Senior Consultant Ari Mäkiö describes his work at Netox in a way that makes you pause for a moment.
“I get to play for a living,” Ari says.
In this case, play does not mean that his work lacks a clear purpose. Quite the opposite: Ari’s job is to understand the tools in the Microsoft 365 environment so well that he can explain their possibilities to customers clearly and practically. That requires curiosity, experimentation and a desire to understand how technology works.
Ari’s work can take him to basic Teams training with end users, to discussions with management teams about the significance of artificial intelligence, or to coaching, providing technical expertise and helping customers understand how Microsoft 365 can support their own everyday work.
“My job is to translate the tools for the customer. Customers do not need to be Microsoft 365 experts, and they are not supposed to be. They need to understand how to use the tool in their own work,” Ari says.
My job is to translate the tools for the customer. Customers do not need to be Microsoft 365 experts, and they are not supposed to be. They need to understand how to use the tool in their own work,” Ari says.
A varied background helps to understand the customer
Ari did not take the most straightforward path into IT. Before his current role, he had worked in digital marketing, photography, workshop management, vehicle inspections, supervisory roles and with trucks, among other things.
He describes himself as a career changer, but his varied background is not just a separate part of his past. Instead, it helps him in his current work to understand what new systems look like to people whose job is not to live inside technology.
“I’m quite good at thinking about what is happening on the other side and how people there are thinking,” Ari says.
An interest in devices and systems has been with him for a long time. Ari says he learned to use computers already in the MS-DOS era, when the first home computers largely had to be figured out by yourself. The same curiosity is still visible in his free time: at home, different automations make everyday life easier, and the lights in his home office turn on automatically one minute before the workday begins.
Moments of insight make the work rewarding
Ari’s work can mean helping one person with an individual question, training an entire company or sparring with management on how AI and Microsoft 365 are changing work. At the moment, many projects highlight SharePoint, data and the fact that using AI effectively requires a company’s files and structures to be in order.
There is plenty to do in the middle of technological change, but that is exactly what makes the work interesting.
“I get to play seriously with these gadgets and see what something does, what it means and how things work. Then I get to explain it to others as well,” Ari says.
The most rewarding moment is when the lightbulb goes on for someone else.
“When you see another person have that realisation, like ‘oh, so this is how it works’, that’s when you know you’ve done your job well.”
Trust creates space to do the work well
Ari works mainly remotely from Raisio. He visits customers and workshops when it makes sense for the work, but much of his work happens through Teams. At Netox, remote work has not been questioned.
“I can decide quite freely how I do my work. They trust me, I trust them, and I do my job as well as I can,” Ari says.
At Netox, Ari also values the people. According to him, it is a place where serious things can be handled with a relaxed touch, where you can ask for help when you need it and where you can be honest when you do not know something yet.
“I sometimes tell customers that I don’t know, I’ll find out and get back to them. That is completely ok. The main thing is not to try to be something you’re not,” Ari says.
According to Ari, Netox is a good fit for someone who is curious, wants to learn and is not afraid to use their own head. Instead of a perfect path or a perfect background, what matters more is the willingness to find things out and take action.
“Curiosity and the joy of doing. That gets you far.”
Ari describes himself as a “smart lazy person”. That does not mean cutting corners. Quite the opposite: if something can be done properly the first time, there is no need to do it again unnecessarily.
Perhaps that is exactly why play is such a serious thing for Ari. When you approach technology with curiosity, you can understand it better. And when you understand it yourself, you can make it clear to others too.
