Our colleagues are our strength. Thanks to their passion and knowledge, we can daily offer the best service to our customers. That is why we are proud of our team! Today we put Robin Lievens, Service desk employee at Exitas and Zebanza, in the spotlight.
A year ago, Robin started at Exitas’ Service desk. There, he is responsible for monitoring database environments of customers. “We watch over our customers’ systems and databases. When something happens, we are the first line of help, and we’ll intervene immediately. That way, we can guarantee that our customers’ databases are always running smoothly, and that the customer will remain happy.”, Robin explains. “For example, sometimes there is the risk that a tablespace of a database runs out of space. We detect when this might happen and add more storage preventively. We monitor many metrics on the database and the hosts. That way, we immediately notice when something starts to happen.”
“Besides monitoring, we also answer direct questions from customers and take care of patchings and upgrades. In short, we always keep the customers’ environment up-to-date and take away all their concerns.”, Robin continues. “It is very varied job. You always work with databases, but for different clients and on completely different environments. That always makes it interesting and challenging.”
From Oracle expertise to Open Source
Robin mainly focuses himself on the service desk. But in the meantime, he is expanding his expertise as a DBA. “I immerse myself in both Oracle technologies and Open Source. First, I want to focus on Oracle, because I want to have a good foundation to build on as a DBA. After that, I want to focus on Postgres and MySQL.”, Robin clarifies. “Open Source offers a lot of freedom. The idea that anyone can contribute to Open Source really appeals to me. I am very interested in the extensive Open Source community. It’s also through that community that I got to know Zebanza. I was at PG Day in Leuven as a visitor and Zebanza was one of the sponsors of the event. This year, I got to go back together with Zebanza as a sponsor. At such moments you’re really part of the Open Source community.”
With his eagerness to learn, Robin fits perfectly within the Zebanza team, where self-development is key. “We get the necessary time and support to develop ourselves. We can follow different trainings and we get an individual growth plan that is divided into parts that we can tackle one by one. This is also followed up, to make sure we stick to the plan.”, Robin confirms.
“Recently, for example, we were able to follow a Postgres training, specifically for Oracle DBAs. It was a very interesting introduction and there will be a follow-up training.”, Robin continues. “I believe that as an IT professional, you are in a constant learning cycle. At Exitas and Zebanza, we not only get the time and opportunity to learn, but they also really encourage us to do this. I appreciate that enormously.”
Freedom to continue learning
“Because of that constant encouragement, I have been able to learn a lot already. On the one hand, you will receive the necessary support. On the other hand, you will be given the freedom to work very independently. For example, at the beginning of my career, I helped one of Zebanza’s customers while my colleague Guy, who has much more expertise, was abroad. I did a lot of research and applied my theory in practice. I got everything working again so the customer was happy. It was very satisfying for me that I was able to figure it out by myself and help the customer along.”
In addition to personal growth, Zebanza also attaches great importance to a good team atmosphere. Because it is important that you can count on your team at all times. “You are not just seen as an employee here. Everyone has their own personality and that is taken into account. We are a close-knit team, and we regularly make fun among ourselves. It is certainly never boring at the office.”, Robin agrees.
“Zebanza also regularly organizes activities such as drinks, dinners, weekends… The DBA weekend is the highlight of the year. That’s something we are all looking forward to every year. Finally, Zebanza is part of the Fieldside cluster and the Cronos group. This brings some perks. Fieldside is a great cluster and you get to come in contact with colleagues from other sister companies though the many social events. And thanks to the Cronos group, you can also count on a lot of extra benefits. In short, at Zebanza you’re in the right place.”, Robin concludes.
