United Planet

Hello Manfred, what brought you to United Planet and what do you do here?

At the end of the 1990s, I wanted to start something new with Axel Wessendorf who had taken a two-year paternity break after selling his Lexware shares.

Thankfully, I managed to convince him that we should put our heads together and focus on “dynamic intranets” while we went for a walk together.

At that time, I was managing director and Axel was an advisor for United Planet – we got started immediately at great speed and with a brilliant team. After a little more than a year, we had the first version of an “intranet out of the box” in our hands as a CD. Intrexx 1.0 was born – although it was still called “Intrazone” then.

Since then, things haven’t stopped moving, from the technologies to the requirements of our customers. It is a great feeling to always be working on the latest technologies together with a fantastic team. And it’s great to experience the diversity of solutions our customers and partners implement with Intrexx.

... and when you’re not fine-tuning the latest version of Intrexx?

Once a week, I get together with really good friends to play music. This also has an important social role in my life.

And then, I’m a passionate and keen motorcyclist. With this, I have the rare luck of being able to share this hobby with my wife. Otherwise, I would probably be in the doghouse a lot more often. Naturally, the Black Forest is a paradise for curves. When I get the chance to take a quick drive up the old racetrack to Schauinsland in the evening, that’s my definition of relaxation. The immediate concentration on the road is nothing but meditation.

Apart from that, I get odd looks from my family when I buy tools or some kind of machine – I’ve got my eyes on a welder at the moment… I’m a very curious person – I never get bored!

To close, can you give us a little look through the keyhole – where is the development of Intrexx heading?

We talked about the direction we’re heading in at the last Portal Visions – and we are planning on sticking to that. Currently, we are working hard in many exciting areas:

Intrexx will support all large cloud platforms in an economically optimal way through intelligent load balancing. The current performance tests are already very promising here. We will greatly simplify the creation of multi-tenancy capable portals. The application development and the business logic – the heart of Intrexx – are currently being adjusted to get them ready for the future.

In addition, there are other important areas such as push notifications for mobile devices, and we will put more emphasis on digital transformation processes and Industry 4.0.

Hello Katrin, what brought you to United Planet and what do you do here?

What brought me to United Planet? Love and chance. First, my partnership brought me to Freiburg, and then by chance, I stumbled across United Planet. And then, I soon fell in love with United Planet: Even after the first conversation – with Axel Wessendorf then – I felt that this company was different than the others. The team, the atmosphere, the product, the philosophy…it all just fitted from the start. That’s why I made a really quick decision to join United Planet and have been here since January 2012. In the meantime, I’m managing director and lead the company together with Manfred Stetz.

After experiencing for myself how important it is to have the right team and philosophy, I put a lot of emphasis on these. Even though a lot is changing and quickly in the fast-paced IT sector and we at United Planet have changed a lot in recent years, I am convinced that only motivated people can achieve something special. With Intrexx and United Planet, we have something special, whose core we cannot allow to change, even when a lot changes in processes, structures, customers, etc.

... and when you’re not busy taking care of the company’s economic success?

I may not be a “digital native” but I really enjoy working digitally. Nevertheless, I need a change of scenery now and again. That’s why my hobbies are more analog to complement my everyday work, so to speak. I play badminton and handball regularly to balance out the constant sitting and to clear my head.

On holiday, I’m often drawn to nature. We recently bought ourselves a camping bus for this reason. But it doesn’t always have to be in the South with a lot of sun and perfect beaches. I get much more excited by the raw landscapes of Scandinavia, Ireland, Scotland, etc. And it also doesn’t have to be the classic campsite with small plots separated by fences and garden gnomes. I prefer waking up and the first thing I see is a forest, fields, the sea, mountains, etc. For me, that’s relaxation at first sight.

The best part is that I can now take my holiday with a clear conscience. Just a few years ago, it wasn’t so easy to drive to the middle of nowhere and relax – I never knew what would be waiting for me after my holiday. Now I have my “digital workplace” with me and yes, I withdraw for an hour or so every day to work. That way, I can enjoy the remaining hours and really relax.

How do you assess the current market development – which areas are in the starting blocks and how will the IT world change in the midterm?

I’m starting to feel like a broken record but I have to say it again: Digitalization is not in the early stages of development but will significantly change the world of work for all of us. And I’m not just talking about the IT world but the whole business world. You can recognize this by looking at which companies – who originally had absolutely nothing to do with IT – were at CeBIT this year. And also by looking at which new, digital business models are developing. Nonetheless, it will still take years until the digital workplace has found its place across the board.

As well as this, Alexa, Cortana, etc. show us something that Star Trek led the way on centuries ago. And this will find its way into our everyday working: controlling the day-to-day office using speech recognition technology. It will probably not take too long until, for example, meetings are no longer recorded by hand but our digital assistants will take notes and automatically log the important decisions and to-dos. Naturally, with a reminder function ;)

Hello Tobias, to get started: How “digital” are you in your private life?

After working on a paperless office 20 – in words, twenty – years ago, it has now found its place in both my private and professional life. Flights, train journeys, banking transactions, photography or planning, measuring and analyzing my sports activities are all done digitally using my smartphone. Recently, I’ve started trying my hand as a live blogger at amateur football events – digitally, of course.

You’ll have to tell me more about your career as a live blogger the next time we get together for a kickabout! What about the rest of your career – what brought you to United Planet, and what exactly do you do?

Towards the end of my studies, I experienced the birth of browser technologies. It soon became clear to me that this was the technology of the coming years. In 2000, when I then heard about United Planet, a start-up at that time, there was no hesitation and I joined the Intrexx development team. When I changed positions to become head of consulting, I experienced how more and more companies wanted to live the digital workplace and with how much growing consistency the implementation was being approached. While digital systems were the helpers and supporters for everyday work earlier, the Intrexx solutions of today are responsible for company processes. Today’s users of digital processes expect that the solution knows the individual procedures and validates the respective guidelines.

As head of consulting, you know all kinds of customer projects. Which of those were (or are) particularly interesting and what can you tell us about them?

