Tai Nguyen (Advanced Spatial technologies)
The ‘Partner Spotlight’ series explores partners operating in the local channel landscape right around the country, from Cape York to Hobart, Byron Bay to Fremantle and beyond. In this edition, we focus on Western Australia and Rivervale-based reseller Advanced Spatial technologies (ASt).
Having a business survive through a once-in-a-century crisis can be a monumental task, let alone thrive, and that’s what Advanced Spatial technologies (ASt) and its managing director, Tai Nguyen, has managed to pull off so far during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nguyen’s journey with ASt began in 2006 as head of technical sales, where he honed his craft in the role for over 12 years until he was promoted to managing director in 2018, taking over from founder Don Hitchcock, who ran the show since 1995.
Since taking over, Nguyen has brought up employee numbers from 10 to 16, as well as doubling the business’ revenue.
In addition, ASt’s drafting division Caddwest Bureau’s project on appropriate framework and strategies for North Metropolitan Health Services, which wrapped this year, has been a bright spot for the managing director.
According to Nguyen, due to the size of its facilities, floors and sites, this involved creating around 700 evacuation diagrams for the Nedlands-based hospital.
“Our personnel also keep communication in high regard and are always open to discuss effective solutions for emergency procedures. We have been praised for our responsiveness and diligence in ensuring that the client is constantly updated on our progress," he said.
“Using the latest collaborative software, we provide clients with standardised stamps and tools for commenting or markups, to increase efficiency, reduce miscommunication and manage documentation. Showing that we are accountable for our work builds the trust our client has for us.”
ASt is no stranger to surviving through one-in-a-lifetime crises, going through the global financial crisis in 2008 without letting go of any staff, but it’s in the middle of facing its biggest challenge yet — the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around March and April last year, the offices’ phones were as silent as the office itself. Upper management then held a meeting to figure out what to do next, which saw all its employees jump on the phones to check in with customers and help in establishing a smooth transition for working from home.
On ASt’s end, Nguyen said the reseller was able to quickly adjust to the new conditions with a combination of remote working and in the office, minimising disruption as much as possible.
At the height of the pandemic, the business still managed to grow, which Nguyen attributes to it maintaining its service levels to customers.
But despite dealing with all the downs of business in the past, he said he wouldn’t change anything.
“Our company today is based on everything we gain from past experiences,” he said. “Whether it was [a] successful project or not, we all learn from it.”
As for the future, ASt has its eyes set on reaching platinum level with software vendor Autodesk’s partner program, but it isn’t stopping there — Nguyen is keeping his eyes out for technologies to support clients’ methods of working throughout, and past, the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As most of us know, in this era, there is definitely a very rapid change in demand and turnover of technological requirements,” he said.
“We understand that industries will not work the same way as they do today. To keep up with this fast-paced evolution, we strive to build a better understanding of various industries’ demands, to then predict the necessities of their future and furthermore forecast for potential new industry work patterns.
“Our focus will be to connect with more people from more industries and understand where things are changing. There is no doubt that current workflows will change, and with improved comprehension, we believe that we can better serve clients with the right products to implement potential new business models or workflows,” he added.
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