After three years of leading lengthy implementations as a certified SAP consultant for a Japanese IT consulting firm, Suwandi’s enthusiasm for implementing software that seemed dated even before go-live began to wane.
Sensing the shift in the market from on-premise software to the cloud, Suwandi started to voraciously learn everything he could about cloud-based solutions. When an offer came to work for NetSuite in October of 2013, he was already schooled in the benefits of Software as a Service, and ready for the next challenge as a NetSuite technical consultant.
Since then, he’s helped major companies in the region, from Japan to Indonesia, implement NetSuite solutions.
“I love the product,” he said. “It’s simple and easy to understand. I believe there is a huge opportunity for us to expand into the Japanese market.”
Not only has Suwandi enjoyed working with NetSuite over on-premise enterprise software (he praises the modern look and feel, as well as the built-in analytics engine that comes standard with the software), but working for NetSuite as a global company has accelerated his professional development.
The flexible work schedules, the trust the company shows in its employees by allowing remote work and the relaxed dress code in the office combine to create to a working environment where collaboration and individual contribution are encouraged, and he feels that this is an environment conducive to grow in his career.
As a NetSuite employee, Suwandi values that he gets to meet colleagues from other areas of the business as well – not only in his day job, but also in the extracurricular activities NetSuite employees can participate in through NetSuite.org, the company’s corporate social responsibility organization. So far, he’s worked with colleagues to clean homes occupied by the elderly and host events for local charities to raise much needed funds.
“It’s great to give back to the community,” he said. “It’s also great to interact with employees from other departments within the company on this level. NetSuite is truly serious about supporting these community-based activities.”
Not only is Suwandi learning from fellow employees about other roles, he’s learning how all the unique parts of the business work together in unison. As an SAP and Oracle consultant, he was tasked to implementing only a single aspect of the enterprise system (for him, it was modules associated with supply chain management). By extension, that meant he wasn’t free to explore and learn about the processes associated with the entire business model of the company he worked at.
As a NetSuite consultant, Suwandi, together with one or two other people handle the entire implementation, allowing him to dig into the entire business and make informed recommendations on how the software can improve operations.
This knowledge has set Suwandi up, not only for greater success in his NetSuite career, but to view his other passion – coffee – as more than simply a hobby. Suwandi is an aficionado of sorts, always experimenting with different bean blends and different brewing methods. On the weekends, he enjoys spending time with his friends in the local Tokyo cafes. Exposure to other roles within NetSuite and how a successful business is run, means he can more viably explore his longer-term dream.
“I hope I can own a small café someday,” he said. “I’m learning a lot about financial management here at NetSuite, which helps me to better understand how crucial a successful business model is to any company’s future, no matter how big or how small. ”This is great preparation if my dream comes true and I open up my own café.”
