Meet NTT DATA People
Victor Zhang
Business Manager
Victor Zhang is a native of Shanghai where he lives and works with his wife and young child. Previously he studied for a degree in Computer Science and Technology in Shanghai before spending some time in Australia where he gained a master's degree in Electronic Commerce. He graduated from university in 2006 and returned to China where he worked in several big technology consulting firms before making the switch to NTT DATA in 2017. He currently works as a business manager taking care of a large sports apparel client. In his free time, when he isn't enjoying family life, he loves to play sports, especially basketball, and cites the LA Lakers as his favorite NBA team.
I jumped at the chance to work at NTT DATA when the opportunity arose.
Tell us about an interesting project
A few years after I started working at NTT DATA, I was entrusted to work with a large client in the sports apparel business here in Shanghai. The challenge with this client was how to effectively gather and utilize big data. In other words, how to transfer data from local data warehouses to the AWS cloud system. At NTT DATA we managers have a lot of autonomy to deploy our own strategies with clients including how the teams work with client partners.
For me this element was essential in making this project successful and meaningful. Successful because we could leverage our excellent teamwork to do exactly what was expected of us from the client. Meaningful because we as a team were able to grow through and beyond the scope of the project to develop better skills and industry knowledge. In fact, we won an award for the work, which made me and the team very proud.
Describe a regular working day
I would say that my working week is quite dynamic because I manage a team on the client's campus and need to interact with coworkers and the other business unit teams managers in our office. This works well for me, because although I know that other people like to work at home, I much prefer the chances I get to meet people face to face on a daily basis, whether it's on the client's campus or in my office.
one situation where that is important is in information sharing and support. in my opinion, NTT DATA is really strong in the area of collaboration. i know that although the business units operate with a lot of autonomy, we still can meet with each other when we need to talk about how to overcome project challenges. having a centralized place to do that helps me a lot to work smoothly and efficiently.
What do you like about NTT DATA?
Well, this is quite an interesting story for me. I was working in another IT services company, but the name NTT DATA kept coming up as a great place to work when I was talking with colleagues. Then one day my boss announced that he was leaving to go work at NTT DATA and that he would like the whole team to come with him. Due to the positive reputation of the company I decided to move too. I must say that it's the best move so far of my career because I feel welcome and nurtured here.
One example I have is that in the first quarterly review meeting I had with senior management I requested some time and guidance from the China operation CEO. To my surprise he immediately said yes to my requests and has been very supportive since. I have never received this type of support before, so I know that I made a good choice in moving to NTT DATA.
