Maximilian has been working for Konica Minolta for 13 years and has seen and experienced a great deal during his rocketing career. His work involves developing products and services together with the customer and ensuring quality standards to safeguard their long-term use by customers.
I am 33 years old and have been working for the company since 2007. I started out with the ECS office and data technology subsidiary where I completed my training to become a management assistant in IT systems and further studies in business administration as part of my career progression. I worked in IT project planning for seven years and then became an IT management consultant. When we were fully integrated into Konica Minolta in 2015, I held the position of team leader for delivery in the area of IT infrastructure for the Weilheim site in Upper Bavaria. We founded and developed our current SMART Managed Services hobby-horse, which involves us supporting our customers in their IT processes and taking the pressure off their IT department. With a second team, I took charge in the area of managed monitoring, involving monitoring systems to allow our customers to recognise warnings early and take appropriate action. In 2016, I founded a new department and established a new consulting portfolio with a team of 10, positioning the topic of portfolio management within IT solutions. Since 2019, I have headed the Delivery & Competence Centre within the IT Services division. This includes management of IT service & delivery (professional service teams, IT operations, Service Desk and Project Office), consulting, product management and Competence Centre. This is the place where the partner and portfolio management develop new products and services, which are then launched in line with identified needs and market requirements with the corresponding internal training materials. In my job, I get the opportunity to shape the service we provide to the customer and to make it an experience. I also get the chance to work with many different people and create new products and services. It is very motivating to be involved in shaping the future of the company.
As my CV shows, there are many areas to get to know. For example, you could start at the Service Desk and move up to becoming a project employee from the Professional Service. From there, you have the possibility to switch to Consulting or Sales. Everyone has the opportunity to develop further – personally as well as professionally. We expect employees to think big and take responsibility where neighbouring goals are concerned, which is why my management approach is not just about KPIs, but also personal recognition. With our Performance Management System, we are able to set our goals, regularly reflect on them and go over with managers what we've achieved and where we need support. The management culture is very employee-focussed. Our managers actively support teams and there's no condescension when it comes to delegating. There are clear hierarchies at Konica Minolta, but we operate on an equal footing. It's always about give and take and we communicate with each other on an informal basis. A great deal is done based on trust. Of course, we have a defined role in the company. A consultant, for example, has a consultative role with the customer. However, we allocate work independently and work independently on concepts. Since we do not have to rely on the corresponding infrastructures, we're not prevented from working flexibly. We take responsibility for allocating our time, always of course duly considering our availability for customers. I myself spend a lot of time with my family and am a passionate skier. I also go skiing with colleagues. My private life and work often merge. This balance and shared responsibility mean my colleagues are thoroughly motivated people. Colleagues who want to work together and be part of the discussion culture. No matter who I'm dealing with, our conversations are always interesting and we always speak on equal terms. Everyone takes care to support one another. Hierarchies and backgrounds don't come into it. While we may come from different educational backgrounds, countries and generations, no distinction is drawn. When it comes to projects, this diversity is an asset. Employees feel at ease and we work together very openly and collaboratively.
We offer everything from a single source: Printing, copying, scanning, scanning solutions, fax solutions, communication, collaboration, business software, ERP, CRM solutions, IoT solutions, traditional IT services and security solutions. All of our solutions intertwine and harmonise with one another. This means we take a lot of pressure off our customers by offering a central point of contact for all solutions. My department is responsible for ensuring that what we sell to the customer is implemented appropriately and for safeguarding the service provided so that our customers can use our products effectively over many years. With the services we provide, we become part of value creation for our customers and support them in partnership. The customer is involved from consulting to implementation and operation. For larger companies, an IT manager or a relevant person responsible for IT usually works with us. In the case of small and medium-sized companies, responsibility is transferred entirely to us. This sees our customers placing enormous trust in us.
Given that we operate in a segment where technological change drives innovation on an almost weekly basis, we work hard on agile methods. During project phases, prerequisites, participants and possibly even employees and customer objectives are constantly changing. We like to challenge ourselves with start-ups. Due to our history as a manufacturer, sometimes things can seem very rigid. The company, however, develops new processes, uses new technologies and involves its people at every stage. Colleagues are engaged and enjoy being part of the process of change. We are constantly reinventing ourselves and regularly scrutinise what we offer in terms of customer and market suitability, including in line with our discussion culture with customers. New technologies and new services are consequently offered that provide added value to our customers. And not without success, being cited in studies across Germany as one of the top 3 security providers and managed service providers in the IT sector.
We don't just focus on our typical duties. In the service sector, for example, we look at how accessibility can be improved and how we can establish new tools and processes to help customers with greater speed and efficacy. Some of us work on infrastructures critical to society such as hospitals and power stations. We are aware of our responsibilities and the impact of what we do. That's why we integrate our people so heavily, to ensure that the impact of the work they do is never lost on them. We regularly organise workshops and have various scenarios in a cloud context and in demo labs where initial experience can be gained and skills improved. As we are a technology company, we all share an interest in technologies and trends – this is strongly encouraged and even expected. We offer appropriate learning systems to ensure further training and certification for our staff. We have our own academy, where we can develop ourselves personally and professionally. And for those who like working with people and new technologies, we offer training positions in a wide variety of fields and allow for dual study programs.