Next Stop: NetworkLabs, Inc., UP - Ayala Land TechnoHub

Located at the heart of UP - Ayala Land TechnoHub, Quezon City, lies its very first branch in the country. NetworkLabs, Inc. is a joint venture of Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) with various partners to establish a Research and Development (R&D) center to support the operations of Nokia Siemens Network. It provides software solutions and application support for the many projects that NSN undertakes.

Photo by John Jane Granada

Looking more briefly into the company, NetworkLabs, Inc. is a collaboration of three (3) different organizations:

Nokia Siemens Networks is a telecom equipment manufacturer company that is one of the largest in the world in terms of revenue and size and provides a quarter of the world's telecom infrastructure.

Nokia is a communication and information technology company that manufactures mobile phones and portable Information Technology (IT) devices. Nokia also offers internet services like games, apps, music, and media.

Siemens is an electronics and electrical engineering company that manufactures products for the energy, transportation, and healthcare industry.

Still with me? Good! Because I won't bore you with a wall of texts anymore. In the next few scrolls, I'll take you to a place that is almost a paradise for IT, food, and environment enthusiasts. Sightseeing is a good leisure in the place because of the vast green fields. Foodtrip is also a good alternative because of the plentiful restaurants.

Here's a preview of some of the pictures we've taken last March 8, 2013 upon arrival at UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub.




We arrived at UP - Ayala Land TechnoHub at around 8am. The morning was a bit gloomy but good thing it eventually recovered. NetworkLabs opened its doors for us not long enough thereafter.

1st Speaker

Unfortunately, I was not able to get the name of the two (2) speakers that gave us a brief overview about the company background with a little bit of career talk.

The first speaker also explained some of their practiced policies, tradition, and culture. He said that they were trying to make everyone equally at level so that their employees would be more open especially to the top managers with their concerns. In implementing this, they made their executives reside among the cubicles and blend in with the employees.

The setup of their work environment is peaceful; mostly painted with warm bright colors with a touch of minimalist design makes everything less stressful in a very fast-paced IT environment. I'd like to work in a similar environment someday. Unlimited coffee drinks and shower rooms are also available anytime. They have no sleeping rooms however, as they do not encourage sleeping during working hours.

Warm Colours. Photo by John Jane Granada  

Their conference rooms, compared to Brady(see my previous post for my walk-through), are honeycomb-inspired. There were also Sauna-like rooms used for other discussions that include brainstorming.

Honeycomb Discussion Rooms

The room could accommodate up to five (5) persons only with my rough estimate. They have no electric fans nor airconditioners inside each room because they said that private discussions should not take that long to finish before one begins to feel the compressed hot atmosphere inside. The organization is composed of small teams, after all, that handle specific areas like maintenance, research and development, and IT infrastructures.

There were also interesting tables that we have encountered. These tables are particularly just for the casual chitchat with workmates because of its petite structure.

Hey look! It's a Canoe! Photo by John Jane Granada 

Despite the small composition, tables like this compliment the mood during leisure time especially coffee breaks.

Hole-in-One? Anyone?

Other than coffee tables for break time, they also have indoor mini-golf courses, a Boracay area(simulating the vicinity with a wallpaper, beach sand on the ground, and wooden beds for sunbathing) and an Xbox 360(no pictures, unfortunately). In using such for one's leisure time, they run an honesty system for moderation between work and play.

Moving on to their workstations, like what I've stated earlier, wherein they try to promote equality to encourage openness between the employees and top executives, their cubicles, including their boss' workstation, are all in the same area. There was no hint of distinction provided.

Workstations. Photo by John Jane Granada 

Finally, like any other big company, NetworkLabs also has its own storage room for its servers. Again, taking pictures was prohibited for confidentiality purposes. It was widely aircoditioned, secured with CCTV, and there were also experimental devices inside.

