Introducing: Paul de Bruijn

In several interviews with employees, we would like to introduce Focus Enterprise Solutions to you. This time an interview with Paul de Bruijn, Consultant at Focus Enterprise Solutions.

Who are you?

I am 41, married, 3 children (girl (13)/ boy (10)/ girl (3)) and have an old cat of 22. I am addicted to cycling, so much so that I cover more than 8000 km every year. I studied Higher Computer Science at Avans Hogeschool Breda and after completing my education I started working at Columbus IT Partner. Actually, I still work there (for almost 18 years!), but we have already gone through a number of name changes and / or acquisitions.

What is your position?

I am a Financial Consultant and help clients with the design of Dynamics 365 and train them in its use. You are responsible (within your field of ‘Finance’) for the correct design of the system and for the transfer of sufficient knowledge to your customer so that they can work independently with it after the go-live of the system. Together with your team, usually consisting of a project manager, a few consultants and one or a few developers, you work on a project basis on a complete solution that the customer will use. All disciplines together form a total solution and that is why you sometimes have to think (along) ‘outside’ your own field.

Once the customer is live, there is often a ‘aftercare and optimization phase’ for a while and ultimately the team transfers the whole to Managed Applications. And then you can start the next project.

What does an average working day look like?

That depends on whether I’m working for a client or have an Extended Banking day [our own digital bank statement processing solution]. When I work for a client, it usually involves a workshop. Together with the client, we work through a number of scenarios during such a workshop on the basis of documents prepared by myself. The goal of the workshop is that the customer/key user gets a sense of what certain financial processes look like in Dynamics 365 and what kind of setup you need for that.

When I have an Extended Banking day, it always has to do with this beautiful product. Sometimes it concerns presales work, but usually we are busy with the maintenance and continuous improvement of this product. Much of the work consists of analyzing, describing and testing adjustments to the software, but also updating the manual, writing Releasenotes and training (new) colleagues. There is always work that needs to be done.

“In addition, as a product manager, I hope that we can continue to maintain the positive flow that we now have with Extended Banking with various partners and that this will bring us a lot of new customers.”

There is probably also something not nice about your work. How do you deal with that?

Yes, that happens sometimes. Usually it is a matter of simply naming the problem and discussing it with, for example, the Project Manager or the Manager Operations to come to a solution together. In the end, we have the same common goal and that is a satisfied customer. We must achieve this under all circumstances. If an escalation is needed for that, it at least takes the (personal) pressure off and you can at least continue to do your job. Fortunately, it is very rare and you can ‘steer’ a lot of things yourself.

What do you think about us now being Focus Enterprise Solutions?

I really like that we’re a new label, we’re a relatively small group of people, but we all have the same common goal. You really have to contribute to the direction we take. We have short lines of communications with the management and I experience that as very pleasant. Actually, I don’t think much has changed except for the name. It is also how you are in it yourself, I think, our market has always been in motion and our work as consultants has long consisted of ‘making hours’ for the client, because that is our revenue model.

How do you ensure that your knowledge remains up to date?

Primarily, I think that by just doing projects you keep your knowledge up to date, but of course it is always useful if you brush up and test your knowledge by following a course and certifying yourself. There is always room for that at Focus Enterprise Solutions, you just have to have it planned, otherwise it will not happen because of the crowds.

“If you are looking for an employer who can offer you a nice job with nice colleagues, in a fast-growing market where you can influence your career opportunities and where you also get excellent employment conditions, then definitely choose Focus Enterprise Solutions.

Where do you think we will be as a company in 5 years?

I hope that we will then be known as (one of the) best Microsoft partner(s) in the country, with many satisfied customers, in a market where we currently still have to ‘tolerate’ a few parties ‘above’ us. Maybe also outside the Netherlands. In addition, as a product manager, I hope that we can continue to maintain the positive flow that we now have with Extended Banking with various partners and that this will bring us a lot of new customers.

Why should anyone join Focus Enterprise Solutions?

If you are looking for an employer who can offer you a nice job with nice colleagues, in a fast-growing market where you can influence your career opportunities and where you also get excellent employment conditions, then definitely choose Focus Enterprise Solutions.

After reading the interview, did you become enthusiastic about working at Focus Enterprise Solutions? We are looking for new colleagues! Click here for an overview of all vacancies (dutch only).

This interview is part of the series ‘Introducing’.
Introducing: Andre Snijder, CEO

Introducing: Bas Strijbos, Customer Coordinator (Support Consultant)

Introducing: Angelo Plasschaert, Developer

Introducing: Jeroen Huijsman, Financial en Supply Chain Consultant