Personally, I’m really interested in different cultures. Be it the corporate culture at the company on the other side of the street or regional and ethnic influences such as in projects overseas or in Moscow. Of course, new challenges are always interesting regardless of whether they’re technical or organizational. The first portal where the number of users is in six figures, the first portal with many terabytes of data, the first customer whose portal is used in all time zones from Japan to the West Coast, or the creation of a 24/7 support system have all brought me a lot of interesting days and weeks.

Hello Gerhard, you’re an enthusiastic charcoal barbecuer. Can you imagine this area becoming digitalized?

Is there anything better than barbecuing steak and veg over real glowing coals and enjoying a cold and tasty beer at the same time? Digital assistants have found their way even into things as relaxed as barbecuing: for example, thermometers connected to apps that tell you exactly how hot the grill is or when the meat over needs to be flipped over. Things even go a step further: there are even high-tech barbecues that I can connect to my wireless network and transfer parameters such as temperature, optimal cooking time, etc. directly to my smartphone.

... and how else is digitalization on your mind in all of its facets?

Digitalizing processes were on my mind from an early stage. Even as an apprentice, I wanted to optimize workflows with software. A few years later, my boss at that time came to me and said I should take a look at Intrazone – that’s what Intrexx was called at the very beginning. Said, done. And I discovered a great passion that led me to switch directly to United Planet to be even closer to digital transformation and play a role in it. Digitalization is also present in our private lives: Many things can be controlled via app and this simplifies everyday life.

As a customer success manager at United Planet, you travel quite a lot. What have been the most exciting experiences on your travels?

It is always exciting to see how many different industries and companies Intrexx is being used in. After many years, we are now represented across the entire value chain: starting with acquisition via planning and production to distribution within one company. Accompanying these are the processes that arise in the administration of a company like interviews and appraisal interviews, leave requests and dashboards for the management. And of course, there are some funny stories along the way but a connoisseur savors and is silent; maybe someday by the grill.

Hello Martin, Simone mentioned you‘ve probably got a good story of where you really enjoy cycling. I’m really curious now, tell me more!

I ride my bike a lot. I enjoy longer distances across open spaces where there is plenty to see. A particular highlight of this year was a tour across Namibia. The natural world there is spectacular. When it’s winter here, it’s nice and warm there. And the next tour is already being planned – but I won’t reveal any more just yet ;-)

And things are on the move, not only on your bike but also in your area of responsibility at United Planet – you are head of software development. In your opinion, which technical innovations are currently playing a decisive role in development?

The trend of recent and presumably of coming years is cloud computing. We are working on this in different areas. IoT is also something that is currently keeping us busy and will continue to do so for some time. Mobile devices are obviously always a trending topic, especially mobile applications at the moment. So there is more than enough to do and we certainly won’t get bored!

You are all currently working at full speed on the next version of Intrexx – can you give us a quick insight into what users can look forward to?

Oh, there’s plenty! One new aspect is horizontal scaling, for example. In addition, we will offer cloud support for Microsoft Azure, OTC, and AWS as well as support for Docker as of Intrexx 9. Beyond this, we will provide a function to version with Git and simplify the creation of multi-tenant capable portals. The portlet framework will become more flexible and last but not least, we are working on a native mobile app.

Hello Julien: How many countries do you travel to in an average month? And as a Frenchman, does German bread now taste better than baguette from your homeland?

Normally, I’m in two to three countries per month. There are obviously phases where things are quieter and I can work more from Freiburg; in summer, for example. The second question is very difficult. I still really enjoy baguette but the bread in Germany is very good, especially grain bread and wholemeal bread which are really difficult to find in France. But baguette with ham and cheese is still the best for me.  
 
As the head of partner sales & operations, you are often on the road. Tell us a little about it. Do you have any good anecdotes from your travels?

I travel all over Europe by car, train and plane. And every time, it’s a new adventure for me. The journeys are always different and I’m lucky to be able to discover different cultures and people every time. From Freiburg, you can normally get anywhere you need to and back these days. But there were also moments where I thought, “I’m not going to make it back to Freiburg!” For example, once, I was in a rickety taxi in Turkey. There weren’t any seatbelts and we sped along the highway at 160 km/h…

My most difficult experience to date was at the beginning of October (2017) in Berlin. I was there when Cyclone Xavier raged over Berlin. Thankfully, I was able to stay in my hotel and fly home the next day but seeing the fallen trees and crushed cars was both frightening and striking.

Together with your team, you are responsible for the United Planet Partner Network. How many partners are in this and how many countries are represented?

We have 100 Intrexx Partners in more than 25 different countries. About 70% of these are from the German-speaking world. Since 2012 and the start of our internationalization strategy, we have partners in France, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the USA, Australia and Mexico.

Hello Ralf, you’re one employee who’s been at United Planet for a long time. What’s changed in your time here?

When I came to United Planet in 2006, I encountered a crowd of employees infected with the Intrexx virus, many of which had been in the company since the beginning and amazingly, still are today. People shared offices in twos and because they were still allowed to smoke in them, you only knew some colleagues, especially the developers, with a veil of smoke in front of their faces. Today, we work in modern open-plan offices and smoking is only allowed outside of the entrance.

The number of employees has also changed: When I started, there were about 35 of us; today, there are 100 employees. In recent years, we have also gone through a process of change that should safeguard the future of the company.  We implemented a management level that leads the individual departments. Employees are now given feedback in review meetings and the annually agreed assignment serves as a guiding thread for all of us.

Our communications also experienced a shift. While fax was still the most post popular device for exchanging information in the past, everything is done through digital channels today. We now handle internal communications via our own social collaboration software, “Share”.
And obviously, the size of the coffee machine has also changed. Employees and guests can now enjoy their coffee from an Italian-style double-strainer espresso machine. What more could you ask for?

You are not just head of finance but also the head of HR. What makes United Planet a good employer and how do you manage to attract new employees?

In the past, we used the support of external service providers to recruit personnel. Since we took over these tasks ourselves, we have a greater influence on subjects like employer branding and focus more on social networking. The result: United Planet as an employer brand is strengthened and developed further. Our professional application process means we make a positive impression from the very first contact.
By using tools like review meetings and assignments, every employee is gains insight into his/her share of the company’s success. And by working together on our goals, we foster our vision of “Teamwork makes the dream work”.

