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Nationwide IT Services Inc. |
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November 12, 2018 Issue |
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CEOCFO MAGAZINE |
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Q&A with C.K. Park, President and CEO of Nationwide IT Services Inc. providing Enterprise IT services to Government Agencies and Commercial Customers including Software Development, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Migration, Systems Integration, Cyber Security and Change Management |
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President & Chief Executive Officer
Nationwide IT Services Inc.
Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – November 12, 2018
CEOCFO: Mr. Park, would you tell us the vision behind Nationwide IT Services? Mr. Park: Nationwide IT Services was founded after working on a $10 million project that experienced cost overrun of $12 million. We recognized that there is a different way to manage projects to get better results. The company was founded with a mission of improving projects by incorporating human factors into technology that would add value while making a difference to customers.
CEOCFO: What does that mean on a day-to-day basis? Mr. Park: It means that we must work day to day with focus on meeting the objectives of the customer requirements as we deliver solutions and services that will have a lasting impact. We do not operate with a focus on revenue; instead we look for opportunities where we can make a difference for our customers. We create solutions through approaches that deliver results and add value to how organizations operate, perform, and support their customers. In other words, this is a solution the customers are going to be benefitting from their investment.
CEOCFO: With that philosophy, how do you assess a project differently than perhaps a standard company that does not look at the whole picture? Mr. Park: One of the key differentiators in our company is that everything that we do has to be based on integrity with a customer focus. More importantly, one of the key differentiators is we help customers see that technology is a tool that delivers capabilities to develop a solution. What we do is to help the customer see that technology is a tool that can improve their business and their operations, which will add value to how they function, manage and deliver services to their customers. In this process, we balance technology, people and processes to improve an organizations operational effectiveness.
CEOCFO: Would you tell us the different services you offer? Mr. Park: We have customers across the federal and commercial sectors. We provide services under the full breadth of Enterprise IT inclusive of software development, IT infrastructure and operations and maintenance. We prepare organizations for migrating to the cloud. We help our customers leverage the latest innovations such as cloud-based PBX, or we help them with the leveraging and advanced data analytics, business intelligence, how to mine social media, and how to truly leverage information to improve their decision-making process. That may be in cyber security, project management, organizational change management, systems development, operations maintenance, with ERP systems, or systems integration.
CEOCFO: Do you look for a particular mix between government and commercial or is a project a project? Mr. Park: They are usually project to project based on our customer needs. Over 90% of our support is currently provided to Federal government agencies.
CEOCFO: Are you looking to change the mix? Mr. Park: We are slowly looking at the possibility of increasing our commercial customer base. We have supported fortune 500 companies as well as local and state organizations. I think it will be based on how we can help customers and truly add value.
CEOCFO: With such a variety of services you are able to provide, how do you decide which projects to bid on? Mr. Park: One of our biggest criteria is whether the projects the customer is requesting fits within our core capabilities. Second, whether we have the expertise and a staff to add the value. Third, can make a difference. That is how we focus. Our biggest criteria: adding value and providing lasting solutions.
CEOCFO: How are you able to encourage a client to understand that technology is a tool and not the end result? Mr. Park: One of the biggest differences is that we start from the requirement phase. A lot of times the customer says they have a problem and they would like to have a solution or state that they want an application or software built. If we were to take it at face value, yes, I think we can develop it and grow revenue; but instead we actually look at the requirements, we analyze and do a deep dive to understand the customer’s true needs and not just what they think they need. We look at the underlying need first and then we analyze all available solutions before we make a recommendation. We are partnered with industry leading technology partners, technology providers such as Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe, Oracle; all of these technologies who are at the cutting edge of innovation. We have a lot of experience. When a customer has a requirement, we do not just automatically assume that the solutions is what the customer is asking for; instead we analyze it and make sure that whatever a customer is requiring, is truly in the best interest of their organization, and we give a number of different options for customers to consider. We then work more in a collaborative fashion so that customers are fully aware of what they are engaging, what they can expect, and we deliver what we promised and ensure customer sees the value of what we deliver.
CEOCFO: There are so many changes in technology; how do you plan for a long-term future when so much can change quickly? Mr. Park: We understand that and that is why we maintain partnerships with industry leading technology partners to maintain the currency of technology and staying current with where we are heading. For example, mobile technology; one of our partners has a solution that collects and consolidates data from the social media, wireless carriers, all of the service providers, and the application provides a true picture of customers in a specific space. The way we usually work is, not only we have the solution of what they need now, but we also look at it from a business perspective and where does the business want to head in the next three, five and or ten years.
