Meet Ruben van Gogh, Cloud Solution Architect & Microsoft Azure Platform Services Offering Lead at Avanade. Together with his team he helps clients make better business decisions by guiding them in their journey to cloud through datacenter transformations, via cloud advisory and –roadmap and generic Azure consulting. Starting his career in IT 20 years ago as a self-proclaimed, technology focused introvert, he now is leading teams and coaching individuals to help them grow professionally and personally.

Fresh start for an IT specialist

It was 5 years ago when Ruben first set foot in the Avanade building. It was time for the next step in his career after working with a big Dutch IT outsourcing company for 10 years: “By meeting and speaking with an ex-Avanadi I was introduced to the company. Before then I had never heard of Avanade, while I had been working in the industry for many years. Within just 2 rounds of interviews, I was accepted as a Cloud Solution Architect at Avanade. I started on January 1st in 2017. A new world opened to me in terms of coaching, support, and interaction with all my new colleagues. Something I never had experienced before.”

Commitment & setting bars

“In my work I am challenged to set goals, can experience what I love to do, but also feel free to share on what I expect from my employer in return. I know what steps I need to take to develop specific hard and soft skills and what I can ask of my peers to reach my goals. It works both ways: the employee and the employer both need to put in the work. Something I also expect from my team. It is not a terrible thing if you make mistakes along the way. Mistakes happen for you to gain experience and learn from. I like to see people grow and that they become the best version of themselves.”

Seeing work as a hobby

Ruben lives with his 2 cats in Wijk bij Duurstede in Utrecht. Next to work, which he sees as a hobby, he likes to run and ride his motorcycle: “It was 3 years ago that I found my passion for motorcycling. Another hobby I share with a couple of colleagues. Each year we try to spend a long weekend in Luxembourg to enjoy roads with famous hairpin bends. Working from home was something I needed to get used to. Although we have the best communication tools at our disposal, nothing beats a face-to-face conversation with your clients and colleagues. You have more profound conversations about how someone is really doing and experiencing a project. It is nice to be back in the office again and have meetings face-to-face."

Importance of team culture

"As a manager, I find it important to create a dedicated team culture. Within the structure of a team, it is important that people feel heard, do not have the feeling of being inhibited, and share what is on their minds. About work, your private life, clients, projects, everything. Open communication within the team ensures that everyone knows where they stand and what is expected of them. Nothing makes my day more when someone tells me they love to work with me and for me. In return, they also get to hear what I want and expect from my perspective in an unfiltered manner. That is why giving and receiving feedback is important for everyone to work on their blind spots.”

Cloud adoption & IT activities

“We grow together as a team, company and with our clients.” In his role as a Microsoft Azure Platform Services Lead for the Solution Area Apps & Infra, Ruben leads a team of experts who support clients in the journey to the cloud. Not only from an IT perspective but also from a business point of view: “Our clients are in dissimilar stages of cloud adoption, some have a traditional IT Infrastructure and others are in a more mature stage. We help them set up their IT activities, automate processes, work smarter and make better business decisions. Our digital advisory processes can take a couple of weeks, months, or even years. Which gives our junior infrastructure engineers the opportunity to gain experience.”

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