Haruo Higaki

Protect Confidential Corporate Information from Invisible Enemies

My job is to use my knowledge as an engineer to help customers understand the technical value of the Company cutting-edge network security products. Specifically, we offer a wide range of services, such as new proposals for network security products, response to technical inquiries, and lectures on how to use our products for customers who use them. Therefore, even though I am an engineer, I have many opportunities to interact with customers. 60% of my work is visiting customers with sales representatives, and 40% is engineering work such as technical support and verification of products.

As you may have seen on TV news, if a company's network is attacked by a cyber attack, it will lead to major damage such as information leaks and production stoppages. My mission is to prevent that from happening. Especially in the case of large companies, the impact of damage is not limited to just one company, but may spread to the entire Japanese economy. We take pride in the heavy social responsibility of protecting the confidential information of large companies that have great influence in Japan from invisible external enemies, and we are proud to say that we are making a significant contribution to Japanese society. working hard. When I visit customers, I often make proposals to people in the department manager class, and sometimes I give presentations to Member of the Board. Although it can be intimidating at times, I am determined to fulfill my mission of protecting our customers from cyberattacks.

Learning from Living Materials and Aiming to Become a Specialist

What I feel in my daily work is that there are still many customers in Japan who do not have a good understanding of security. Of course, there are customers who are deeply concerned about security, but there are also many customers who do not really understand the risk of information leakage. That is why it is absolutely necessary in Japan in the future to widely spread security products that prevent various types of information leakage. I would like to contribute to Japan's security greatly by acquiring specialized knowledge so that it is said to be "the best in Japan", preaching its importance to more companies, and having as many companies as possible introduce it. thinking about.

Macnica has the "best learning environment" for the need to increase technical knowledge, hone proposal skills, and grow as a person. One of the reasons for this is that there are many experts in various fields. If you ask about something you don't understand, they will kindly teach you specialized knowledge that you won't find in books. It's truly a living educational material.

Another strength of Macnica is that the culture of learning is deeply rooted throughout the company. In areas that are closely related to my work, a self-study session called ``Security Night'' is held about once a month. This is a study session where we share within the company the analysis results of malware that is actually causing damage in Japan, as well as technical verifications recently conducted by in-house engineers. The information that comes out here may be the latest trends or content that even your customers may not know about, so if you provide this information when you visit your customers, they will be very happy and grateful. In principle, the study sessions are free for both presenters and audience members, but there are always 20 to 30 people in attendance each time, and I try to attend as much as time allows. There are people around me who are eager to learn. I am studying hard with the thought, ``I can't afford to lose either.''

A Firmly Rooted Spirit of Challenge

I think the biggest change for me after joining Macnica was my "awareness." I had a rather conservative personality and was the type to proceed with things cautiously, but after joining the company, I started to have a positive attitude and thought, ``I'll try anything.'' Macnica has a deep-rooted culture of delegation of authority, and even though I was only a junior in the company, I was given a lot of high-level work to the point where I thought, ``Are they going to entrust me with this kind of work?'' This had a big influence on me. I think there are.

In my fourth year with the company, there was an operational problem with a security product delivered to a major parts manufacturer, and there was a problem that the security monitoring of all terminals in the company might stop. The customer side also had a great sense of crisis about this trouble, and it was a very difficult case for me, but at this time, I stood between the customer and the supplier manufacturer and saved the terminal from the high priority terminal. Set common goals. As a result, we were able to finish with far less damage than what the customer expected, and we were able to receive words of gratitude from the customer.

Of course, the trouble this time was an event that occurred with the product the Company provided, and we sincerely accept the fact that we have caused a great deal of inconvenience to our customers, and we will take measures to prevent similar things from happening in the future. I have to. However, as long as we provide products to a large number of customers, more than a few problems may occur. It is also our job to face the customer in front of us without running away from such things and solve major problems as quickly as possible, so I would like to cherish the mindset of facing any difficult problem.

It would be a lie if I said, "I don't feel any anxiety or pressure" when I was entrusted with a big task. The reason I can still take on challenges is because my superiors, senior colleagues, and colleagues have created a follow-up system in case of emergencies. I am not alone, and I am able to boldly challenge myself because I have an environment where team members can cooperate with each other. Of course, we are not thinking of relying on others easily. I approach my work with a strong sense of responsibility and a strong sense of responsibility that "I will do whatever it takes as long as I am entrusted with it."