Interjú Kiss Tibor kereskedelmi igazgatóval

Budapest-based Duna Elektronika, a US-Hungarian computer services company is a dynamic player in Hungary with a significant share of the multinational corporate market. Its Commercial Director, Tibor Kiss tells Diplomacy&Trade about the evolution of the company, the services it provides and the challenges it faces in this constantly changing industry.

Duna Elektronika was founded by an American-Hungarian in 1991. One of the company’s first projects was the installation of modern computer technology in the Hungarian Parliament with the support of the US government. From early on, international ventures present in Hungary made up the largest share of the company’s sales. The direction has not changed but the volume has grown significantly. Tibor Kiss joined the company in 1995 and has been in his current position since 2008. He stresses that partnership with global manufacturers such as DellEmc, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, or Microsoft provide the framework through which the company can provide products and services to multinational companies in Hungary. In recent years, the focus of our activity has shifted toward services. At present, more than 70% of our employees are IT engineers, highly qualified professionals. We are present at several giant companies that are international market leaders in their areas of business. Today, Duna Elektronika is a medium-size company that has increased its revenue by 50% in the past three years.

Challenges

Duna Elektronika has come a long way since I have been in this position. Market demand is constantly changing. In the beginning, it was enough to meet simple hardware needs. Nowadays, with the increasing complexity of IT and the strengthening of its connectivity to other areas, demand has changed completely. It is not enough to sell isolated systems; it is necessary to integrate them into the entire system of the company, Kiss says. A well-functioning stable company cannot exist without a well-functioning, properly sized, integrated IT system. We are closely involved in the lives of most of our customers: we work with the highest level of decision-makers in other corporate areas, not just the IT department. Our joint work also covers a vision for the future. Our partners are becoming more open in this direction, but it is still a challenge for decision-makers, who are not experts in this area, to realize the potential of information technology in time. The company’s slogan Always by your side emphasizes this relationship.

Motivated employees

Keeping up with the industry requires giving the maximum at all times. Our colleagues take part in at least a hundred training courses per year, and at brainstorming sessions, we continually evaluate the results and the answers to new challenges. We watch all the market roadmaps of the industry. We participate in international and domestic conferences. At the managerial level, we keep in touch with the key regional leaders of our partners. Up-to-date expertise, endurance, diligence and incredibly precise work are prerequisites for the success of an IT company. It is not enough to find clients occasionally, the main goal is continuous cooperation. To do this, you need to find employees who identify with the company s interests. We can proudly say that we recognized the importance of employee retention very early. That is not to say there are no issues attracting and retaining qualified employees. Wages and benefit costs have risen significantly over the past several years and the company is committed to providing the best possible conditions to our staff. Our employees believe that their financial security and their future are with us. Since the formation of the company, we have celebrated the birth of more than 200 Duna babies.  

Transformation

The revolution of the present is digitalization, which has rushed to overcome the whole society and economy, the Commercial Director notes. This transformation has been going on for a long time, but its intensity is stronger than ever before and affects all segments of the economy. Digital transformation is a conscious, in-depth decision that affects the entire organization, processes, competencies and business strategy. It is a transformation that has to adapt to the situation of today and possibly tomorrow. Accordingly, as part of digital transition, we need to examine how to integrate automation, VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), AI (artificial intelligence), big data, agile working methods and other forward-looking technologies into the business. Effective digital operation, placing the company on a new foundation and the related organizational transformation is the biggest challenge today for an SME or a larger company, he says.

How important is IT security?

Companies and individuals are increasingly concerned about the issue of IT security but they do not pay enough attention to this area. We are currently living in the 4th industrial revolution, which essentially means that the electronic devices around us are connected to the information network, creating a huge global information system. The incredible amount of data thus generated, also called the Big Data phenomenon, is both a problem and an enormous business opportunity, as information is the most important value, the protection of which is of paramount importance to everyone, the Commercial Director stresses. Thanks to the advancement of IT and digitalization, tasks are becoming more complex and people receive so many impulses in a day that they do not even notice a significant part of it. According to some experts, 2.5 exabytes (2.5 million terabytes) of data are produced daily. Eric Schmidt, former President of Google, described this amount as approximately as much information as humanity created from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. At the same time, cybercrime has become one of the most profitable forms of crime in the world, estimated at USD 1,500 billion annually (Michael McGuire, Surrey University, April 20, 2018). Duna Elektronika has been one of the first to recognize the importance of this area and has begun building and acquiring the necessary competencies, enabling our professionals to help our clients in all areas of data protection, data security and business continuity. To reduce the likelihood of threats and mitigate damage at the time of occurrence, protection measures should be applied by organizational or technical means, Kiss says.

GDPR

As of May 2018, the EU’s data protection regulation (GDPR) became mandatory for all organizations that manage, process, transmit and protect personal data of European citizens. Prior to introducing GDPR, companies/organizations had a reporting obligation and the authorities had to prove their compliance. Now companies have to prove that they will not have a reporting obligation unless an incident occurs. Duna Elektronika has completed several successful GDPR preparation projects. Its employees can provide continuous assistance not only in the preparation but also in the performance of the duties of the Data Protection Officer. We have trained and experienced professionals to carry out the service, our team members are internationally and locally experienced lawyers, IT security experts and certified data protection officers, Kiss concludes.