Beyond this, United Planet does a lot for employee satisfaction. Drinks on-site are free of charge, employees are given support to use public transport or purchase a bike for work as well as for a pension plan. Our cafeteria invites members of different departments to get together over a cup of coffee. New employees are integrated into the company quickly here. And to top it all off, we have an employee event every quarter.
These are all amenities that are reflected in good feedback. This benefits our personnel recruitment. Especially in times when you have to compete for talents, the recommendation of an employee or a good review on “kununu” very valuable.

Alongside your work at United Planet, you are also a football trainer and enthusiastic fan. Which club is close to your heart and why?

Two clubs are close to my heart. One is obviously my home club, FC Reiselfingen. Over 25 years, I have gained a lot of great experiences having played for them, been on the board of directors and been a youth coach.  My hobbyhorse here was girls’ and women’s’ football which I still follow keenly today.

My second favorite club is Bayern Munich. When I started getting excited about football, the Bayern Munich era with players like Maier, Beckenbauer, Katsche Schwarzenbeck, Bulle Roth and of course Gerd Müller had just begun. I had the privilege of meeting Gerd Müller and his number 13 has accompanied me through my entire football life. I can still remember the evenings well when I secretly cheered on Bayern in the Champions League with the radio under my duvet.

Obviously, it’s easy to be a fan of a successful club. However, Bayern Munich’s successes come from years of good work and the best management. What I like about Bayern Munich is that they act in an economically responsible manner and that the club continues to be very active socially. Of course it's easy if you have the financial means, but you still have to actually do it!

This time, we spoke to Karin Mödinger about her diverse workday as a software developer and mediator, her life in “exile” and her plans for the future as a rock-climbing brass player.

Hello Karin, what brought you to United Planet and do you feel at home in Freiburg (or in exile in Baden) as a Swabian? Have you already had a chance to get used to Baden culture since joining United Planet?

Oh, I almost have to be careful how I answer this question. But I can honestly safe that I really feel very much at home in Freiburg. I didn’t need a long settling-in period. Freiburg is a great city and I like the Baden culture. When I tell people where I grew up, the first comment I always hear is, “A Swabian”, but I’ve gotten used to that. I like to joke a bit with a cheeky wink myself, so that's ok. I came to UP right after graduating and I am still glad to be here. It’s all just great: especially the colleagues but also the facilities and of course, working on Intrexx.

You are in software development but work furthermore as a mediator. What does a typical workday look like for you, if there is such a thing for you?

A typical workday starts with a look in our Share. In doing so, I’m brought up to speed on everything important in just a few minutes. Afterwards, things vary a lot: conceptualization, discussions, implementation and testing are all part of the day-to-day work of a developer. Now and again, a support ticket gets sent my way or a colleague from consulting drops by so that we can puzzle over an application together. As a side job, I am a mediator. This approach to solving conflicts is thankfully increasingly becoming better known. It doesn’t matter what the conflict is about: The approach is sustainable and leads to a solution that everyone involved can support. The training as a mediator has allowed me to expand on this field so that for some time now, I have also been stretching out my feelers towards organizational/managerial development.

How do you spend your time when you’re not in the office? Do you have any hobbies that you would like to tell us about?

I’m an enthusiastic person and have already been able to make some of my ideas a reality, such as getting my motorbike driving license or spending a creative weekend in front of a canvas. However, there is still a lot that awakens my curiosity. Learning trumpet or trombone is high on my list. I’d also like to try my hand at climbing. I’m always on the lookout for new impetus. However, at the moment, I’m most interested in subjects like communication and behavior. Some things would be so much simpler if more people took a step back to observe and discern themselves, the situation, the setting, their counterpart, etc.

This time, we spoke to United Planet IT administrator, Michael Peter, about his funny DAU-experience and why he doesn’t want his own island.

Hello Michael: Can you even count how often you’ve been asked something that begins with, “You know a lot a lot about computers, right?”?

Surprisingly, the number of times that happens at work is very limited – that can’t be said for my private life. Probably because there are enough people who are good with computers themselves at United Planet.

Much more often, I hear things like, “Oh, while you’re here…”. If I had a cent for every time I heard that, I’d have my own island by now. But who wants that; there’s no internet there!

It’s often the case that the problem is sitting in front of the computer. Just between us, what has been your funniest DAU-experience?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… I worked here in technical support. One support case assigned to me was about corrupt data in Intrexx. I took a look at the event log in Windows and found out that the server was repeatedly reporting so-called “dirty shutdowns” – meaning the computer was being switched off without being shut down properly. The reason was pretty mundane: The computer was being “switched off” every evening via the switch on the power strip – a painful discovery for my admin heart.

What do you focus on when you’re not in the office? Do you have any hobbies you’d like to tell us about?

I do a lot of sports in my free time. As well as jogging, inline-skating, table tennis, snowboarding and badminton, I love playing basketball – both in recreational teams with friends and on playgrounds in the area. I’m trying to get my two boys into it as well.

Apart from that, I’ve been playing e-sports for what feels like forever – quite the cliché, right?

Patrick Bächle works in consulting services. We spoke to him about his book, narcotics and his three favorite non-Intrexx apps.

Your book looks at a specialized area in music, what is it about and what made you want to write it?

Actually, I don’t need to explain the content as I know most of the people who bought the book personally ;-) Jokes aside… by and large, the book is about the form of creative co-determination in so-called mashups. From today’s point of view, these reveal specifics relating to the availability of a song and the rights of use of the productions online. Many of the productions are not actually compatible with German copyright law and therefore, I looked at questions about the future meaning of digital copyright law.

You are also often creative in your job, after all, as an Intrexx consultant, you get to implement exciting Intrexx projects with your customers. What was the strangest request you’ve received until now?

An opioid calculator was pretty much the craziest thing I’ve ever developed. Apart from that, I’ve made a lot of customizations to the Document Management System and Talent Management Suite – but I don’t want to bore our readers with web stuff.

