Want to start your career at INNOV8iON?

What’s it like to get started? What will you be doing? What might the work involve? How do other new hires experience it? In this blog, Julian Kuipers gives you a behind-the-scenes look and shares what it’s like to start your career at INNOV8iON.

In August 2020, I (Julian Kuipers) started as a Junior Technical SAP Consultant at INNOV8iON. This is my first job in IT and marks the beginning of my career. In this blog, I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to start as a junior at INNOV8iON and work in the technical SAP world.

Exclusive

INNOV8iON is a consulting firm that focuses on technical challenges within the SAP ecosystem; SAP is one of the major global software providers in the field of business applications, best known for its ERP suite. Among other things, we provide cloud solutions, address integration challenges, handle UX & UI, develop apps, and deliver full-stack custom solutions for our clients.

At INNOV8iON, we’re always looking for talented people who want to join our team. In August 2020, I was the first to join INNOV8iON’s talent development program to train as a Full Stack Developer.

Development

The SAP ecosystem is very extensive. There are many different software solutions, and within these solutions, there are various modules available. To get off to a good start, it’s important to understand the theory behind SAP—and in particular, the theory behind the latest ERP suite, SAP S/4HANA. I did this by completing Learning Journeys in the SAP Learning Hub. These journeys consist of various e-books, e-learning modules, and quizzes designed to help you ultimately achieve the goal of the respective journey.

Opportunities

At INNOV8iON, I was given the opportunity fairly quickly to join a major project for a client and was able to become part of the project team that was going to implement Fiori and procurement functionality on an existing SAP S/4HANA system. As part of this team, I am responsible for the entire technical side of the project, alongside a Senior Technical Consultant.

Here is a small selection of the work I did during this assignment:

  • Activating the Fiori Launchpad. I’ve also configured it with standard SAP applications.
  • In addition, we have enhanced standard Fiori apps using extension points
  • I was responsible for implementing BAdIs and UI Adaptation.
  • I developed software to read and process incoming e-invoices using a three-way match.
  • In addition, I played a major role in enabling the sending of digital order messages from the SAP system. We created an integration with an external ordering system and made that system available to the client through a custom Fiori app.
INNOV8iON Interactive Session

A Day in the Life of an SAP Technical Consultant

A question that will likely come to mind for many readers after reading this blog will be something along the lines of, “But what do you actually do on a daily basis as a full-stack developer?” It’s a very valid question; it can sometimes sound a bit abstract.

First of all, it’s important to know that the work really depends on the assignment you’re carrying out and your role within that assignment.

As for me, I often start my day with a quick check of the production system (the system that the client actually uses to carry out the business’s day-to-day operations) to see if the software we’ve developed is functioning properly. As soon as any issues arise, I address them. Then we have a daily stand-up meeting where we share what we did yesterday, what we’ll be doing today, and discuss any other noteworthy items. After that, I often tackle a development task from the sprint backlog (of course, we work agile) to design, implement, test, or document it. Usually, I also have a number of meetings scheduled throughout the day that I need to attend. These meetings vary greatly in nature. For example, I might meet with the other developer and/or the functional consultants to discuss development tasks or work them out together. I may also be asked to explain a development task—whether it’s still being worked on or is already live —to project members, the client, or other stakeholders.

I do this either from the INNOV8iON office in De Meern/Utrecht, from the client’s office, or from home. No matter where I work, I often try to step outside for some fresh air after lunch. When I’m working at one of the two offices, I often do this with my colleagues.

I alternate these tasks with work on internal projects at INNOV8iON, conducting training sessions, preparing workshops, or helping colleagues with challenging issues.

“At INNOV8iON, you have the opportunity to grow in many different ways. In addition to external projects, we also regularly organize engaging workshops and webinars where we delve deeper into new technologies within SAP. This ensures we always stay up to date on the latest developments.”

Olaf Kampers – Junior SAP Tech Consultant

Culture

In addition to the nature of your work, it’s of course also great to be able to work alongside like-minded people. We love to dive right in and strive for the highest possible level of expertise in our field. That’s why we organize an INNOV8iON Day every month. During these days, we dive deeper into the latest (SAP) innovations and share our knowledge. And of course, a healthy dose of fun is always part of the mix. Curious about the real INNOV8ers? Then check out this video:

Young Professionals

Our Young Professionals team now consists of three junior members, and we’re looking for new Young Professionals with an interest in IT to join our team. If you’d like to learn more about our work, feel free to contact us at info@innov8ion.nl or send me a message on LinkedIn.