Interview with graduate: Petr Grätz, Director of Telecommunications Business at Tietoevry Create.
How did your studies at BUT prepare you for your professional career?
First of all, I would say that my studies at the BUT prepared me very well, both my master's and doctoral studies. I studied automation, cybernetics and measurement at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (FEI), and later at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and in my first years of practice I worked as a developer in the field of electronic development. It was a combination of two things - technical skills and soft skills.
The competencies that are becoming more and more important are in the area of soft skills. Schools need to prepare graduates for today's dynamic world. It is about the ability to learn new things, to function in project teams and in virtual environments. We work in a global environment with colleagues from India, Latin America, Northern Europe, the US and other countries, so language skills and the ability to work with people you may never see in person is essential. Continuing education is very important. Especially in today's fast-paced, technology-driven times.
Opportunities for students: internships at Tietoevry
You offer students the possibility of internships during their studies. How exactly can students get involved with you?
Tietoevry has 2300 people in the Czech Republic, 1900 in Ostrava and 400 in Brno. In both cities we are active in cooperation with universities. We have been working with the BUT for a long time, we offer three-month internships and we have about 10 students continuously. Some of them don't quit after three months and stay on with us. Students work either on our customers' projects as a shadow, shadowing an experienced expert and learning how a real project works, or on innovation projects. If we invest in building some competencies or demonstrators, it is often students who work on this. They have a mentor who comes up with a topic that involves 2-3 students. It can be within a three-month internship or even longer.
In the last three years we have been more active in terms of cooperation with Brno universities, we have become partners with FEEC we cooperate with JIC and we are involved in a STEM project together with BUT and other technology companies, which tries to inspire the young generation to study technical fields.
What brought you to Tietoevry after twenty years in another multinational company?
Tietoevry appealed to me and attracted me because it is primarily a European company with Nordic roots and a strong focus on people. Employees have a lot of flexibility in when and where they want to work, a large number of people really benefit from working from home. Of course they have to get the work done, but in today's digital world developers value a degree of freedom, wellbeing and work-life balance. Responsibility has shifted a lot to people at Tietoevry, they have it in their hands.
The second thing that motivated me to change is the type of business we do within the Tietoevry Create division. We're not a product business, but we provide digital consulting and services to our customers - telecom companies, medical companies, banks, automotive companies, and more - and that brings with it a huge diversity of projects, industries, and the opportunity to constantly learn and try new areas and things.
You mentioned continuing education, how does this work in Tietoevry?
Training is either in person at our company using internal or external lecturers and trainers, or virtually, often also at the customer's site, in the case of specific project teams. The spectrum of industries and competencies in our teams is truly vast. Within the Americas, we do a lot of work in healthcare and banking. Some teams work with low-level embedded systems, or systems that are actually single-purpose computers. An example would be a Bluetooth headset with integrated software. At the other end of the spectrum in terms of complexity of systems and software, there may be ERP system implementations (Enterprise Resource Planning - a software system that includes all the tools and processes needed to run a successful company, including human resources, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, accounting and more, author's note). In addition, many other areas such as cloud solutions, mobile apps, web apps, front-end, back-end... Practically anything in the field of IT services and development we are able to cover.
Three main trends come to mind. The first is 5G networks - large operators and users of fifth-generation networks are addressing applications of these networks such as connected cars, connected workers or connected healthcare. Next, we are seeing a growing demand for private 5G networks - typical applications are in large industrial companies, steel mills, paper mills, refineries, where customers require 100% connectivity and WiFi alone is not enough in some cases for reliability reasons. The third area is cloudification and the use of artificial intelligence. The advent of AI in telecommunications is a big topic right now.
How do you approach innovation and implementation of new technologies at Tietoevry?
Because we are not a product business, we deal with innovation largely by working on innovation projects of our customers, whether they are automotive, telecommunications, healthcare or banks. Within our company, we invest in training our employees and building what we call offerings or building blocks that can be used by our customers in their projects and solutions.
For example, when a new standard for headsets enters the market, as I mentioned earlier, it is beneficial to have a demonstrator of a piece of software or a library that will then accelerate the actual development cycle for our customers as part of the subsequent product development. The customer is selling headphones, but we have a building block that we have invested in from an innovation perspective, bringing in people with the necessary knowledge and skills, and accelerating the product development.
It's also important to stay up-to-date - to be aware of the needs of the current market and customers, technology trends, to be active at various conferences related to telecommunications, the medical business, the automotive industry, and so on.
What qualities or skills do you think are key to being a successful technology manager?
I would reiterate the emphasis and importance of continuous learning. The technology market is accelerating incredibly fast and it's very important to keep up. Even a manager who is supposed to be a good tech manager also needs to be constantly educating themselves.
In terms of soft-skills, it's working with people, working actively with a team, listening. As a Tietoevry company, we are very focused on our employees, helping them with their career path, finding out what they are interested in, what they want to profile themselves in. While we shift responsibility to the employees themselves, the role of the manager is there to help open doors and show new possibilities.
