Translated from 日本語 • View original Hello! It's a branding project!
As the spread of the new coronavirus infection continues, ISAO has recommended full-time remote work, and I have been working remotely every day for the past few days.
Of course, I am also writing this article at home.
Even if you work remotely, you can communicate through the in-house SNS "Goalous", and you can have conversations as usual in video conferences, so it doesn't interfere with your work that much.
**But! **
I like the communication and new discoveries that come from small talk while I'm at work, so I feel a little lonely (just a drenched person. lol), this time we talked to Rikiya Katakai, a pre-sales person with 20 years of experience in ISAO!
Age unknown!? Mr. Katakai, who has been working for ISAO for 20 years
Harada: Personally, Mr. Katakai's age is quite unknown... Laughter
I heard that you have been ISAO for a very long time, but are you ISAO from a new graduate?
Katakai: Ahaha. That's almost right. I'm 44 years old now.
Before coming to ISAO, I was at a venture company, and from there I was stationed at ISAO, but I moved to ISAO in 2004.
Harada: I see! Is it 20 years, including the permanent residence? So, your company history is almost the same as that of the founding members of ISAO!
Katakai: That's right.
Harada: When you were stationed, did you work as an engineer?
Katakai: Yes. It was my role as a technical member on the infrastructure side. At that time, there was no cloud, so it was an on-premise era.
Harada: How did you become a pre-sales officer from an infrastructure engineer?
Katakai: I felt like I was in the right place for pre-sales.
At that time, there were only a few infrastructure members, including me, so it was natural for us to have a system that allowed each person to take charge of their own areas of expertise.
Harada: I see, that kind of team structure naturally came to be.
Did you have the most anguished experience during the long period of 20 years at ISAO, including the four years you were stationed there?
Katakai: In terms of business, around 2010, when the era changed from on-premises construction to the cloud. I think that was the point.
Harada: In 2010, ISAO's parent company at the time also changed at the same time.
Katakai: That's right. From that point on, the cloud began to be used in the world.
At that time, as the number of inquiries from customers increased, "Can ISAO do such a thing?", I had no knowledge of the cloud, so I brought a proposal for a physical server normally.
It was an era when customers were scolded by a situation that led to the start of fumbling cloud construction.
Harada: Were there any people who were strong in the cloud at that time?
Katakai: No, not at all. Other people were like that, and I had never touched the cloud myself.
So I had a hard time adapting to the changes of the times.
Sales and technology. Weaknesses due to a wide range of roles
Harada: Mr. Katakai, you have been doing pre-sales for a long time, but what exactly do you do?
Katakai: Originally, I was in sales, but my work in that role was mostly going to customers, talking about technical matters, and summarizing requirements.
For example, depending on the content, it is like a sales and technical team going to the customer together and making a proposal with some technical requirements.
Harada: I see! He is a person who kills two birds with one stone by selling and talking about technology! ?
Katakai: There aren't many people in that position in ISAO, and we don't have a clear idea of where to start and where to go.
However, it feels like I do a wide range of work, but among the members who go to the front desk, it is the most pre-sales rather than sales.
In other words, it is not specialized in technology.
Harada: But I feel that is a great strength.
Katakai: Well, I feel very halfway right now, so in the past few years, I've started to shift a little more from technology.
Harada: Why is that?
Katakai: In order to be able to have deeper and more specific conversations with customers on my own, I have to be in direct contact with them to talk about it, so I try to be involved in actually building the cloud environment myself.
Harada: Are there more technical tasks in actual work?
Katakai: That's right. Currently, I am working with Mr. Akakawa on a larger project.
However, in terms of contracts, I do a series of things to some extent, such as making estimates as sales, building cloud environments, and responding to failures.
Harada: I see. Even in pre-sales, there are people in positions like Mr. Katakai, so there are some projects that we can handle**! **
It's a strength that you can cover it to some extent by yourself!
Katakai: However, of course, it is safer for technical members to do the latest technical things and more detailed setups. That **is also my weakness. **
Harada: But that weakness is covered by ISAO's team strength.
All-rounder's setbacks and growth. And the future
Harada: Have you had any major setbacks in the past 20 years?
Katakai: Hmm. I don't think there was such a thing.
Harada: An all-rounder like Mr. Katakai, who can do sales and even technical things, seems to be flexible and can go anywhere.
Katakai: But if anything, there may be a sense of anxiety or a sense of frustration in the future.
Harada: Is it now!?
Katakai: That's right. Since I've been doing it shallow and wide, I don't have much to get into it.
I think that if this industry is related to the cloud, sales will become less and less necessary.
Harada: Huh!? Sales will no longer be needed? Why do you think so?
Katakai: This is because I believe that public cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP) will be used directly by end users.
I think that many people will get used to using the public cloud and complete it with their own internal responses.
Harada: I see.
Katakai: Until now, the construction of the infrastructure environment was highly specialized and divided into labor, but with the introduction of the public cloud, the threshold has been greatly lowered and it has become accessible to everyone.
In addition, the division of labor has faded, and it is now possible to see a wide range of areas by one person, and it is becoming an environment where a small number of elites in the company can respond.
Harada: But I don't think it can be just anyone.
Katakai: That's right. But that's why I think we need high technical capabilities that can be designed and operated in the future.
Harada: That's why Mr. Katakai is also shifting from sales to technology.
Katakai: Yes. Also, in the IT industry, the trend is to change jobs in 3 years, or 5 years at the longest, but after all, I have been in ISAO for 20 years, and I am in my late 40s, so I wonder how I can play an active role in ISAO in the future.
It may be a time when I'm thinking a lot right now.
Harada: Oh! That **may be the point of growth! ? **
Katakai: I see. Laughter
2020 is a year of "change"
Harada: Do you have any thoughts on the "challenge" that is also ISAO's culture in the future?
Katakai: I think that's a very good aspect of ISAO.
It's not that someone forces you to do it, but **unless you do something yourself, you won't be appreciated and your growth will stop. **
Besides, there is no one against those who are trying to take on challenges, and there is no great resistance, and this ISAO culture of trying to take on more and more challenges is very good.
Harada: That's right. But on the other hand, do you sometimes have trouble with that?
Sometimes I feel anxious about myself, such as "I wonder if this direction is okay...".
It's like a consultation for my troubles. Laughter
Katakai: Because you are not told to do this or that, it means that you are under pressure.
I guess each individual feels something like responsibility because it is "free".
Harada: Maybe.
Katakai: But that may be how you can get into the habit of "taking on challenges".
Harada: Somehow, Mr. Katakai's words are persuasive!
What kind of year do you want to be this year?
Katakai: That's right. I want 2020 to be a year of "change".
The most recent challenge is TOEIC... (Whispering)
Harada: Huh! ! I can't believe that Mr. Katakai, are you a "TOEIC refugee"?
Katakai: Last year, my salary went down. Anyway, I think I have to overcome the 600-point barrier. It's been said for a long time before the system was established, so it's my fault.
Harada: That's a serious issue!
Katakai: Yes, I will do my best. In terms of business, ISAO has a lot of customers in the game industry, and it has always focused on speed.
However, recently, as the number of customers such as government projects, banks, and securities companies increases, the **requirements required have changed tremendously. **
Personally, the challenge for the future is to propose a cloud configuration that can fit into that and operate it well while ensuring security.
Harada: So it's a change from "speed" to "quality"!
Katakai: That's right. For the time being, I would like to start with the changes in this area.
Harada: I'm looking forward to it! Thank you very much for the interview today.