You are also very active online. Which three apps do you use the most and why?

Well, “BandsInTown” is sensational. “Candidates” is also great especially because it isn’t as superficial as Tinder. But most of all, I’m currently loving the app “Limbo” from a Danish independent game developer called playdead.

This time, we spoke to Alexander Ehle, about LEGO, his journey to United Planet and how he lives out the digital workplace.

What became of your open-source LEGO projects, where can we find them and what are you working on at the moment?

You can find my open-source LEGO projects as construction manuals on bricklink.com. I’m currently especially interested in adding lighting to LEGO models. At the moment, I’m gathering ideas, which I build with a soldering iron, cables and LEDs; and I will probably release these as a book. My knowhow as an electronics engineer combined with LEGO for similar LEGO fans. Now and again, I need something a bit different other than Intrexx (but there are points of contact even there).

Why did you change to United Planet?

As an Intrexx user, the time had come to move closer towards the development of Intrexx. That meant not just having a lot of ideas as a customer but using them to play a role as an employee. Additionally, the aspect of having a lot of contact with customers as a consultant was interesting because it would allow me to introduce ideas that you can’t otherwise implement in a company. The first Intrexx seminar I attended in Freiburg also got me really excited. It was held by my colleague Gerhard Sommer who had a great way of communicating the material with a lot of humor and expertise.

How do you live out the digital workplace?

I’m actually able to work completely paper-free using our internal portals. Intrexx Share is a tool I use every day, but I also use our various process-dependent applications. Working while traveling – provided there is WLAN in the train, hotel or at the customer – is inconceivable without our Intrexx infrastructure. However, it still doesn’t completely replace personal contact or a phone call with colleagues – or shall we say more like “the extended family”. And it even extends to our customers – Intrexx already has a fan base that isn’t so different to LEGO fans.

We spoke to Stefanie Suzama this time about childhood dreams, programming and climbing.

What do you do in your spare time?

For most of my free time, I read non-fiction books about psychology, economics and history.
I also like programming small projects as practice and go bouldering at least once a week.

Why did you choose an apprenticeship in the male-dominated world of IT?

Even at the age of five, I love the sound of the fans on our computer and wanted to familiarize myself with the software. I had a dream of programming as a teenager and a few years later, I was able to make this dream a reality thanks to United Planet.

Oliver Niedermaier works in software development. We spoke to him this time about his path to United Planet, his self-employment and his manual skills.

Hello Oliver, how did you end up and United Planet and how do you spend your free time?

I’ve been working in IT since my apprenticeship. When I was 23, I started my own business and most recently, as is the case at United, I developed software (for spirits manufacturers). For personal reasons, I decided to leave my business and try something new.  

There isn’t one “specific” type of sport that I like, there are just too many things I enjoy :). Among other things, I enjoy riding my motorbike, mountain biking, cruising on my longboard, climbing, bouldering, take on one steeplechase or the other (such as https://www.strongmanrun.de or https://mudiator.de) or going all out on my snowboard.

I joined United Planet at the beginning of 2018 and working on Intrexx makes every day interesting, and I really enjoy it.

Aside from sports, is there anything else you enjoy doing in your free time?

I work a lot with my own hands. I made some of the furniture I have at home myself, and I completely restored and rebuilt my first car.

Urs Lange works in quality management. We spoke to him this time about how he enjoys spending his free time.
A not so small part of my free time revolves around board games. I’m especially drawn to the platform “Kickstarter”.
I browse the platform often, like to support games now and again, and then I enjoy getting my parcel a few months later and testing it out at our next games evening.
I like cooking to relax – often for the whole week at once to save money in my lunch break.
Also, I have recently been doing a lot more mountain biking (thanks to our “Jobrad” scheme), which provides a nice offset to my office job.

When did you join United Planet?

I’ve been at United Planet since January 2017. I started in quality management and focussed on (test) automation. A few months ago, I started heading our DevOps team which emerged from this area of responsibility. I’m really excited about this area and it gives me the opportunity to tackle new challenges almost every day. Of course, an incredible amount is happening in this area. That’s why free time is included in every day to stay on the ball and discover new tools and/or technologies.

Can you describe your responsibilities in the ‘DevOps’ team in more detail?

To put it short, we try to provide development and quality assurance with tools and processes that enable them to work as productively and smoothly as possible. This includes the automation of repetitive tasks, provision of test and monitoring tools and also the (further) development of our internal Selenium framework.

Martin Weber works in consulting. We spoke to him this time about what he is most looking forward to about Intrexx 18.09.

Hello Martin, which Intrexx 18.09 feature are you most looking forward to?

There are actually many exciting features. The Connector API could be interesting for customers and partners who want to link Intrexx with their own or third-party systems that don’t have a Connector yet. But I am particularly looking forward to the portlet framework. This allows users to implement portlets across applications. Using Groovy, they can also hide portlets that aren’t needed in the current context. I think the new portlet framework in conjunction with the parametrization of pages will make it significantly easier to develop modular solutions in the future that can intertwine without creating too many dependencies.

You have been working in consulting here for about 4.5 years and have been very active on the forum from the beginning. Why is the forum so important to you?

I’ve been programming for about 16 years and I learned it through a lot of practice but also support from programming forums. It’s great when you have a port of call where you can ask questions easily and get answers and tips. Equally, it’s not so easy if you’re the only person in the company who is concerned with a specific subject, as is the case for many of our customers who develop applications and workflows with Intrexx. It’s great when you find a group of like-minded people that you can discuss and exchange ideas for solutions or other topics with.

How do you spend your time when you’re not at UP?

I like to try new things from time to time: Whether that is our games evening, which Urs started organizing a little while ago, or a new TV series that lets me plunge into a brand-new world. On the side, I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes from time to time. I don’t have a favorite recipe, all that matters is that it’s delicious! And I’ve even started doing some sports at the moment! ;-)

Lars Matzerath is head of business unit Sales at United Planet. We spoke to him this time about his journey took him from US college basketball to United Planet.

Hello Lars, with your 2.05-meter height, why did you choose United Planet instead of a career in the NBA?

