Meet Michael - Head of Enterprise Operations
WHAT’S YOUR TIPICO STORY?
I started at Tipico (booxware) in April 2016, so more than five yours ago as a Database-Administrator. There was no DBA team before, so we got to work and got our hands dirty from day 1. After we stabilized the environment, I was promoted to Technical Lead of the DBA team. We formed a strong group of engineers and bridged the gap with the development area. One and a half years ago, I took over the Corp-IT department where we take care of internal users, computers, servers and the Corporate network. In addition to that, I was taking care of our Enterprise Operations department, which is now my only responsibility. Together with my Operations-Teams we are taking care of our production sportsbetting platform which is running in the AWS Cloud.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF TIPICO?
My first impression was that it is a very fast paced environment where most important decisions are taken in the kitchen while we drink a coffee together. We are a very strong team and a company who takes care of our employees. From when I started, I can see that we have grown a lot, but we never lost the character and the spirit of Tipico and who we are.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR BEST MOMENTS WORKING HERE?
We also have a lot of situations where we have a very specific issues to solve; we put our heads together and every team member gives their input and shares their opinion. At Tipico, our goal is, to improve the quality of our environment and deliver something which really makes a difference so when we do this – this achievement is a great moment!
A situation that comes to mind is, in 2017, we had an incident that took place during our Christmas party in Malta and around 20 people were not able to join the party because our website was down. It was a pity that we could not join the other teams, But working at night and gathering with the team was even more fun than going to the party!
WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE?
As I was promoted to a department leader under the current circumstances, it can be challenging to get a connection to the people. However, I try my best to reinforce connections and keep the communication flowing and I am really looking forward to meeting everyone in our new office in Karlsruhe again.
WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT TIPICO?
Everything is special at Tipico, I am very happy to be part of a very international team where you feel a certain energy that brings us together to move forward within a fast-paced environment.
WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY PITCH LOOK LIKE?
A lot of meetings :) Jokes aside, when we were at the office full-time, I used to catch up with everyone, have a quick coffee, talk about the performance of the recent game days and plan the work for the upcoming projects. We are implementing multiple bigger initiatives at the same time while we still focus a lot on operational tasks to keep our environment up and running. Majority of my day-to-day activities are around coordination of the team and making sure that we still focus on the right quality of our deliverables.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO?
Coming back to the office and seeing everyone in person, because the spirit of Tipico that I loved so much in the past, is hardly transferable to a remote setup. I believe that frequent, in-person interactions are an important part of our culture and are essential for building strong connections.
AS YOU KNOW WE LOVE SPORTS.. WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
Soccer of course. Sometimes, I find myself being in favour for the wrong team as the result would be favourable for Tipico. What I like is the connection of sports and work, we can transfer the strong willingness to win, also to our company as a lot of people are showing the same kind of attitude at work as well.
WHAT IS YOUR ONE PIECE OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF OUR GAME?
I have never worked in such a nice environment, which makes it easy for everyone to succeed and grow. Most of the ideas come from the teams and from the people, so if you have any ideas, say them out loud!