Before I started as a solution engineer (SE) at Infosim^® in April, I worked for our Infosim^® partner Trace Network Operations. A lot of my work there was focused on StableNet^®, and I really enjoyed that. From there, I decided to work at Infosim^® full time. Originally, I studied electrical and computer engineering at the UCT, the University in Cape Town.

It’s a bit difficult to explain. As Solution Engineers, we interact a lot with customers and prospects and work closely with the sales team. When things get a little more technical, we step in and provide technical support. We also assist with the design, development and deployment of custom solutions. When a company decides to use StableNet^®, the SEs set up the system so it can be used. Some of my colleagues are also involved in setting up Proof of Concepts (PoC).

Overall, my onboarding process was very pleasant and smooth because, as I said, I had previously worked for our partner Trace Network Operations and was also working on similar customer projects there as I do now. Therefore, I was already quite familiar with StableNet^® and didn’t need anyone to guide me. This gave me more time to familiarize myself with Infosim^®‘s internal processes and the way of working. Especially for this it helped me a lot to be in Würzburg for two months. It gave me the opportunity to meet people I normally do not interact with that often and to get to know my team and their ways of working. I also really enjoyed my time in Germany. I loved it because it’s very different from home, everything was very modern and the atmosphere is generally very pleasant. Overall, it was a very valuable experience for me to be there.

From what I’ve seen, there are a lot of companies in Africa that are using outdated legacy systems and software, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity for StableNet^® to get in there and modernize and automate their systems. The challenge I would see is communicating with companies and potential prospects and actually getting a foot in the door. Good partners in the region like Zoracom are therefore essential to build a strong network of contacts. Furthermore, trade fairs and events also play a key role in establishing contacts and finding potential opportunities.

Events like this are very important to position yourself on the market, but also to make contacts and find potential prospects. For me, it was about networking and meeting people who can help us find potential opportunities and also get to know other companies and competitors. This expectation was definitely fulfilled. The event provided an excellent platform to show how well StableNet^® fits into the ongoing infrastructure development in Africa.