I actually did try to make the most of my size but after years of college basketball in America, I didn’t manage to get past the 2nd basketball national league. And Dirk Nowitzki probably won’t be playing any longer when he’s 43 – maybe we can convince him to switch to United Planet as well.

What attracted you to the job at United Planet?

As a salesman and also as a manager, I have always liked the idea of taking on the big players as a small company on the market. We at United Planet with our product Intrexx have already been praised as exactly such a competitor on the market in different quadrants by ISG, Gartner or IDG. And I want to continue to build on this and make us even more successful together with our sales team. I think there is a lot of room for growth both in the German-speaking and international, which we as United Planet are hoping to develop.

What do you do in your free time?

My family has the highest priority in my private life. My wife, Iris, and I have three children who we love spending our free time with, even if our eldest is already starting to spend this time with his friends instead of Mum and Dad. We like being in the open countryside, mountain-biking or playing in the forest in the Tübingen area. Our dog, Feli, has also been part of our family for 2 years and, as is her nature, she also likes to join us when we go out. When Dad has some time to himself, I like to give basketball some attention, even though that means I’m a spectator at the Tübingen Tigers instead of playing basketball myself, as has increasingly been the case in recent years.

Viktor Steinmetz is taking over as head of Pre Sales & Partner Consulting as of 1.1.2019. These two areas are a new merger. For this month’s newsletter, we spoke to him about his new responsibilities and how he balances out his office life and keeps fit.

Hello Viktor, we heard a rumor that you are very sporty, what kind of sports do you enjoy?

I’m happy to confirm that rumor. Sport has always been part of my life. Like most boys, I started with football as a child and played for a club. At the same time, I was out and about on my inline skates in skateparks. And if I wasn’t at skateparks, then I was playing street hockey.

Football became less important in my teenage years and I was more likely to be found at the basketball courts. Afterwards, the phase started where I went to the gym 3-6 times a week.

Until I moved to Freiburg (because of United Planet ;-) ), table tennis was my hobby for years. But in Freiburg, I decided to visit the gym more often again which hasn’t changed to date.

Boxing is my next big stage. I learned a few basics in boxing as a child from my Dad, who boxed at a club when he was a teenager, but I never took it any further at the time. But I want to make up for lost time and use it as a way to keep fit. I’m really excited about it.

You are taking over as head of Pre Sales & Partner Consulting as of 1.1.2019. How did it come about that these two departments are being merged?

That’s a good question. To answer it, we need to compare their basic responsibilities.
When I joined United Planet in Pre Sales Consulting in 2020, the main tasks revolved around presentations, webinars, tenders, events and developing prototypes in conjunction with Intrexx. You had to prepare for each appointment accordingly and also take care of follow-up communications to some extent. The responsibilities were always closely related to customers.
Other areas of Pre Sales included trade fair visits, expert presentations at events, managing demo portals (such as SAP, M-Files, etc.) as well as staying up to date with competitors.

When I became head of Partner Consulting as part of the partner team, it was easy to recognize synergies between Pre Sales and Partner Consulting.
 
The tasks here also primarily revolve around presentations, webinars, tenders, events and developing prototypes but this time, in close relationships with partners. Sometimes, we are even at customer sites together with partners.
Some of the other areas overlap in many ways as well. Another area, which plays an important role in Partner Consulting, is the technical support of partners if they have questions related to Intrexx. Our goal is to train our partners in such a way that they can independently manage Intrexx projects in terms of both expertise and technology.
So, after some internal meetings and discussions, we decided to merge the two areas to combine their strengths and provide our services with greater flexibility and competence. That’s why I’m excited about Pre Sales and Partner Consulting becoming one United Planet department as of 2019.

Can you tell us about a presentation you will never forget?

I’ve had a lot of exciting presentations that I will never forget. But there a few that are special memories to me.
I enjoy getting to know different dialects while traveling. At one presentation, I had an attendee who had a very strong dialect. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to understand him, which can be a bit unpleasant. So the other attendees had to come to my aid as interpreters – but since then, I hardly have any problems with that dialect.

Another time, I had to travel 600 km (one way) to an appointment. Because I didn’t have any other appointments that week, I was able to leave early in the morning. During the 15-minute presentation, we realized that we had already covered everything successfully. So after 15 minutes, I was able to drive home.

But things can also go a bit differently. A new colleague had just started in the Pre Sales team; this colleague joined me for an appointment to get to know the ropes. After a 4 ½ hour journey, we had a great lunch and went to the appointment. We went to the reception and were asked: “Why do you think that you have an appointment?” 10 minutes later, we found out that the contact person was on holiday and had forgotten to coordinate the appointment. The new colleague will never forget that first presentation.

One more story. We also have breweries as customers, and I enjoy giving presentations at their sites. During an appointment at one brewery, there were a lot of different types of beer on the table as well as the alcohol-free drinks. That was the only time that I drank a beer with attendees during an appointment.

But I also find appointments interesting that have very modern and new requirements on us. These have the potential to take us as a company and me personally further. And beer doesn’t necessarily have to be on offer to do that ;-).

Cédric Rosenberg is Junior Partner Sales Manager at United Planet. We spoke to him this time about what it's like being a French-speaking employee at a German company and what his responsibilities are.

Hello Cédric, what is it like being a French-speaking employee at a German company and what are your responsibilities here?

Long story short: Experienced in the development and marketing of products and services, communication and events. I was recruited by United Planet to rely on my profile as an international business developer and thus develop Intrexx onto the French market and deploy the digital transformation through partnerships with IT providers.

The methods - used to achieve this goal - are the search and acquisition of new partners, raising awareness of Intrexx and achieving visibility through networking, events participation, and public relations.

Why are you at United Planet?

Firstly, I had an interview with Ralf and Julien that gave me a great feeling about the company’s mindset and ambitions, Julien’s management style and a lot of autonomy in the job’s perimeter.

Secondly, I love facing problems and challenges to keep my mind always busy. Thus developing a new brand on a very fast moving and competitive market is very challenging, inspiring, and keeps my motivation going.

Of course evolving within a german speaking company where everything is designed by and for german native speakers without mastering the language skills is also a component of a challenging position.

