Maria helps customers to make wise decisions. How? As a member of the Business Intelligence team (BI), she combines data from multiple source systems, transforms them into an easy-to-digest report and presents the outcomes. Having all the data and seeing the bigger picture makes it easier for internal customers to choose the right option. Maria’s daily business is packed with exciting data mining, process analysis, performance benchmarking or new BI ideas coming to live.
What is the part you like most about your job?
Maria: Gaining trust. I always try to understand the challenge the customer faces, ask openly, and dig deeper to make sure I know which data I need, what the report must look like to be easy to read. After presenting the results and seeing the value it brings to customers, feeling they put trust in me, is a great reward.
I also appreciate cross-company collaboration which teaches me new ways of thinking and motivates me to learn outside of the Business Intelligence domain. It can be an asset since BI integrates any type of data to deliver even more powerful results. Dealing with innovative ways of using technological solutions in BI and Big Data recharges me with extra energy.
What does it take to become an expert in Business Intelligence?
Maria: You should gain expertise in the relevant technologies to be able to deliver solutions. Telekom provided me with Business Intelligence and Big Data related trainings tailored specifically to my role. I learned about Kibana, SAS® Enterprise Guide, Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), Apache Kudu, Apache Hbase, Apache Spark, Apache Impala and Hadoop and features that are main ingredients of the solutions delivered.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make sure you are on the same page with the team or customer. I have accepted that I don't know everything, but I know how to explore and learn as much as needed to find the best solution.
In my job I want to make customers feel and understand they are an important piece of the solution. I try to understand the whole story, not only the problem because I want to provide real value to them. My advice to all experts is, go the extra mile and don’t just stick to your role’s responsibilities.
You joined our company two years ago, having worked in Telco industry for 14 years. How do you experience working at Telekom compared to other companies?
Telekom (OTE Cosmote) is a Telco leader in Greece. Being part of this team is a continuous challenge to remain at the top. I appreciate the autonomy I have to decide how I want to work. I feel supported in my decisions. The development team works much faster than what I was used to. If we have several suggestions on how to solve an issue, we try them out, gather all results and decide which one works best.
What is important to me as well, is that I am getting direct feedback during our regular 1-1 meetings or team meetings where an open discussion is more than welcome. The Know-How and the service of my colleagues and me, are also recognized and appreciated outside the BI-team, which is an important part for people to stay motivated.