FEATURED EMPLOYEE
Duy Nguyen’s Journey From Code to Client Impact
Role |
Junior Technical Consultant |
Division: |
TC Team |
Location: |
Tokyo, Japan |
Expertise: |
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Microsoft Dynamics AX (Development related) and SQL |
Experience: |
1 year at SYSCOM |
Hobbies: |
Traveling, Hiking, Running |
This month’s spotlight features Duy Nguyen, a Tokyo-based Junior Technical Consultant whose journey from self-taught developer to enterprise systems expert reflects SYSCOM’s commitment to nurturing talent and investing in continuous learning. As we expand our presence across Asia, Duy’s story also highlights the value of cultural understanding in building stronger, more connected teams.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down university campuses across Tokyo, Duy Nguyen suddenly found himself with a surplus of free time and no clear idea what to do with it. After watching a few YouTube videos, he found himself writing Java code to build a small, personal game. “I didn’t know anything about tech,” he says, “I just started learning Java for fun, to create some simple games.”
What began as curiosity turned into a career.
Today, Duy is a Junior Technical Consultant on SYSCOM’s Tokyo-based Dynamics 365 team. He develops custom features for enterprise clients and contributes to internal tools designed specifically for the Japanese market. His path into this role wasn’t traditional, but the work he’s done since joining SYSCOM speaks volumes about his growth and potential.
Straight out of school, he joined a team building a school affairs management system for local elementary schools in Japan. “The school didn’t use any app to manage their children’s health before,” he says. “So we came in, asked what they needed, and built it.”
The school had a few quick-win requirements that Duy and his team were able to implement right away. “One feature we made was an attendance check-in. When a student arrived, the teacher would press a button in the app, and the parent would be notified right away,” he explains.
As the project developed, his team found other ways to add more value. “We also added a lunch allergy tracker, so the school could see what each child was allergic to and adjust their meals accordingly.”
It was work that taught Duy how to listen, adapt, and deliver. But he began to notice the limits of starting from scratch with every new feature. That realization led him to explore Microsoft Dynamics 365.
“Dynamics 365 has standard features,” he says, “but you can still build on top of it with extensions, add-ons, and customizations. It’s much easier than doing everything from scratch.”
Making that leap required more than learning new syntax. “In open systems, I could do anything,” he says. “But in Dynamics, you have to stay inside the business process. You have to build the right way so the system can still upgrade later.”
To manage the transition, he broke the learning process into smaller pieces. “Almost every day I tried to learn something new,” he says. “If you don’t understand how the logic works, you can’t build it properly.”
SYSCOM believed in me before I believed in myself.
Duy Nguyen
Junior Technical Consultant
That guidance, combined with his own drive, led to a surprising moment just one month into the job. He was assigned to a real project building features in the sales and purchasing modules for the Japan market.
“I asked ‘Why me?’ I was still a junior, and it seemed really difficult. But they said, ‘You can do it.’ They believed in me,” he recalls.
That moment stuck. “Before, I couldn’t understand the documents,” he says. “I needed everything explained. But now, I can read the requirements and just start building. I couldn’t imagine that a year ago.”
“SYSCOM believed in me before I believed in myself.”
As he grew more confident technically, Duy began looking for ways to deliver solutions that were more than functional. He wanted to deliver solutions that were better. “Sometimes I’ll read a design spec and think of a simpler way to do this,” he says. “So I’ll go back to the functional team and suggest a different approach.”
That instinct to improve isn’t limited to the code itself. It shows up in how Duy approaches client needs as well. “A lot of clients come to SYSCOM after another vendor couldn’t deliver what they needed,” he says. “We really listen. We try to understand what they actually want. And then we build it.”
Though his day-to-day work is focused on development, Duy’s cultural background gives him a broader perspective. He was born in Vietnam, studied in Japan, and now works in SYSCOM’s Tokyo office. He hasn’t formally acted as a liaison between the Japan and Vietnam teams, but he sees the value in that role. “If I were a bridge, I’d create more chances to exchange culture to make working together easier.”
He notes that Vietnamese teams often operate with a faster pace and flatter decision-making. “In Vietnam, a team leader can make a decision quickly,” he says. “In Japan, there are more layers of approval.”
His ability to understand and communicate across those differences could become increasingly valuable as SYSCOM expands its presence in Vietnam. “Understanding culture is really important,” he says. “When people understand each other better, they can work together more easily.”
Looking ahead, Duy is especially excited about Copilot for Dynamics 365. “A lot of customers don’t know where to find things or how to use all the features,” he says. “I think Copilot can guide them—like an AI that explains how to use the system, right inside the system.”
He also sees value in using Copilot for decision-making. “You could ask it to analyze sales or purchase data and help you make better choices,” he adds.
Duy’s journey into tech didn’t begin with a degree or a job offer. It started with curiosity, persistence, and a self-directed desire to learn. What he’s built since then, both for himself and for SYSCOM’s clients, is already something to be proud of.
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