What do you do in your free time?

I lived in many different cities and always find my balance through sports (leisure, competition, or professional), kitesurfing, wakeboarding, skiing, mountaineering, ice hockey, scuba diving and things like these.

These hobbies enabled me with the chance and opportunity to travel across Europe and Canada playing ice hockey, diving with giant turtles at the cross border between the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea or summiting the Mont Blanc alongside my brother.

Oliver Lingg is the head of the business unit Development at United Planet. We spoke to him this time about what attracted him to return to United Planet and what his responsibilities and plans for Intrexx are.

Why did you return to United Planet?

I moved from United Planet to SICK AG in 2005 for my own personal development and also to get to know an industry that was previously unknown to me – the automation industry. On the one hand, SICK offered great chances to develop but on the other hand, the hierarchies formed obstacles to the implementation of new ideas and working methods.

Due to numerous Industry 4.0 initiatives within the automation industry, I came in contact again with United Planet and its product Intrexx Industrial about a year ago. The software development technologies of Intrexx are, as ever, right up to date. I was excited about Intrexx and its flexibility as a low-code platform for the industrial internet of things.

After now 14 years at SICK, I wanted another change and to experience the spirit of a smaller company again. In addition, I wanted to implement innovative software products on the basis of the latest technologies. United Planet is exactly the right employer for this: innovative, extremely motivated, agile and small enough to be able to implement new ideas quickly. When Manfred Stetz offered me a position of responsibility in the Development department, I couldn’t turn it down.

What are your plans for the new position?

The next weeks are in the shadow of Intrexx Version 19.03. At the same time, the new version is the basis of the completely revised Intrexx 3.0. Share 3.0 will take the social collaboration within companies to a brand-new level. Alongside this, there are initial plans for further product innovations that will make Industry 4.0 projects more profitable and thus, make them more attractive to SMEs. Exciting areas that will take up more and more capacities over the course of time.

What has changed since you were last here?

United Planet has also grown up and has tripled its development capacities since 2005. Of course, this substantial development leaves its mark. Therefore, I want to put the mid-term focus on greater transparency in software development; this will provide management with more options for managing and directing product development. Agile methods and interdisciplinary teams are intended to help us head in this direction.

How do you find a balance in your free time? How do you recharge your batteries?

As long as I can remember, I have been playing tennis in the teams of TC March, and I am now even its chairman. Things are similar to my job here: the focus gradually moves from the operative (competition) to the strategic (chairman) responsibilities. Tennis frees up my head and allows me to get a workout at the same time. Exercise is a very important way of balancing out my day-to-day life in the office.

Naturally, my three now grown-up children are also active tennis players. We also enjoy watching and following professional tennis. A special highlight for us was in 2018 when we visited the Australian Open in Melbourne as part of a four-week tour with the whole family.

Our colleague Christopher Hunck is new to the team and works from home in Hamburg on a permanent basis. Find out how Christopher Hunck stays up to date despite the distance.

Work-life balance is very important. What is most important to you in your free time?

Primarily my family! I am happily married, have a three-year-old daughter and a six-month-old son. We do a lot together in Hamburg and the surrounding area. I also spend a lot of time in our garden and I’m so excited that spring is just around the corner. To balance out my office work, I am an active member of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief.

You and work in Hamburg. How do you stay in contact with the office in Freiburg?

It works surprisingly well! I think I can explain the connection at two levels: technically and culturally.
I stay technically connected to Freiburg through a powerful (social) intranet, VoIP, web meetings and yes, a digital workplace. Digitally speaking, I am in Freiburg – just in a different room.

However, non-technical aspects are crucial. United Planet has a very open and communicative culture. My colleagues never give me the impression that I’m field staff but an employee just like everyone else. Sometimes, the first question I’ve heard on the phone has even been, “Are you in Freiburg?” I’m not seen as off-site all the time. At the same time, my colleagues and superiors are considerate of the situation. A laptop replaces my physical presence at a meeting and sometimes I’m ‘just carried somewhere else’ if something needs to be clarified.

Overall, I think you have to say that a company needs to ‘offer’ both factors so that this model can be successful. BUT: Freiburg is a beautiful city and I look forward to being at the office about once a month – occasional on-site visits are the cherry on top.
 
You are a Partner Sales Manager. What exactly are your responsibilities in the team?

I was born in Hamburg, live in the north of Lower Saxony and I travel across West and North Germany. My goal is to take care of regional partners as best as possible on site, support them in their projects and raise the flag for United Planet in the north together with them. For the latter, it is very important to me to strengthen and enlarge the network.

Our colleague Miriam Klett is the main marketing contact person for all things partner marketing. She manages everything concerning the Partner Day, trade fairs and any other collaborative activities, and always keeps an eye on the well-being of the partners and on collaboration. Equally, she also provides specific support for mutual marketing campaigns.

Our partner network continues to grow. How do you support partners in positioning Intrexx?

Our partners couldn’t be more different: Starting with the size of the companies, the various specifications and locations as well as the German-speaking world and international. That’s what makes this area so exciting. I have to work with each partner and their country-specific circumstances on an individual basis. Partners receive tangible support from me for positioning Intrexx at trade fairs, events or webinars as well as for creating case studies and whitepapers. Alongside offline campaigns, providing support for online campaigns is a new area that we want to focus on more.

You work with a lot of different cultures in your job. Are you also interested in other cultures in your private life?

Totally. I love traveling and discovering new cultures and countries. I pack my bags, book a flight and maybe even the first accommodation. I take the pressure off of having to see everything and just let ‘where I am’ carry me away from that point on. That helps me switch off from everyday life and just completely immerse myself in the country. My next big trip will take me to Columbia.

And how do you clear your head in the day-to-day work life?

I try to create a little highlight every day: Whether that’s a great evening with friends, rocking out at the gym or hopping on my bike and enjoying the beautiful outdoors in and around Freiburg.

Jens Bergau is the main developer of Intrexx Share 3.0.

Jens, you are the main developer in the “Intrexx Share 3.0” team. What great things can we look forward to in the new version?

