Nadine Wodarz - About being an IFS Ultimo Ambassador
I’m Nadine and I have been with IFS Ultimo since 2017. I am not only the Office Manager in Germany, but also the project planner for the Manufacturing & Logistics Services Team. In my job as planner, I support a team of consultants and customers from various countries to deliver successful implementation projects. I love being part of an international team and the challenges and surprises this brings every day.
This is also how I became an Ultimo ambassador in 2020. So, who are the ambassadors and what are we doing? We are employees working for employees, and focus on and promote initiatives to create and support team work, mental and physical health, and everything else that contributes to a pleasant work environment. This includes a variety initiatives and events: I’m thinking in particular of our annual summer BBQ, online and in-person quiz events, IFS Ultimo sportswear, the CSR day, or the administration of the IFS charity budget.
Being part of the ambassadors has shown me the impact an individual can have in and on a big company and how each and everyone of us can influence the way we work and feel together. I love that I have the chance to contribute in this way.
Mitchell ten Voorde - About Growth
I'm Mitchell, and I've been working as an Update Consultant at IFS Ultimo in the Netherlands since May 2022. My role involves updating clients to the Azure cloud and ensuring they're equipped with the latest Ultimo solutions. Prior to this, I worked as a helicopter mechanic for four years after studying aviation technology.
I transitioned to the IT field through a traineeship at IFS Ultimo. I found myself navigating through diverse, complex projects and sectors. The learning curve was steep, but with the support of the academy, my colleagues, and my manager, I swiftly became operational.
Now, I'm set to take on a new role as an Implementation Consultant after two years. Thanks to my manager and IFS Ultimo's commitment to growth, I'm ready for this exciting transition.
Harmjan Derksen - About Innovation
I’m proud to be part of this company since 2003! Imagine, just graduated you join a small company of 30 employees, and you get the chance to develop yourself year after year in different roles. This resulted in my current position as Director Product. My primary responsibility is guiding the Product Development department, although being part of the management team also requires quite a lot of attention.
Within Product Development, we invent and deliver outstanding, profitable software that our customers embrace. And true, with this great team, we’re pretty good at that. In the past years, we transitioned from an OnPrem/Hosted architecture to a state-of-the-art, reliable, secure, and cost-effective Azure cloud architecture. Including the quite progressive approach to incorporating CI/CD for all our customers! This results in bi-weekly updates with fixes and new functionality. Our customers and ourselves benefit from this short feedback cycle, perfectly streamlined with our Agile way of working in the dev teams.
Currently, two topics are top of mind: how to revamp our User Experience to the next level, including a seamless experience from desktop to mobile. And secondly, how can our customers benefit from the power of AI? One thing I know for sure: these are guaranteed enormous challenges - we will learn a lot!
Sterre Adam - About Corporate Social Responsibility
I'm Sterre, and I've been working for IFS Ultimo as a HR Business Partner since October 2022. My primary focus is ensuring that colleagues have the best employee experience possible. Being an employee myself, I appreciate working for IFS Ultimo because their vision aligns with my personal beliefs. Taking care of people and nature is of great importance to me.
One of the reasons I am particularly fond of working here is the opportunity to work on meaningful initiatives like the introduction of the CSR day. This initiative allows every colleague to take one day of paid leave each year to participate in volunteering activities. However, introducing an idea is only the beginning; it must become an integral part of the organization's culture.
Initially, the Management Team showed great support for this initiative, and the IFS Ultimo Ambassadors assisted me in promoting it by actively engaging in volunteering themselves. It warms my heart when colleagues approach me to help organize their CSR day or share their CSR day stories on our intranet without prompting. It demonstrates that I am surrounded by people who share the same values.
I keep engaged in projects like these, and I genuinely feel that I’m a valuable 'asset' to IFS Ultimo.
Hassan Sweid - About Cross Border Collaboration
I've joined IFS Ultimo back in February 2022 as an Implementation Consultant in the UK. My role mainly revolves around implementing our software for new clients, as well as support existing ones, and make sure I provide the required level of consultancy that allows them to make the most out of our platform. The role itself is as challenging as I hoped it would be. Every day is different, and you develop various set of skills as you go. But most importantly, you don't tackle those challenges alone. Instead, you're encouraged to reach out to whoever you think can help you. And that's where IFS Ultimo is different.
This kind of work environment makes working for an international company feel like just one big office, where everyone is available when needed (if not on holiday and don't want to be bothered of course). Upon joining the company, I quickly realized there's a genuine feeling that everyone is proud of the company and wants to do well. The rest comes naturally; the role, the business, your contribution, etc… And regardless of where you're located, you're very well taken care of.
I'm based in Bristol, while my team is spread across different countries. Yet it doesn't really feel that way.
Erik Peters - About Technology
I’m Erik and I have been with IFS Ultimo since 2011 when I started as an intern. After my graduation I’ve stayed and started working as a developer and grown into the role of senior developer. In my job as a senior developer I’m helping my colleagues with implementing new features into our application.
Over time I’ve seen our application evolving from an on-premise .NET Framework client server application to a modern .NET SaaS solution hosted on Azure. It has been an interesting journey to be part of this migration because the toolset and architecture of the application were updated and evolved in such a way that our older environments could still be moved to the cloud. For each process in the application it was determined if it was still needed to be hosted per customer environment or that it could be a single service for all. In that way some microservices were created which are stable, updateable and easy to maintain for us.
Besides that, I really like that it’s easy to get in touch with people around the company. Even though we’ve grown a lot in the past 10 years, it still feels like the company where I’ve started working.
