14.04.2020 Press

Ensuring essential business services

 

In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, at a time when companies are predominantly teleworking, Victor Buck Services’ solutions remain in demand.  In this Paperjam interview, our CEO Edith Magyarics shares her feelings, her vision for the future and tells us about Victor Buck Services’ reorganization.

From digital communication, to digitization and electronic archiving, Victor Buck Services continues to provide a secure service to its clients, mainly from the financial world, despite the Covid-19 crisis.

WHAT ROLE ARE YOU PLAYING FOR YOUR CLIENTS IN THIS CRISIS?

Edith Magyarics. – We are an international service provider and we equip our customers (of which we have approximately one thousand: banks, insurance companies, utilities, etc.) with secure solutions to deal with the risk of dispersion of vital data. These services are essential to companies and to Luxembourg’s economy.
For instance, our ‘customer communication services’ enables businesses to stay in contact with their end-clients through any channel: e-mail, postal mail, provision of documents on a secure web portal.
Our digitization services have also proven their value. More than ever, professionals need to digitize their documents in order to facilitate the remote work of their collaborators. The current situation highlights the importance of these services for the functioning of companies, especially when the economic situation forces us to question our business models.

HAS THE DEMAND FROM BUSINESSES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY?

Not that much, but it has not decreased either for most of our business.

HOW HAVE YOU REORGANIZED INTERNALLY?

About 60 percent of our employees are teleworking. The rest work on site, are on family leave or were already on sick leave.
On site, we have divided the teams into several shifts in order to comply with safety measures between employees. We disinfect machines and contact surfaces between shifts. We also provided our production personnel with hydroalcoholic gel, masks and gloves.
We provide daily updates on the evolution of the crisis and maintain regular communication with staff and customers to reassure and keep them informed.

WHAT SYSTEM DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE DATA SECURITY WHILE TELEWORKING?

You know, we are ISO 27001 certified (an international standard that describes good practices for information security management systems, editor’s note). This obliges us to observe very strict information security protocols in all circumstances, including remote access. The current situation has led to a rapid multiplication of what already existed. Every employee working remotely has been equipped accordingly. Our IT teams have been very responsive.

SEVEN OF YOUR 222 EMPLOYEES WORK FROM YOUR OFFICES IN SINGAPORE. HOW ARE THEY ORGANISED?

The whole Victor Buck Services Asia team is working remotely and has been equipped in strict compliance with our security standards.

YOU HAVE CLIENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD: HOW DO YOU MANAGE THIS INTERNATIONAL ASPECT IN TIMES OF CRISIS?

They all experience the crisis in different ways. The timing is not the same in England and Asia, which is why we have to be available 24/7 to support them.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE CEO IN TIMES OF CRISIS?

I have always believed that the CEO is a captain. A captain who has a beautiful boat; but if the crew does not want to work with him, the boat stays in port.

HOW DO YOU SEE THIS CRISIS COMING OUT?

I would love to have a crystal ball. It is hard to see how we are going to get out of this one. There are still some trends. It is obvious that there will be a slowdown in the economy. Companies will have to question their business models to minimize the impact on their revenues and maintain their activity. They are going to refocus on the essentials and mobilize their resources for strategic activities. In this context, we must continue to be a support for them.
There will surely be an acceleration of all digital transformation projects.
All this will be in addition to the very real and continuous items that will resurface once again after the health crisis: data protection, the review of Luxembourg by the FATF next October, etc.
(The Financial Action Task Force is due to examine technical compliance in light of its 40 recommendations, as well as the effectiveness of the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing in the autumn of 2020).

Original interview written in French by Mathilde Obert, available here.