Intrexx 3.0 is very exciting. There are a lot of new things to discover. We have completely reworked Intrexx Share.
It is easier to integrate it into existing portal designs meaning Intrexx Share 3.0 is now no longer separated from the rest of the Intrexx portal. With the new portlet framework and grid layout, we have taken an initial step towards complete responsivity. That means the mobile Share part will soon be a thing of the past, and the desktop pages can also be used on smartphones/tablets. This makes Share even more flexible.

In addition, Intrexx Share 3.0 went through complete UI/UX tests and was optimized based on these. It is now just more lightweight and modern.

Since joining United Planet in 2005, I’ve focused my efforts on application design (initially in the Consulting department) and work under the motto “an application should be fun”. Today, it’s not just the functions that count but you have to also enjoy working with them. I think we’ve hit both targets with Intrexx Share 3.0. It’s just fun working with Intrexx Share 3.0.

How long has Intrexx Share already been on the market?

Intrexx Share was first released in 2012.

After the recent straining weeks, it’s time to slow down a bit. What is the best way for you to relax?

The best way for me to relax and recharge my creative batteries is to be outdoors with my young dog – such as hiking or mountain biking.  I also go climbing or swimming from time to time. Recently, I’ve started playing badminton. In winter, I head out to the snow for some cross-country skiing.

Marco Licht is an online marketing manager at United Planet. We spoke to him this time about how he feels in the women’s domain of marketing.

Hello Marco, do you see Marketing as a women’s domain?

So, three women and I as the only man sit at our “workplace island”. The work climate is very pleasant. You just have to be careful to not take the diminutives at the end of words home with you or to your buddies. Otherwise, the home office very quickly becomes “Homi”, for example.

Overall, with a ratio of six women to three men, our department is much more balanced than a lot of other marketing departments and companies.

How does the internet shape your day?

For me, the internet is the window to the world. As a representative of “GenY”, I am an advocate of the digital workplace and love marketing our product and lifestyle accordingly. The digital workplace offers almost endless possibilities. I work a lot with online marketing (such as Google Ads) and really enjoy designing our online world in a deliberate, modern and fresh manner. But my motto remains the same: design websites for people and not search for machines. My second home is Google Analytics and tracking all of our online marketing campaigns.

What about offline Marco? What are you interested in outside of the web?

I’m interested in a lot of things, “unfortunately”. For example, I spent one year in Muay Thai, one year in Tai-Chi, in a karate taster course and would like to get more acquainted with Kendo or Ninjitsu or take karate further. Or put another way: everything but nothing “properly”. My current goals are to learn a bit of longboarding, archery and bouldering (I’m just missing lacking muscle mass for the latter :-)).

I’ve also had an on-off relationship with codes and programming languages for years. From HTML & CSS to Python, I have phases year after year where I learn to program almost every day, make a little progress as a result but then stop taking time for it. A few months go by in this manner and everything starts from the top.

To relax, I am a passionate gamer (as the only constant in the past 15 years) and currently enjoy playing games like ‘DOTA 2’ (a multiplayer online battle arena developed by Valve and successor of the popular Warcraft 3 modification “Defence of the Ancients”). With colleagues at the weekend, I play Smash Bros., Tekken and anything else that allows us to compete virtually. I also keep a close eye on the gaming and e-sports industry. I’m just waiting for the day that e-sports become a normal part of German TV – and that day will definitely come. In this year’s “The International” tournament, the e-sport DOTA 2 championship, 26 million dollars in prize money is up for grabs; so they’re definitely not playing for peanuts. This shows just how much potential the e-sport industry has.

Natalie Rees is head of marketing at United Planet.

Hello Natalie, you became head of marketing in October after working in performance marketing on the agency side at GroupM Austria. You have “changed sides” from the agency side to the business side and corporate marketing. What was the change like for you?

Exactly like I thought it would be! On the agency side, a lot of people tend to think that the business side is more relaxed and that everything moves more slowly. But in reality, that obviously isn’t the case. Together with my team, I run great marketing campaigns that are elaborate and therefore, always take up a lot of time – and creativity shouldn’t fall by the wayside. The best part of being on the business side is that I can implement things myself instead of giving advice from the side-lines and running marketing campaigns for other companies.

Why did you want to do marketing for a product like Intrexx?

The B2C market is relatively easy to work with, especially FMCG products are not very difficult to market. The market is a battlefield, but the target audience can be reached relatively easily. The B2B market is noticeably more difficult, the target audience is much smaller and more specific, and the products generally need to be explained. But that’s what makes it so exciting at the same time. In addition, there is a deeper purpose behind Intrexx. Companies use Intrexx to make it easier for their own employees, customers or partners to communicate more easily and to work more efficiently – saving them time and resources. I was particularly impressed by a customer who even uses Intrexx to save lives, the lives of its employees when they work underground and need to be geolocated if they have an accident and need to be rescued.

What is it like being the only female manager at the department manager level?

Totally relaxed. I get on really well with my colleagues. It doesn’t matter what gender you have but the person is most important. We work together at eye level, discuss what is currently going on in our departments on a regular basis and support each other. Of course, I wouldn’t have a problem with a few more women in our management team but that will take a little while in the software industry. Overall, with women making up 30% of the staff, we are already ahead of Microsoft and the like.

Hi Abby, tell us something about you. How did you come to Freiburg? 

My name is Abby Brown. I am originally from South-West Scotland but have been living in Freiburg now for almost 4 years. I studied Law at University with a module in German Law, which brought me to Freiburg for a year to study German Law at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg. I loved the city so much I returned 2 years later after completing my degree!

What is your job at United Planet and what do you like most?

I work in the area of international business development at United Planet. I am responsible for finding Intrexx resellers in various countries worldwide and helping them promote and sell Intrexx within their markets. This role requires a lot of patience and teamwork with other departments at United Planet. I get to travel often to meet with my Intrexx Partners worldwide and brainstorm with them on how to improve the Intrexx awareness within their market and be more successful in selling the product. This year for example, my Head of Department and I visited Australia to meet our partners there. I really enjoy working with different cultures from around the globe and of course travelling to new places is great!