Also key is the ability to work in a global team and a customer first approach - understanding what the customer's needs are and coming up with a proposal to help the customer.
So, probably one piece of advice you would give to our students or recent graduates would be to be prepared to keep learning. What other skills do you think are key to being a successful technology manager?
The first thing is English - that's an absolute must. And also not being afraid to try new things. I've had some important moments in my career path when I needed to make a decision and step into a new area, role, often very unfamiliar. But it is these decisions that then bring new and interesting opportunities. A student who completes a Master's degree in education has completed 5 years of study, but that's not really the end of the study. It will continue throughout life.
The ability to function in a global world is also important. And if we move into the technology stuff, it's cloud and AI. We see it with all our customers, we work with it every day.
The main areas are networks for our telecom providers, as well as cloud projects, cloudification and, more recently, private 5G networks. These are the three main areas we are in. Tietoevry currently has about 23,000 people globally, 5 businesses and our Create business, which is primarily a digital consultancy, has 9,000 people. Of those, 2 thousand are working on telecom customer projects.
You mentioned the partnership with FEKT. How important is cooperation with schools for you and how do you try to reach the young generation?
Close cooperation with schools is in line with our corporate culture. The Nordic origin of our company is very much evident in our approach to schools, and special attention is paid to sustainability, not only from an environmental point of view, but also from a people point of view.
There is a strong focus on diversity and corporate social responsibility. We would also like to have a greater impact on young people already in high school and children in primary school and to positively influence their decision to study at technical universities. I think a big barrier is the fear of technology, the idea that it is complicated, or the fear of mathematics. We need to talk to children as young as around 8 and 9 years old, encourage them not to be afraid of it and, in particular, show them the possibilities that will open up to them after studying at technical colleges.
Diversity in a broad sense is very important for our company - gender, age, and also what kind of background we come from. In general, technology companies have a shortage of women. That's just the way it is in the Czech Republic. Universities are producing a shortage of women in technical fields, and that's a shame because diversity is always a huge benefit for companies and it's an incredible boost to innovative thinking. This topic is also part of the STEM project we mentioned earlier.
Author: Zdeňka Koubová
Interview with graduate: Petr Grätz, Director of Telecommunications Business at Tietoevry Create
Petr Grätz graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEEC) in cybernetics, automation and measurement technology. He now holds a dual role at multinational Tietoevry - leading customer development for telecommunications in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, where he is responsible for 250 people, while managing the US geographic center, including expansion into markets in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Peter Grätz's exact job title is: Head of Telecom Cloud Central EU Delivery Operations & Head of Americas Delivery Operations at Tietoevry Create.Interview with graduate: Petr Grätz, Director of Telecommunications Business at Tietoevry Create.
How did your studies at BUT prepare you for your professional career?
First of all, I would say that my studies at the BUT prepared me very well, both my master's and doctoral studies. I studied automation, cybernetics and measurement at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (FEI), and later at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and in my first years of practice I worked as a developer in the field of electronic development. It was a combination of two things - technical skills and soft skills.
The competencies that are becoming more and more important are in the area of soft skills. Schools need to prepare graduates for today's dynamic world. It is about the ability to learn new things, to function in project teams and in virtual environments. We work in a global environment with colleagues from India, Latin America, Northern Europe, the US and other countries, so language skills and the ability to work with people you may never see in person is essential. Continuing education is very important. Especially in today's fast-paced, technology-driven times.
Opportunities for students: internships at Tietoevry
You offer students the possibility of internships during their studies. How exactly can students get involved with you?Tietoevry has 2300 people in the Czech Republic, 1900 in Ostrava and 400 in Brno. In both cities we are active in cooperation with universities. We have been working with the BUT for a long time, we offer three-month internships and we have about 10 students continuously. Some of them don't quit after three months and stay on with us. Students work either on our customers' projects as a shadow, shadowing an experienced expert and learning how a real project works, or on innovation projects. If we invest in building some competencies or demonstrators, it is often students who work on this. They have a mentor who comes up with a topic that involves 2-3 students. It can be within a three-month internship or even longer.
In the last three years we have been more active in terms of cooperation with Brno universities, we have become partners with FEEC we cooperate with JIC and we are involved in a STEM project together with BUT and other technology companies, which tries to inspire the young generation to study technical fields.
What brought you to Tietoevry after twenty years in another multinational company?
Tietoevry appealed to me and attracted me because it is primarily a European company with Nordic roots and a strong focus on people. Employees have a lot of flexibility in when and where they want to work, a large number of people really benefit from working from home. Of course they have to get the work done, but in today's digital world developers value a degree of freedom, wellbeing and work-life balance. Responsibility has shifted a lot to people at Tietoevry, they have it in their hands.
The second thing that motivated me to change is the type of business we do within the Tietoevry Create division. We're not a product business, but we provide digital consulting and services to our customers - telecom companies, medical companies, banks, automotive companies, and more - and that brings with it a huge diversity of projects, industries, and the opportunity to constantly learn and try new areas and things.
You mentioned continuing education, how does this work in Tietoevry?
