with considerable revenues for the city of Sibiu. The Sibiu branch generates an annual turnover of over 10 million Euros.
For NTT DATA, Sibiu means:
• The largest branch of the company
• The oldest branch
• An important source of German speakers
• An excellent location for software development services as well as support services
• A stable location within a relatively stable market

3. I know that you are based in several cities in Romania. What were the reasons why Sibiu is also on this list?
Sibiu was chosen from the beginning due to the large number of German speakers in the city, but also due to the short distance to Cluj, where the headquarters are located. The company constantly addressed customers in the German-speaking area, and the existence of a German-speaking community, together with two IT-faculties, was the recipe for success for the Sibiu branch.

4. You are the Site Manager within NTT DATA in Sibiu. What does this position mean in an IT company?
Our company currently has 7 branches. Each of these branches has a Site Manager. These Site Managers are responsible for the proper functioning of the branch. That is why there are certain direct, quantitative objectives that the Site Manager must monitor, such as fluctuation, motivational degree and profitability. But more important are the less quantifiable objectives, those more subjective aspects of a branch, such as the working atmosphere, the visibility and perception of the branch in the city, good communication between internal departments, maintaining relations with the academic environment and the business environment in the city. To cover all these aspects, the Site Manager's activity covers local administrative activities, coordination with headquarters and the departments there, ensuring optimal working conditions, but also a lot of People Management (from recruitment to individual discussions with colleagues).

5. What do you think, Mr. Mihu, is the IT sector a factor that puts Romania in a better light abroad?
Definitely yes. And I can certainly confirm this at least for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, countries where we have most of our customers. In the sales processes there were countless cases in which the customers confirmed that they had a completely different impression about Romania, before they met and visited us. Romania has become more and more known as a country with qualified people and a lot of potential in the IT area. That is why almost all the big IT companies in the world (Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, IBM, etc.) are present in Romania. On every occasion we invite people from other countries to visit and get to know us, because we have a lot to be proud of: from nature to infrastructure (I’m referring only to technical infrastructure, connectivity and Internet access, where we are superior to many western countries) , from new office buildings and excellent working conditions to highly skilled people with a lot of potential.

6. What are the main problems of Romania from the perspective of an IT company? What obstacles did you encounter?
It took a long effort for Romania to get onto the global IT map. Currently, the IT sector in Romania provides an important contribution to the country's economy, especially due to the export of services to other countries. It is one of the few areas in which we excel in terms of exports.
Romania faces several problems in the IT sector: Insufficient labor is a widespread problem, not only in Romania and it is not just a problem in the IT field. However, the growing demand for IT specialists could be turned into an advantage, if greater efforts were made to train qualified staff, if the labor market would adapt more to the needs of the economy. Society seems to produce as many IT professionals annually as it did 10-15 years ago, even though demand has grown from year to year at a rapid pace. The low efficiency in training new people in the IT field, together with the general demographic problem of Romania, will create a growing problem over time. The pressure put on prices and wages by the departure of Romanians in other countries turns into long-term unattractiveness for the IT field. Small investments in innovation, as well as low support for start-ups limit the possibilities of asserting Romania even more in the world. Compared to the potential that exists in Romania, there are, however, few solutions that have become internationally recognized.
And another problem would be the unstable and uncertain legislative context in Romania (for example: the unfavorable impact on IT companies due to the transition of contributions from employer to employee).

7. If you were talking to a high school student, what programming languages would you recommend for him to learn or what should he do to have a successful career in this field?
It is important for a student during high school to develop a passion for a profession, regardless of the field. If he chooses the IT field, he must understand that it is a job that combines abstract thinking with creativity and inventiveness. These characteristics of the field must suit him, he has to feel that he is made for it. The programming language is secondary, it will certainly change a few times in the life of a programmer. The passion, however, should last a lifetime.
What I recommend students is to find out as much as possible, in advance, about the field they are thinking of choosing: to visit a company in that field, to do an internship of a few days, to ask someone active in that field how the professional life actually is, what it means, what challenges and what satisfactions it provides. Compared to 15-20 years ago, companies are much more prepared to open their doors and to explain to students what it means to work in that company. A good opportunity for such a thing is, for example, „Săptămâna Altfel”(Doing School Differently), a period in which we had groups of students who stayed for a few days among our colleagues. We received extremely encouraging feedback after this activity, which we actively promote among high schools.
after this activity, which we actively promote in high schools.

8. There is room for everyone, but how important is differentiation in a specific market in the context of competition? What is the main advantage of an IT company and how can it set itself apart from similar companies operating in the same market?
Nowhere are there two identical companies. Each company differs from the others on the basis of certain aspects, such as the nature of the activity, the projects carried out, the working conditions, the salary, the location, the reputation or the security it provides. A candidate looking for a job will evaluate all these parameters and make a decision accordingly. Companies must always know their strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, they risk promoting some characteristics and neglecting the others, thus creating an imbalance that will be reflected over time in a high fluctuation. The real challenge is to have a balance between all these important factors, for as many employees as possible, and this not only for short periods, but permanently.

9. Who are the clients of NTT DATA? For whom do you develop software solutions and services?
The Sibiu branch has focused a lot on international customers in the past, especially in Germany, but this has changed in the past 3-4 years. Our client portfolio is best characterized by Diversity. We have small clients, but also premium clients, we have clients from different branches and industries (Automotive, Finance, Production, Retail, etc.). We have clients with various needs and technologies (Embedded programming and testing, classic programming, SAP programming and consulting, support and maintenance services). An achievement that we are very proud of is that the proportion of customers from Romania is growing and has reached, at the level of the entire company, almost a third of the total turnover. This indicates a maturation of the Romanian market and the fact that more and more steps are being taken in Romania in the direction of digitalization. More and more money is being invested in integrated systems, management systems or automation systems. On the national market we are a provider and integrator of complex IT solutions and systems.

10. Thank you very much, on behalf of the New Concept Living team, for your time and I wish you much success. Let 2020 be a year that is at least as good!
Thank you, too, and I wish you much success!
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