Class picture with our professor, Prof. Mary Jane Arcilla. Photo by John Jane Granada 

It was a fun-filled day with friends while learning new things. I really enjoyed this fieldtrip(more than Brady, to be honest) and got engaged more with my future. The last few inspiring words spoken by the second speaker, which was also a fellow Lasallian, were:

"Know what you love." and always challenge yourself "How do you make your boss trust you?"

NetworkLabs, Inc., being a Research and Development (R&D) Center, is focused on the future. They live for the future. The want to get there before us to welcome us. Likewise, I want my perspective as an individual to be the same - to think and plan ahead to make the lives of the upcoming generations better and more productive.

A Company Visit to Brady Philippines

"When Performance Matters Most." -Brady, Photo by Jan Marvin Tee

Hurray for our first company visit! On the 5th day of March 2013, Brady welcomed us to its main office in the Philippines located at the 3rd Floor of Worldwide Corporate Center, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. We had to be there by 7:30 in the morning but some of us were...err...late. And that includes me. Some of my classmates lost their way and I was one of the few people who know the directions but waited for friends for accompaniment. Getting there through commuting wasn't so hard at all with the help of Google Maps. An LRT ride to EDSA Taft Avenue station, then switch trains to MRT, drop-off at Shaw Boulevard station, and then finally, some few walks along the district.

In the next few texts, I'll be taking you to Brady Philippines, an Information Technology (IT) company globally known for its Call Centre Infrastructure Services. Are you ready? Then come, join me!

Photo by Jan Marvin Tee

We arrived there 30 minutes late because me and my friends waited for each other. Upon finding the place, a huge logo directed us that we were in the right place. Their office is expansive! The one in the right picture is only 1/3 of their whole office.  So as you could probably guess by now, there were three (3) of this to occupy their whole working environment. As we entered the place, accommodating staff employees welcomed us and lead us to the lecture room for the brief overview.

Fortunately enough, the talk was just about to start when we arrived there, I think. The speaker was Mr. Allan Goh, who resides in Brady Singapore Office. He had 17 years of IT experience - 10 years in the vendor environment, and 7 years in the user environment. He has been with Brady for 7 cumulative years and still continues to work until now.

Mr. Goh discussed about the role of Information Technology in our society, the status of Call Centre Infrastructure yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the company background, the top 5 technology trends from 2013 to 2015, and the key success factors in an IT career. I learned a lot from the talk and enjoyed his  final topic - the key success factors in an IT career - the most.

He said that to be successful in an IT career, one must possess the following values:

• Strong Work Ethic
• Positive Attitude
• Good Communication Skills
• Time Management Abilities
• Problem Solving Skills
• Interpersonal Relation
• Self Confidence
• Ability to accept and learn from criticism
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Working well under pressure

As I am in the process of discovering and improving who I am, some of these, I think, I've already acquired while others still remain to be a challenge for me. Nonetheless, development and learning, I believe, is a never-ending process not only in the quotient of being Intellectual (IQ), but also in being Emotional (EQ), and Spiritual (EQ).

"Motivation gets you going and Habit gets you there."

Cubicles equipped with desktops and telephones

After the discussion by Mr. Goh, he then proceeded to circling us around the office. Inside were vast number of cubicles, each equipped with a desktop and a telephone. Of course, some of the cubicles were also personalized by their employees wherein they stick on top or sides of their monitor pictures of their relatives for inspiration and motivation at work.

Brady Philippines office also has discussion rooms named after different popular tourist spots (mostly beaches) within the country like Boracay, and El Nido.

Boracay Room

Lastly, Brady also has its own storage room for its servers and database where taking pictures is prohibited. The atmosphere of the room is very similar to that at school wherein it's airconditioned to prevent the IT infrastructures from overheating.

This company visit was surely a unique experience that made me have a preview of what it feels like to be in an environment of call centre. The whole place was accommodating and hospitable enough that they even provided us free Krispy Kreme doughnuts, C2 drinks, Brady T-Shirts, Notebooks, and Ballpens. Who would go home with an empty stomach, brain, or bag? We learned so much from the educational fieldtrip and we surely look forward to visiting more IT companies of different sector! :)