Jyrki Halonen joined Netox in 2022 as a senior network architect in the data centre team. Jyrki can work conveniently from his home in Naantali, leaving plenty of time for hobbies, including motorcycling, golf, floorball and travel.
Jyrki studied engineering, and his career has spanned a wide range from naval engineering to smaller IT companies and Siemens’ massive organisation. Before joining Netox, he designed data centre networks at Tietoevry for 20 years.
“I wasn’t really looking for a job when Netox called and invited me for an interview. The company sounded nice and straightforward, and in October 2022 I started working at Netox,” Jyrki says. “In my current position at Netox, I design customer networks, handle documentation and generally bring a sense of order to things.”
Most of his work is done remotely, as the nearest office, in Helsinki, is a long haul from Naantali. There are more colleagues in the Turku area nowadays through Netox’s acquisition of Digikuu, so maybe at some point there could be a Netox office in Turku.
Colleagues: the company’s life and soul
The absolute best part of the job is working things out with colleagues. In the five-person data centre team, you can work on a fairly broad scale and take on as many challenges as you can handle.
“I don’t necessarily want to sit at home alone all the time – I like to be in the office with workmates. It’s nice to bounce ideas around and figure things out together. Coffee breaks and hallway discussions are good fuel for work. They give you new ideas and information,” Jyrki says.
“I feel successful in my work when I can put my finger on what the customer really needs. It’s crucial to understand the reasons for things and what you want to achieve. Once plans and documentation have been carefully prepared, their implementation should be easy for anyone.”
I don’t do this work for myself, but for the customer.
“It’s also key to understand why things are done, what the aim is. Not just doing stuff for the sake of it, but stopping to think about processes and the best way to do things. We look for compromises between what’s perfect and what’s good enough, taking into account the customer’s budget.”
A straightforward, can-do culture
Netox is a relaxed and open place to work, Jyrki says – exactly what he was looking for when he switched from an organisation with 16,000 employees to a much smaller one. At Netox, everyone’s happy to share information, which is not always the case in larger organisations.
“The negative side about transparency is that once you’ve told others about something, you don’t necessarily document it but only keep it inside your head. But you should be systematic about documentation, at least up to a certain level. People shouldn’t be too rigid about documentation, though, but understand its value and find a happy medium between too much and too little.”
In Jyrki’s view, Netox genuinely listens to and cares about its employees. Everyone can express themselves freely and their opinions are taken into consideration, for example when planning staff benefits. Also, here there are no formal, lengthy approval processes for good development ideas – you just get on with it.
Netox trusts its employees, and you can really see that day to day. Everyone can take responsibility, and is given it.
“I feel that at Netox, I can express my ideas and do a wide range of things. There’s a narrower scope for that in large companies. Here I can stick my nose into whatever I have time for, and I’m actually encouraged to do so. And colleagues are generous with helpful feedback.”
This growth company also has ambitious goals, and Jyrki believes that there will be challenges galore in the future too, and chances to shine. There’s plenty to do, and everyone has a free hand to try things.
“I decided to take up a challenge myself and go and speak for the second time at Cisco Live in front of an audience of somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000. It’s great that this kind of learning is supported and encouraged at Netox, and people can experience the joy of success.”