Robert Pronk - About Meaningful Partnerships
In my role, I focus on generating successful marketing activities for IFS Ultimo with, for, and through our partners. Over the past few years, we have onboarded channel and technology partners that resell and/or implement IFS Ultimo throughout EMEA and the USA. It energizes me to contribute to the global expansion of IFS Ultimo and to guide and support our partners in developing brand awareness and lead-generating campaigns for IFS Ultimo.
Recently, I have taken on two additional partnerships, which differ from those previously mentioned. Alongside BEAT Cycling Club, we share a drive and belief that encompasses challenging the status quo, evangelizing sustainability, and collaborating as a team. While BEAT Cycling Club utilizes IFS Ultimo’s software to maintain precise control of their assets, bikes, and materials, we support them in disrupting the world of professional cycling and realizing their goals on the bike. This partnership allows me to merge my passion for marketing and branding with my enthusiasm for cycling, both as a cyclist and a fan.
As of the start of 2024, we are proud to announce that we have become a 'Business Buddy' of UNICEF. This means that we support UNICEF in providing education to children in Ivory Coast through the innovative Plastic Bricks project. By recycling plastic, building blocks for classrooms are created, helping to address two major challenges in Ivory Coast: plastic waste and access to education for children. I am responsible for the relationship with UNICEF and for amplifying their efforts throughout our internal and external networks. I am very proud that we are contributing to such a noble goal, and that I am personally involved in this project. Having the opportunity to manage such projects and make a real impact for both society and our own team is what makes working at IFS Ultimo meaningful, challenging, and enjoyable!
“Unlocking Career Potential is embedded in our DNA.”edour DNA.”
We are excited to introduce three remarkable individuals who have recently embarked on their journey with us: Esther, Maartje and Dennis!
We have interviewed them and are sharing their experience in the first weeks of their IT traineeship.
Their stories
Esther
"My last title was officemanager for a small office that worked for sportsevents. In reality I did everything from ordering paper to planning employees, to customer service and software implementation. The reason for my switch is that being a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ was a little too broad for me. So I picked the thing I liked doing the most and looked for something in that field. Which is software and working with customers."
Maartje
"I have been a German teacher for 3 years, during that time I realised that I didn’t enjoy teaching. I looked for a job where I could use my love for solving puzzles and a change to learn and grow in a new direction. I took a year to look for a new job and have worked in food packaging during that time. It gave me a lot of time to reflect on what I want in a job, and what I like to do. Because I didn’t want to work in education, I had to find something, even if I didn’t have the right certificates for it. I looked into IT, and I found that it fit to how I like to work. I started to search for jobs in IT, but without any experience or education, I couldn’t find a place where I could start. Because I didn’t want to go back to school, I looked into traineeships, and I found this traineeship."
Dennis
"In my former profession, I worked as a mentor for young adults in mental healthcare. After 14 years in this sector, I realized that I was ready for a new challenge. Should I continue developing in my current career, or should I choose a new path? Well, it is clear that I have chosen a new path at IFS Ultimo! I’m often asked why I chose IT since it is something completely different. IT has always interested me; the various issues for which there is always an answer match my problem-solving abilities. I won’t stop until I find the answer! IFS Ultimo offered me the chance to start in the traineeship program. After several conversations, it turned out to be a perfect match, and now I am in the middle of it."
You have joined the IT traineeship in May, What have you learned so far?
Dennis: “In the first month, I spent most of my time learning the user side of the software. The software is very extensive and contains many layers. It is important to understand its structure first. IFS Ultimo offers various training courses for this through its own academy. Besides all the training courses, there have been various introductions to the different departments within the company for all new employees.”
Until now, what has been the biggest change for you, and why?
Esther: “Working from home a lot. I have some experience in IT and at a ‘normal’ office. But working from home is pretty new. I like going to the office, as there is a little more social interaction. But I live far enough away that I don’t want to travel everyday. Another aspect, which I (not so) secretly love, is that I am actually done working when I close my laptop. In my previous job, I used to be available through the weekends and usually also in the evening. I loved my job, just not that part of it.”
How did you experience the onboarding?
Maartje: “The onboarding presentations of the different teams contained a lot of information within 2 weeks, but it was a nice way to get an idea of the structure within IFS Ultimo. It helped getting a frame to put the other teams in. As for company culture, I am often at the office, and I like the fact that I can join almost any team. The colleagues I met are also very helpful; if I have a question or can’t figure something out. It is sometimes interesting to ask a question about how Ultimo works to someone outside of my team.”
How do you stay connected as a team? Do you have, for example, specific activities on office days?
Dennis: “As a team, we have agreed to be together at the office one day per week. On all other working days, it is up to you to decide whether you work from home or go to the office. On the days that we do not go to the office by appointment, there is an online daily meeting so that we can discuss important points and there is also time for a chat. When the team is in the office, there is plenty of time and space for a casual chat at the coffee machine, haha.”
In terms of career development, in which areas are you particularly interested at this moment?
Esther: “I started out wanting to get into implementation consultancy. I actually first applied for that role. My previous experience wasn’t enough to get there straight away, but they actively looked for a way to get me there. And in hindsight I am happy to start in customer support. I feel this way we really get to know the system and everything that can go wrong. Now, two months in, I am still leaning towards that, but am also very exited to get to know the other teams and see what I like and explore what I am good at.”
This program stands as a testament to our commitment to inclusivity and professional development, offering a comprehensive pathway into the world of IT and enterprise asset management. Our core values guide us in our mission and define the supportive environment we create for all our employees.
IFS Ultimo is not “just a place” to work but a place to grow and achieve your fullest potential!
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