Cheerful chatter echoes around the sofa corner in the bright conference room at Netox. Investment company Bocap has confirmed its investment in the company and executive management is trying to summarise in a single sentence why Netox is the best cyber security partner – for anyone. “Because we combine cybersecurity research, excellence and technology in a whole new way…,” suggests Mikko Luhtaniemi, CEO of Netox. There are nods from management, but the final version is left to await some finishing touches.
Meanwhile, two Netox employees are seated at the conference room table with relaxed smiles. Chief Financial Officer Riitta Candelin and Director of Service Production Aarne Haaranen have seen many action-packed situations as Netox has grown, and they are once again on the verge of positive change. “I decided to join the Netox team 15 years ago,” recalls Candelin. “I became the CFO and a venture capitalist, but I’ve taken care of a wide range of other tasks along the way,” she adds with a joyful chuckle. “I spent years as an entrepreneur and that taught me that satisfied employees are a company’s most important asset. If you have those, you can be sure that the company will succeed,” says Candelin.
“This is also a matter of employee wellbeing,” confirms Aarne Haaranen. “The investment will provide our operations with continuity in the long term.”
Netox has grown at an incredible pace in recent years, but there is always a downside to growth. “Although the growth has been profitable, and it has given employees trust in the future, rapid growth nevertheless takes its toll. You have to be constantly prepared to respond to new customer needs, even though we are simultaneously developing our own processes,” muses Haaranen. “Now it’s possible to invest more in development work and staff training, for example.”
“A skilled and caring service desk is our most important point of contact with customers,” emphasises Haaranen. “We always score highly when it comes to customer satisfaction, but working on the service desk also provides great job satisfaction,” Haaranen pauses for a moment, and then adds, “Of course, these two things go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other. And we can promise that neither party will be less satisfied after the investment. We work together with our customers to ensure that our customers feel safe. Just like we do.”
Finally, the photographer asks Candelin and Haaranen to look each other in the eyes, whereupon they promptly burst into laughter. Working here is clearly a lot of fun.
Netox Oy is a managed IT services provider operating in Oulu and Helsinki. The company employes almost 50 IT and service industry professional. The company’s turnover in 2018 was 5 million euros.
