Doing Business @ Avanade (DB@A) is our milestone training, learning and networking event designed to help our people build long, flourishing careers at Avanade by gaining new skills, strengthening their business acumen and enhancing leadership capabilities.

In Europe, DB@A took place in April and was held over two days in Paris, France. Our people from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK had the opportunity to meet and engage with their peers, exchange inspiring stories of their career journeys, and learn from our leadership on how we can make a genuine human impact through the innovative work we do for our people and clients. DB@A was no doubt a tremendous effort that helped our people feel confident and cared for, and let’s hear the experience first-hand from our Europe DB@A Class of 2019. In this edition, we spoke with Irina Radu, a Delivery Lead based in our Stockholm office in Sweden.

1. When did you join Avanade?

I joined Avanade in October, 2017.

2. What attracted you to join Avanade?

I used to work as a Product Owner and wanted to join a Consultancy to get the full picture of what’s out there and get access to best practices – it’s not like Consultancies publish books with all their knowledge. Avanade came across as more flexible than other consultancies I’d interviewed with and more willing to invest in my development.

3. How did you feel when you first learnt that you will be attending Doing Business@Avanade?

I actually replied to the organizer to check they had the correct last name because I thought they sent the invite to the wrong Irina! I didn’t know such events existed and couldn’t believe I got invited, so it came as a great surprise!

4. Three things you learnt from DB@A are:

• How to get a booklet for Social Styles that will come in very handy (thank you Netherlands coworkers!)

• The MIT CISR (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Information Systems Research) roadmap to digital business transformation session held by Craig Gorsline, described the digital transformation journey, from silos and spaghetti all the way to future ready (oh that rhymes!). Useful to know the common paths companies take, with the advantages and disadvantages. This is something I can use in discussions with clients when helping them transform their business.

• Avanade’s Do the Next thing Now – the new process Avanade put in place to make sure we have a common approach in seeking to understand what the client needs, dig deeper into their business and then make innovation real. That session helped me find the report on Trendlines and get up to speed with knowledge I can use with customers.

5. The most inspiring session at DB@A was:

Hands down the one about Digital Business Transformation with Craig Gorsline – just the kind of information I needed for my client delivery at the time.

6. After completing DB@A, you feel confident that…

I’m much more up to speed with what we sell and who to contact, as well as how to better recognize the needs of the client.

7. Describe the DB@A Class of 2019 in three words:

Great people, knowledgeable presenters and new information.

8. My advice for future DB@A participants is:

Talk to a different person every day while you’re there.