CEOCFO: What do you look for in your people? Mr. Park: One of the main criteria we always look for is Integrity and belief, and one of the interview questions we always ask is about integrity. They must have integrity and understand what they stand for and they act within the integrity. They must work on the customer’s interest and they have to fit within our corporate culture. That is why we go through extensive interviews to make sure our people are a good fit within our corporate culture, corporate policies, are personable, and have aptitude where they can learn and grow both personally and professionally. Many of our technicians and engineers have been with our company for a long time. We want to make sure all of our personnel are successful so we can continue to deliver value to our customers.
CEOCFO: What has changed in your approach over time? Mr. Park: In our market, particularly when the economy is booming like it is now; it is very difficult for us to find talent. People are always chasing the higher salary, but that is why you have to manage customers and employees, making sure that we are providing a total package. How we take care of our customers is dependent on our employees so there has to be a culture fit. They have to have good communication skills, collaboration skills, they have to be able to listen, and they have to have the ability to work well with customers as a team effort; working together. Our biggest change from the way it used to be; we originally focused on the ability for our employees to do the job, but now we look for employees who have the aptitude, integrity, ability to add value to our customers, and recruit personnel that have the same beliefs and commitment to our corporate culture. We are realizing the importance of our employees as a partner and a total package, not just basing our hiring decision on their technical skills.
CEOCFO: Are there any solutions or areas you would like to add to Nationwide IT? Mr. Park: We are investing heavily, researching and spending more on resources, and trying to stay ahead of technology. Not only are we helping customers, but there are a lot of customers who are still hesitant about moving to the cloud, so we are trying to implement a better process where we can help customers understand the benefits and the security of their information. Security landscape is critical because there are constant security threats from all of the bad actors across the globe. We want to make sure that our customers understand the risk and benefits, how to manage those risks, and how to keep an open mind to technology that can positively impact their total solution. There is so much information out there, that there is no way an organization or people can absorb it. We must leverage technology to identify and analyze the data and be able to provide the results when they need it in a meaningful way, so they can make smart decisions. We are heavily focusing on data analytics, innovation, cybersecurity, and cloud migration.
CEOCFO: NIS has been recognized on the Inc 5000 list and the Washington Technology Fast 50. You were a finalist for SECAF. What recognition stands out; what is most meaningful? Mr. Park: The year before last we also received an award from the SECAF and recognition as one of the top twenty technology providers in the government space. This year we were nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. In the Washington Business Journal we were Top 75. All of these recognitions are good, but I think a bigger recognition is when I visit our customers and they thank our team for delivering what we say we promised and thanking our team for the great work they are doing. There is no better recognition than customer satisfaction and successful execution.
CEOCFO: How do you spend your time as CEO of Nationwide IT; what is your focus? Mr. Park: First, I want to make sure that our employees are taken care of. Second, I want to make sure our customers are taken care of. Third, our corporate culture as an organization is constantly evolving to meet the future demands and I want to ensure that we are strategically positioned to be competitive in the market. I spend considerable amount of time visiting our employees and customers, always working to differentiate ourselves and be competitive. I also spend a lot of time working with our leadership to continue to develop a company culture that our employees can believe in and be proud of, a company that our employees can tell their colleagues that they enjoy what they are doing; especially when they see all their hard work is being leveraged by our customers and customers are getting the results they truly need. We are constantly striving for that.
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“We create solutions through approaches that deliver results and add value to how organizations operate, perform, and support their customers.”- C.K. Park
Nationwide IT Services Inc.
Contact: C.K. Park 703-750-0453
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IT Services for Government, Nationwide IT Services Inc., Government Information Technology, C.K. Park, Providing Enterprise IT services to Government Agencies and Commercial Customers including Software Development, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Migration, Systems Integration, Cyber Security and Change Management, CEO Interviews 2018, Government Services Companies, Business Services Company, Technology Company, Information Technology Solutions, Service Desk Operations & Maintenance, Network Management and Engineering, System Engineering, Data Center, Virtualization, Cloud, Database Administration, SharePoint Development and Administration, Application Development and Support, ERP System Implementation, Multimedia/Audio-Visual, Management Consulting, Business/Management Analysis, Data Analytics, Business Process Re-engineering/Improvement, Policy and Strategic Communications, Organizational Change Management, Administrative Support Services, Cyber Security, FISMA, DIACAP, FIPS, NIST SP 800, FedRAMP, Risk Management Framework, RMF, Certification and Accreditation, C&A, Assessment and Authorization, A&A, Compliance and Governance, ISSO and AISSO Support, Cybersecurity and Vulnerability Assessments, Independent Verification and Validation, Computer Network Defense, Professional Services, program management, quality assurance, quality control, operation research, systems analysis, training and curriculum development, earned value management, ACAT-1 acquisition support, training using 3D Multimedia Animation, Simulations and high-resolution modeling, Nationwide IT Services Inc. Press Releases, News, twitter, facebook, linkedin |
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