Working as BI Consultant – Simon’s experience
SAP-related jobs can be fun! Curious about working as a BI Consultant? Check out this interview with Simon Lingott who has been with us long enough to find out for himself!
How long have you been working in Apollogic?
I have been working here since 2010. That is, for approximately 6 years.
What are your main tasks as BI consultant?
In general, the main tasks are to organize, prepare, analyze and, last but not least, to display a set of given data in an understandable shape to every interested stakeholder. This roughly describes in a nutshell the duties of a BI-Consultant. If you look closer, then things get more complex. You need to extract data from different sources, bring it together and transform or harmonize it under certain business aspects (or in other words: make it comparable). And, at the end of the day, the aim is to provide well designed reports on the foundation of this data which allows users to get an overview about their businesses and helps make decisions. Personally specialize in the SAP BW tool which manages the extract transform and load processes and the development of reports on their basis.
Can you tell something about your career path?
I studied economics at the Martin-Luther-University in Halle, my specialization was controlling, logistics and statistics. During my studies I had some introduction into software, especially for SAP-Systems and statistical analysis software such as R. And I really liked it. So, I decided to join some internship programs to get practical experience. One of the companies was Apollogic, who offered me a position at the BI Team and the opportunity to enhance my skills by trainings and participation in projects.
Is your work also your passion? Why?
Since my youth, computers have been an attraction to me. And I really like to work with numbers. Those two facts predefined a way the path to the profession of a BI Consultant. Another bullet point is working on projects. You change your environment from time to time. Different customers, different coworkers, different cities – it makes this job exciting.
Do you like working remotely? How does it influence your relations with the team?
Working remotely has principally only positive aspects. It saves a lot of commuting time which can be used better – for work or free time. Another advantage is that you are alone in the office and, in my personal case, it is easier to focus on work if there is nothing around you.
What I can mention in a way of disadvantages is only small things. Direct contact with colleagues is what I miss, also some small talk in front of the coffee machine or having lunch together and discuss important and unimportant things which come up “by the way”. But I wouldn’t say that it influences the relationships with colleagues so much.
Can you name any differences in working in Germany and Poland?
To be honest, I’m not looking for differences. And I guess there are not so many. Working in IT business is quite international, so also the people become more and more equal and regional differences disappear. What I like in the cooperation with my Polish colleagues is that they always try to be flexible and respond quickly to changing requirements. And – this is my experience – they are always willing to help if it’s possible.
What would you recommend to person who is starting his/ her adventure with Business Intelligence?
The first advice is not only valid for a BI career. Whatever you do try to do it the best you can. And to achieve this in BI you need, first of all, to focus on some area and enhance your skills step by step. Because BI is a wide field of different tools and technologies used in the BI process chain. Knowledge about integration of those different steps is essential if you want to be a good functional consultant later and provide solutions which best meet the requirements of your customer.
Another aspect is to always be on the lookout for new technologies and how they change your business. For example, with the rise of Big Data new opportunities opened especially for BI. New technologies needs to be integrated into existing landscapes. They may change our approach to BI in the long run. And it seems quite an interesting field.
What do you like to do in your free time? What are your personal interests?
What I really like is enjoy the nature. Doing some trekking in the mountains or exploring the landscape is something what makes me happy, not only in summertime. I’m also interested in sports, such as football or volleyball. If there is an opportunity I go to games played in the Bundesliga stadiums.
Interested in career as a Business Intelligence Consultant? Check out open positions at Apollogic!
- On 03/02/2016
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