Get to know Matthias
Name: Matthias Pfeffer
Position: Senior Architect Modern Workplace & Subject Matter Expert Microsoft
Worked at Orange Business since: June 2021
Based: Deggendorf, Bavaria (Germany) - Working 100% remote for our Karlsruhe office
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you first came in contact with Orange Business?
I am a 45-year-old who grew up in Germany but have lived and worked all over the world. I spent about 10 years in the Middle East, and I have also been in Asia for a while. It is, however, good to be back home now. I am a digital native and crazy about automation and cloud functionalities. I have been working with the Cloud since Microsoft announced it at the Microsoft Partner Conference many years ago. Looking at how and when I first came into contact with Orange Business it was about 3 years ago when Lena (recruiter in Germany) contacted me through LinkedIn. She asked if I was interested in a new challenge and the timing was perfect as I had worked for my previous employer 11 years then and felt as if it was time to try something new.
Can you tell us a bit about your work as a Senior Architect for Modern Workplace, what do you do and what projects are you working on at the moment?
I usually work actively on 2 large projects at a time and have many other projects under supervision as an Architect. I am currently working on implementing the Microsoft Cloud Services with apps for Enterprise and Teams at a German Government Agency. For them GDPR, IT-security and protection of data is strictly regulated and a huge focus for the projects. This means that I act as a Microsoft Consultant around the Azure Cloud and do a lot of customer consultancy. Many of our customers want to know how others have done it and what the best practice is for e.g., security and I then consult, assist, and help them through the process of implementing a new Microsoft Azure tenant.
As an Architect I also create “how-to” guidelines at the end of projects so that it is available for other upcoming projects. It is guidelines on what to do, how to do it etc, this is however a dynamic process as the Cloud is dynamic and constantly developed with new features. So, the "how-to" guides need to be constantly updated and reviewed accordingly.
What is it that made you decide to focus on working with Microsoft Services?
That is a good question to which I think there are a few factors coming into play. To begin with, I grew up in a family where my father was a Developer for Microsoft Services and all the PCs we had were with Microsoft and Windows. I think that has partly influenced me however, at the end of the day I really like the spirit and ideas of Microsoft, just look at Teams as this modern collaboration and communication tool which is absolutely brilliant. So, I like the way that Microsoft goes about implementing things and today almost all companies has implemented Microsoft Services.
What do you enjoy the most about your position?
I love to inspire people about IT and especially the Microsoft Cloud. I am addicted to speaking to people, so I enjoy that I get to speak directly to the end users as I believe that an essential part of our projects is to understand them. I therefore conduct user interviews to understand their pains, their gains, how they work etc to translate that into the project and how to design and implement the services to support them in the end of the day.
What education and background do you have to be able to do this job?
I do not have a classic training in IT as many others. I would rather say that I have studied life and people. I actually started as an apprentice in a purchase department and worked more with economical side of businesses to begin with. Then I decided that it was not for me and that I wanted to do something of my interest in IT, so I started my own IT company with 2 employees before I later switched to the Consultancy business 20 years ago now. In addition, I would say that it is important to have good mentors to support you, personally I have had 2 excellent mentors in my life who have supported me in becoming the person I am today.
What do you personally think are the best thing about working for Orange Business in Germany?
If I look to my closest colleagues I would say that one of the best things are that we are as a big family and the competencies and knowledge of my colleagues is absolutely brilliant and phenomenal. They are all experts and so well trained which makes it really cool to work together with them. Something I find very special is that everyone is ready to share knowledge and always support each other, the whole team stays together even if many of us work remotely from different locations we have still been able to keep a good collaboration!
In addition, when looking at it from a broader perspective, I would say that Orange Business is a cool brand to work for. The wider possibilities within the group are astonishing and we have for example a close collaboration with colleagues at Orange Cyberdefence. It is great that when a customer wants help with something that we in Karlsruhe are not experts at, there is always others within the group that can support on this. So, the possibilities within the Orange group are endless.