Training is either in person at our company using internal or external lecturers and trainers, or virtually, often also at the customer's site, in the case of specific project teams. The spectrum of industries and competencies in our teams is truly vast. Within the Americas, we do a lot of work in healthcare and banking. Some teams work with low-level embedded systems, or systems that are actually single-purpose computers. An example would be a Bluetooth headset with integrated software. At the other end of the spectrum in terms of complexity of systems and software, there may be ERP system implementations (Enterprise Resource Planning - a software system that includes all the tools and processes needed to run a successful company, including human resources, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, accounting and more, author's note). In addition, many other areas such as cloud solutions, mobile apps, web apps, front-end, back-end... Practically anything in the field of IT services and development we are able to cover.
The Future of Telecommunications: Key Trends
What technology trends in the telecommunications industry do you see as most important for the coming years?Three main trends come to mind. The first is 5G networks - large operators and users of fifth-generation networks are addressing applications of these networks such as connected cars, connected workers or connected healthcare. Next, we are seeing a growing demand for private 5G networks - typical applications are in large industrial companies, steel mills, paper mills, refineries, where customers require 100% connectivity and WiFi alone is not enough in some cases for reliability reasons. The third area is cloudification and the use of artificial intelligence. The advent of AI in telecommunications is a big topic right now.
How do you approach innovation and implementation of new technologies at Tietoevry?
Because we are not a product business, we deal with innovation largely by working on innovation projects of our customers, whether they are automotive, telecommunications, healthcare or banks. Within our company, we invest in training our employees and building what we call offerings or building blocks that can be used by our customers in their projects and solutions.
For example, when a new standard for headsets enters the market, as I mentioned earlier, it is beneficial to have a demonstrator of a piece of software or a library that will then accelerate the actual development cycle for our customers as part of the subsequent product development. The customer is selling headphones, but we have a building block that we have invested in from an innovation perspective, bringing in people with the necessary knowledge and skills, and accelerating the product development.
It's also important to stay up-to-date - to be aware of the needs of the current market and customers, technology trends, to be active at various conferences related to telecommunications, the medical business, the automotive industry, and so on.
What qualities or skills do you think are key to being a successful technology manager?
I would reiterate the emphasis and importance of continuous learning. The technology market is accelerating incredibly fast and it's very important to keep up. Even a manager who is supposed to be a good tech manager also needs to be constantly educating themselves.
In terms of soft-skills, it's working with people, working actively with a team, listening. As a Tietoevry company, we are very focused on our employees, helping them with their career path, finding out what they are interested in, what they want to profile themselves in. While we shift responsibility to the employees themselves, the role of the manager is there to help open doors and show new possibilities.
Also key is the ability to work in a global team and a customer first approach - understanding what the customer's needs are and coming up with a proposal to help the customer.
How do you keep yourself up to date?
So, probably one piece of advice you would give to our students or recent graduates would be to be prepared to keep learning. What other skills do you think are key to being a successful technology manager?
The first thing is English - that's an absolute must. And also not being afraid to try new things. I've had some important moments in my career path when I needed to make a decision and step into a new area, role, often very unfamiliar. But it is these decisions that then bring new and interesting opportunities. A student who completes a Master's degree in education has completed 5 years of study, but that's not really the end of the study. It will continue throughout life.
The ability to function in a global world is also important. And if we move into the technology stuff, it's cloud and AI. We see it with all our customers, we work with it every day.
Current projects and European identity
What specific telecommunications projects is Tietoevry currently involved in in the Central Europe region?The main areas are networks for our telecom providers, as well as cloud projects, cloudification and, more recently, private 5G networks. These are the three main areas we are in. Tietoevry currently has about 23,000 people globally, 5 businesses and our Create business, which is primarily a digital consultancy, has 9,000 people. Of those, 2 thousand are working on telecom customer projects.
You mentioned the partnership with FEKT. How important is cooperation with schools for you and how do you try to reach the young generation?
Close cooperation with schools is in line with our corporate culture. The Nordic origin of our company is very much evident in our approach to schools, and special attention is paid to sustainability, not only from an environmental point of view, but also from a people point of view.
There is a strong focus on diversity and corporate social responsibility. We would also like to have a greater impact on young people already in high school and children in primary school and to positively influence their decision to study at technical universities. I think a big barrier is the fear of technology, the idea that it is complicated, or the fear of mathematics. We need to talk to children as young as around 8 and 9 years old, encourage them not to be afraid of it and, in particular, show them the possibilities that will open up to them after studying at technical colleges.
Diversity in a broad sense is very important for our company - gender, age, and also what kind of background we come from. In general, technology companies have a shortage of women. That's just the way it is in the Czech Republic. Universities are producing a shortage of women in technical fields, and that's a shame because diversity is always a huge benefit for companies and it's an incredible boost to innovative thinking. This topic is also part of the STEM project we mentioned earlier.
Author: Zdeňka Koubová
| Responsible person | Ing. Zdeňka Koubová |
|---|---|
| Date of publication |