“I started working for Finavia in 2018, after my acquaintances who worked here told me about the work community’s great atmosphere and needs that match my skills. I had also just moved quite close to Helsinki Airport, so the decision was easy.
The time has flown by. Although the last few years have been challenging due to the world situation, they have also been very interesting and have brought unexpected variety to our work.
I am responsible for Finavia’s IT infrastructure and end user services as well as IT service management. In practice, we ensure that the basic digital building blocks that underpin our internal work – such as networks, servers and digital identity management – work as they should.
In addition, we also focus on the IT tools used by our employees, such as workstations, mobile devices, printers and basic software such as Office applications, as well as on providing user support. Right now, the use of artificial intelligence has also become a much-discussed topic.
While our work is not always visible to everyone, it is extremely important for the company’s business operations. If the IT infrastructure does not work, it will quickly start to affect other systems.
In total, about 60 people work at the IT department, and my unit has more than 10 people. In addition to us, several partner companies are also involved in the production of the services, so my days largely consist of meetings, the purposes and goals of which vary greatly.
The biggest difference between Finavia and my previous workplaces is Finavia’s operating environment, where business operations critical to society are carried out round the clock, every day of the year. This means that the requirements for IT services are also a little different.
The most challenging thing in my work is prioritising important issues and trying to ensure the sufficiency and timeliness of resources in relation to needs. On the other hand, it’s good that this also forces us to think about what is most important to us at any given time.
The most rewarding thing about my work is seeing how things progress from ideas to production, sometimes via long intermediate phases. Then again, it does not always have to be a large project. It’s great to read feedback where a user thanks us even for the smallest actions that have made their work easier.
Finavia is, in many ways, a combination of old and new. You can get very good results when new things, ideas and technologies meet extensive experience, understanding of history and great professional skills.
This work community is full of fantastic people that also enjoy spending time together outside of work. We get to know each other better thanks to, for example, clubs and societies that organise various activities. In addition to our legendary summer and winter staff events, one of the most memorable activities has been the Finazing Race, where we search for control points in groups by using clues and carry out a wide variety of tasks around the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. This activity has been held a couple of times already.
Travel plays an important role in many people’s lives, which is why it’s great to be involved in work that sends passengers on their way easily and comfortably. Helping passengers get a smooth start to their long-awaited trips feels very meaningful.”
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