31.05.2023 | During weekdays Efima’s solution consultant Lari Saukkonen spends his times with Microsoft Power Platform, but during his free time he is busy with organic farming. South-Karelia-based multi-talent Lari has been on his Efima path for almost a year and a half now. This has included learning new things, new colleagues, and success with Power Platform.
Having started with management systems and Dynamix AX deployment projects, Lari Saukkonen first got to know Power Platform environment when it was first entered the markets. He immediately got excited about the potential that it offered: “Even though Power Platform was very much in its early stages, I thought it had huge potential regarding connectivity, fast prototyping and automation”, Lari reminisces. Before Efima, Lari’s path in the IT industry had evolved through few turns – originally, he had his first touch with IT roles in his youth when he was working in a hardware store, where he was responsible for different IT equipment. Later, through different installation and maintenance work, Lari started building a text-based cost center management system and and automated index system at UPM.
After the management system project, Lari continued working with building websites and moving towards Dynamics AX deployment projects in different roles. That’s when Lari found himself in the deep end of ERP environment. After ERP projects Lari wanted new challenges and switched from timber industry to metal industry: “I studied and worked for a year in the metal industry, because I wanted to add more concreteness to my work and eventually work as a procedure designer. However, there were only a few trivial positions, so I ended up changing my direction one more time. I looked for roles in which I could use my background in ERP environments as well as building applications”, Lari recalls. Studies in metal industry didn’t fully leave Lari empty-handed, as his knowledge in metal industry has evolved to a hobby – one example of this is that Lari has manufactured components for his local bakery to use.
A work community where values do come true convinced to apply to Efima
Lari started looking for a new work community by focusing on the employer rather than on the role itself: “I remember that in the end I had three tabs open, and one of them was Efima. Efima’s values and the impression that the organization wanted to take care of its personnel were eventually the things that impressed me”, Lari tells. After consulting a friend, he decided to send an application and all his presumptions about Efima have turned out to be accurate, as Lari feels that Efima truly cares for its employees and how things can be further developed. On top of this, a flexible employer and a good remote work culture have enabled combining both work and free time while living in South-Karelia: “I started working remotely at Efima when COVID was at its worst, but Efima was able to make remote working an intrinsic value – with the values chosen together, the workplace was a good environment for working and also personal development. Even though we meet each other only a few times a month, my colleagues play an important role in keeping up the comfort and sensibility of everyday work”, Lari describes.
A flexible job also keeps up the balance between work and life outside of it – Lari’s organic family farm keeps him busy during his freetime. The family grows wheat, rye and broad bean on their organic farm and Lari mentions that it’s very likely that their farm’s crops is baked in the organic breads around Finland. “Work in the IT world and in the farm are two very different worlds, and I prefer it that way, because they have been a good counterbalance to each other. Of course, running a farm requires planning and paperwork, but you cannot run a farm without any physical work”, Lari describes. Technological development is also present in farm life: the role of physical work keeps decreasing when machinery is becoming more automated by the day and the role of systematical planning is increasing.
Efima was able to make remote working an intrinsic value – with the values chosen together, the workplace was a good environment for working and also personal development. Even though we meet each other only a few times a month, my colleagues play an important role in keeping up the comfort and sensibility of everyday work
When Lari started at Efima, he noticed that there was some learning to do: “As an environment, Power Platform offers a great number of opportunities, and offering these opportunities to the customers requires a huge amount of learning from our side. Above this, as Power Platform develops continuously, the training is never-ending – it is a part of our work every week.” Lari mentions that he got a so-called baptism of fire to the world of Power Platform by acting as a instructor at Efima’s App In a Day event.
“I remember how nervous I was about being an instructor, because I felt I still knew relevantly little about the subject. Luckily, I got partnered with our team’s Aino who is a star in architecture. Her confidence and experience gave confidence to me too”, Lari states. After an eventful start Lari’s path at Efima has taken him to multiple projects, offering current customers further development and maintenance services to previously built applications. “It’s very fascinating to learn how things that were manually done three years ago and weren’t even considered to be automated, can now be automated in a couple of hours – it saves customer’s time more than one or two hours during a year”, Lari notes.
(Work) friends are a grand prize in working life
The first year and a half have taught Lari a lot, including for example the building of fully new applications and widening knowledge on the continuously developing Power Platform – and this knowledge is still growing. “When customers’ understanding of Power Platform expands, they know how to demand more. Luckily the environment develops quickly and, for the most parts, we can deliver solutions to more complex requests and demands”, Lari describes. One of the most recent examples of the continuous development is the Power Pages solution, which enables the connectivity, knowledge bases and automation of Power Platform to be brought easier and easier for the use of normal internet user.
The office or other frames don’t make Efimans – it’s the Efimans themselves with the great team spirit we have.
Initially Lari’s aim was to walk a clear learning path when he arrived at Efima: learn Power Platform as a whole, accomplish certificates, and expand his knowledge quickly to the surrounding systems of Power Platform. The path wasn’t perhaps as straight-forward as he expected, but it has been even more rewarding – especially when colleagues have been there for support: “Half the win are my colleagues, because I have colleagues that are better than I could have ever hoped for. The office or other frames don’t make Efimans – it’s the Efimans themselves with the great team spirit we have.”