I am an “Outsourcing Professional”: Daniel Isepciuc – Ness Romania

Daniel Isepciuc is Delivery Manager for Ness Software Engineering Services in Iasi and he kindly  accepted Outsourcing Advisors invitation to give us his perspective on Outsourcing Industry.

1. Daniel, you have gained a rich experience in IT & C /Outsourcing in Romania and abroad – how do you see the evolution of this industry in Iasi, the city where you live now?

IT & C / Outsourcing industry in Iasi has started slowly due to the lack of market visibility to investors in the field. The lack of a strategy for promoting the potential in the IT field, deficient airport and limited office space are just a few factors that made Iasi not to be as competitive as Bucharest or Cluj.

The constant flow of talents is maintained by the two prestigious universities in the city – A.I. Cuza and Gheorghe Asachi. Major investments in the infrastructure and saturated markets in cities from Tier 1 made in exchange for the IT industry to grow at an accelerated rate in the last 5 years. Iasi today can be proud of over 6,000 experts in the field and a number of 40+ product and outsourcing companies, including Amazon, Oracle, Ness, Continental or Bit Defender.

2. What do you think are the most important elements to ensure the success of the outsourcing industry in Iasi?

Iasi has proved that outsourcing may have a competitive industry, first through quality specialists and high cost / benefit ratio. To grow and remain sustainable, industry needs an effective partnership between universities and the business community profile, local government support and to speed up the investments in modern office buildings.

3. Ness is a strong presence in the market of Iasi and Timisoara but your business has much wider boundaries – what can you tell us about Ness at the global level and what is the contribution of Romania units to the company?

Ness Software Engineering Services has a global IT market through its centers of technological innovation, geographically distributed in the US, UK, Romania, Slovakia, Israel and India. With over 100 clients wherefore Peter Ness operates centers dedicated to software engineering, the company serves vertical markets, as well as Media, education, finance and Insurance, Transport, high-end Technology or Pharma.

Technological centres in Iasi and Timisoara particularly stands out through its high degree of technical training, creative thinking and flexibility. Furthermore, EU membership and easy air connections between Romania and Western Europe, positions us as the preferred location for Ness partners in the region.

4. Daniel, you have a strong background as a team leader but also as a project manager in this industry.In your opinion, which are the challenges for those who come from a technical background and get to be promoted in mnagement roles? What do you recommend them?

I started my IT career as a software developer and I evolved gradually over the management, first as Team Lead, then as Project Manager and now as Delivery Manager. As an engineer and programmer, you live by the mathematical rules and start to build after the same rules.

You’re always in control, you know where you started and where you want to go, there’s black and white without too many shades of gray. Major challenges in the transition in a management area came due to the need to change the focus from the details in the “bigger picture”, to put the needs of the customer and the team ahead of your needs or to be ready to take decisions that won’t please everybody.

My recommendation for those who want to make the transition into management? Baby steps, professional trainings in the area of finance, project management, leadership and public speaking, do not be discouraged by the small failures and seek for the help of experienced colleagues as often as you can.

5. What can you tell me about your passions besides Ness? 

I am a full time father of 2 wonderful boys, Robert and David. I love the TV series and I declared myself to be a Seinfeld fan. I like football and motorbikes.

6. One of the fears of those that have a technical profile, but that take leading roles is that they will not be able to remain sufficiently up to date with the new evolution of technology – how do you manage this? What advice would you give them?

As a manager in the IT field you can’t break of developments in technology, because they are part of your role and your daily work. Indeed, “hands on” involvement decreases as the management responsibilities are expanding, but I use my free time to read articles or to participate in the technical events organized by the company or local community.

7. You recently attended the Romanian Outsourcing Summit in Bucharest-what you liked the most?

Outsourcing Romanian Summit brought together important names from the business , academic environment and central administration. The topics discussed were of great interest to the Outsourcing industry, and I personally was pleasantly impressed by the session dedicated to opportunities in tier 2 and 3 cities, in which I found ideas and initiatives anchored in the Iasi facing reality.

8. If you were in a position to give a few tips for outsourcing community leaders in Romania, what advice would you give them?

Romania is currently one of the preferred destination for investors in the outsourcing industry, an industry that contributes with a growing percentage to gross domestic product. We must ensure that it remains a sustainable sector, and for this it requires collaboration and effective strategies to ensure the increasing number of specialists in the field and the diversification of skills for those specialists.