Our colleague Dian has been with us for almost two years. He is an avid gymnast, family man & South Africa native. He bridges our data & config teams. It’s time to get to know him better and take him under the spotlight.

Hey Dian, Please explain your role as a Business Intelligence Specialist.

I’ll try my best; I haven’t even been able to explain what I do to my wife yet. 😊
Datasapiens has a very specialized software platform that we offer clients. Creating reports and configuring the customised metrics for each client needs specific knowledge. My role requires me to define and implement these metrics on the customised reports. I am still learning new intricacies every day, which keeps it interesting.

How did you first hear about datasapiens, and what led you to join our company?

I came across the vacancy post via LinkedIn. The immediate response from management made datasapiens stand out, engaging directly with possible new employees. The flat structure and the small team made me realise I could join something great, which is still in the early stages. The interviewers were friendly and my type of people. In Afrikaans, we have a saying: „Ons dam se ganse.“, which directly translates to „Geese from our pond.“ This means people with the same values, principles, and work ethic. Even though they were mostly located in Europe and not in the same pond, I felt like I would get along with them.

Among your responsibilities, what aspect of your job do you enjoy the most, and why?

We go through phases of intensive innovation, and I really enjoy it when I am tasked with getting a first draft or MVP out there, which can then be shown to potential new clients or enhance our current offer to our existing clients. I once suggested that we have a Hackathon, to which Koen Michiels, our CEO, replied: „Our weekly sprint is a  hackathon.“ I realised that we are moving so fast with product creation and product improvement that it can be seen as a hackathon every week. I like the pace and the constant pushing of boundaries. We really have a talented bunch of people working at datasapiens.

Being the only colleague based in the southern hemisphere, how do you find working within our remote team?

The only time I am reminded of the fact that I am in a different hemisphere is when we have video call meetings, and I see everyone in their summer wear, and I am sitting with a jacket. Most of my colleagues work remotely, and even those in the office would join video calls separately. We have a very good communication system within the verticals and fortnightly check-ins, which keeps it running smoothly. I enjoy learning about the European culture and what they do for fun. Going to your cabin in the woods or picking mushrooms over the weekend are all things I never knew were such a big thing.

Balancing work and family life can be challenging. How do you combine your work responsibilities with your family commitments?

This is tough, especially with my children's ages (7 and 4). I can see it getting easier and easier as they grow older. My wife and I both work from home, and this helps when it comes to managing the kids during work hours. When we had a challenging day, my wife and I would catch up on work responsibilities in the evenings. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be at home when the kids come home from school and place this perk very high on our happiness requirement list 😊

Spending quality time with family is important. What is your favourite way to relax and enjoy time with your loved ones?

We try to spend time with our kids on weekends by breaking away for the weekend when possible. We both work from home, so we must capitalize as much as possible on school holidays, as we can work from there and the kids have a change of scenery. Some days we would ‚leave‘ work an hour earlier to spend time with the kids, and then we’ll just catch up that hour in the evening when the kids are asleep. Our favourite is probably exploring a new place, just the 4 of us, trying to experience and see new places.

Aside from being known as a hunter and DIY master, what are your other hobbies or interests?

I do like to build things. I  sometimes take leave and spend the day doing woodwork; working with my hands gives me some downtime. I also like electronics and tinkering with Arduino boards. An Agatha Christie murder mystery is something I always look forward to. (If you want to try one, I can recommend ‚‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd‘). I have my eye on a 3D printer, but I am unsure why I haven’t invested in one yet. I can see it being useful and complimenting my other hobbies. My wife and I also have a gymnastics club in our town, where we teach gymnastics to children from 5 years onwards. This is a nice hobby where we can give back to the community.

Harstwater sounds like a unique place. What do you like the most about living there, and could you share some of your favourite spots in RSA?

I  grew up there, as did my parents. It is a nice little town, with some interesting facts setting it apart. The thing I like most about Hartswater is the people. It’s small, and the people here all know each other and look out for one another. I believe raising my children here is the best I could do for them.
Some of our favourite spots are along the coastline. In the Western Cape. Glentana, Paternoster and most of the towns in the Garden Route. If you’d like to see some of the beauty, you can visit this link (https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/most-beautiful-places-in-south-africa)

As the best gymnast in data science, what exercise or activity do you recommend to fellow professionals who spend long hours in front of screens?

This is a difficult one. I  recommend that regular stretching, especially the hip flexors, is important to keep it simple. Search for hip flexors stretches on Google. Sitting causes the hip flexors to shorten, affecting your posture.
I believe that we are struggling to move like we did because we stopped sprinting. As a child, you regularly sprint as fast as you can. The need to sprint at top speed decreases dramatically as you get older. If you look at our biology, we evolved to run. We are running machines. If you stop riding your bicycle and only use the bell, it won’t surprise you when the bicycle won’t move anymore, and the bearings have rusted. If someone could add sprinting to their daily routine and let me know if this works, I’ll be very grateful 😊

Looking ahead to 2024, do you have any personal or professional dreams, goals, or objectives that you would like to achieve?

I dream of buying an old campervan to tour the country with my family. I would like to customise the campervan, redo the beds for the kids, add some electronic gadgets and get my hands dirty with the engine. (Maybe replace it with something more efficient).
Professional-wise, I am constantly learning more about the data and DevOps side of things. I would like to do some short courses on some of the tech stacks we use at datasapiens. Pivoting more to data and data engineering is where I see my career moving towards. Making progress in 2024 towards this would be a success in my eyes.

Thank you, Dian! It was a pleasure to get to know you better, and looking forward to seeing you on one of our offsites again!

Spotlight: Meet Dian, our Business Intelligence Specialist