Being a Scottish woman in a German company has its challenges. It took me a while to settle in to the German culture and I am sure it took my colleagues some time to get used to my Scottish ways. Now I feel very at home in United Planet – we are like one big family.

Someone told us, that you’ve got a very special hobby?! Tell us more ….

Outside of work one of my big interests is true crime. In my free time I listen to podcasts and watch documentaries about crimes and the justice system throughout the world. It’s a bit of strange hobby but I think my interest stems from my legal studies. I find it fascinating how justice is done worldwide and how different it is depending on which country you are in. I also enjoy playing squash once a week although I am not very good at it! I am a huge Thai food fan, which was perfect when we were in Australia as there are so many authentic Thai food restaurants there.

Hello Mathias, what do you enjoy about your new position as “Digitalization Project Manager”?

I really enjoy how diverse my responsibilities are. Naturally, United Planet also has to face the challenges of digitalization, just like every other company today. In my previous role as ‘Pre Sales Manager’, I visited prospective customers and customers to advise them. Together, we developed digitalization solutions based on Intrexx.  The challenge was always to not lose sight of the big picture. And at the same time, to consider the various technical systems and requirements of the company and each of its departments. But that’s something that has always appealed to me. That’s why I didn’t hesitate in saying “Yes” when an internal position opened up in this area.

What are your new responsibilities as a digitalization officer?

In principle, I see my job as a sort of ‘marriage broker’ for digital systems, departments and employees. My task consists of connecting the different systems and information in our office together. The key question is: Which information is needed when, where and why?

For example, a Sales team member enters a project description for a prospective customer in our CRM. Based on the project description, he/she may then be shown whitepapers from our Marketing department, reference customers from our ERP system, projects from our Consulting department and similar projects from our partners. In this way, the Sales team member can access a rich knowledge base that would otherwise be stuck in each department. My task is now to know each department’s applications, take the information they contain and then present this in a clear format.

Work-life balance is so important with such mental challenges. What are your tips for switching off at the end of work?

I live in the Black Forest, a place where other people go on holiday. And if the almost hour-long commute is not enough to switch off, then the forest begins a few hundred meters from my apartment and the lake is just a few meters further on. I also enjoy mountain biking in the summer. But usually, I head to the lake after work. In winter, a cross-country skiing trail starts right behind my house. And finally, the Feldberg is only 20 minutes away by bus.

Who would you like to ask a question in our next newsletter?

I would like to know how Susanne Bühler manages to come up with such creative design ideas for Intrexx applications.

Hello Susanne, in our last newsletter, Mathias wanted to know how you manage to come up with such creative design ideas for Intrexx applications. Could you please briefly describe your job as a UX designer.

I have been a UX designer (UX stands for user experience) at UP for 4 years.

My range of tasks is very diverse. The main part of my job is creating requirement analyses for new features or for an application. Once the requirements of the company/customer are clear, concepts are developed concerning how different users should move through the pages/applications and which user group should see which content.

There are usually user surveys at the beginning and end – depending on whether an application is being developed for the first time or being redesigned.

I get my ideas from known design websites like Dribbble, Behance or muz.li. I often look at the Instagram pages of UX designers and let them inspire me. Other know websites/blogs about UX areas include uxdesign.cc, uxmag.com, usabilityblog.de, thenextweb.com/uxdesign/, smashingmagazine.com/category/uxdesign/, usabilitygeek.com, uxpin.com/studio/blog/

What does an average day look like?

Because my tasks are so diverse, it is difficult to describe a typical day.

Most of the time, I am working on multiple projects with multiple teams at the same time; and they can be in the requirement, conception or evaluation phase. The projects are often in direct collaboration with the Development department. Equally, they could be concepts for customer projects from Consulting.  A real interface job that I really enjoy. One consistency in my day is the “15-min daily”, which takes place every day so that we as a team can bring each other up to date, and the sprint meeting, which takes place every other week.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?

As the UX idea is still quite new, the biggest challenge is giving the customers – and sometimes even colleagues – an understanding of this concept.

It’s not uncommon that persuasion is still needed to adapt the product to the needs of the users. The goal is always to develop digital solutions that people enjoy using and create added value for them.

Of course, it’s also challenging to handle the balancing act for every feature between technical feasibility, the benefit for the end user and the goals of the company.

So, it never gets boring as a UX designer.

Who would you like to ask a question in our next newsletter?

I would like to know what Brenda Jacomy has planned for the new demo portal.

Hallo Brenda,

tell us something about you.

My name is Brenda Jacomy, I was born in Paraguay, a small and charming country located in the heart of South America. Coming from a multicultural family gave me the opportunity to grow up between two countries, Paraguay and Argentina, and to embrace different cultures. Back in the early 2000’s I moved to the United States where I completed my bachelor’s degree in Science in Technology and lived until 2015.

While perusing a master’s degree in Project Management I moved to Madrid, Spain. At first, my plan was to stay the length of time I needed to finish my studies and then move back to USA, but projects do not always run as planned. Once I was done with my studies, love brought me to Freiburg and this where I now call it home.

 

What is your job at United Planet and what do you like the most?

I work in the area of Pre-Sales as a Project Manager for Demo Portals; I am responsible for planning and managing updates and new version releases for the different demo portals we offer. Due to the nature of my job, I get to work with people from different areas in my company as well as customers and partners.

The best part of my job are my colleagues. Since project management usually involves working with different teams, I have the opportunity to interact with many people. I am very grateful for being part of such a great team!

 

We heard that you’ve got an extraordinary hobby. Would you tell us more?

Besides travelling and exploring new cultures, places and food, the thing I love to do the most is diving. I discovered this passion not so long ago and I can’t go more than a month without going for a dive, either in a nearby lake, ocean or even at a swimming pool! I love to be in South America discovering some of the wonders of the world including the Iguazu falls in Argentina, Machu Pichu in Peru or wandering around Ecuador. And of course, I love diving there too!

 

For which colleague would you have a question for the next newsletter?

I'd like to know from Asmus Ohrt with which benefits he wants to bring the best talents on board for United Planet?