Breaking Down My IoT Journey

When I first started at Tele2 eight years ago, it was as a system administrator at the Service Center in Riga. I came in with a background in IT and didn’t know a thing about IoT. Within a year I met a man named Pavels who was working at Tele2 IoT and he thought I’d be a great fit for the IoT Team, so within a year I made the switch, becoming an IoT Specialist and beginning my own personal IoT journey.  

My IoT journey has paralleled that of many of our customers. Since joining the IoT Team I have enjoyed six different positions, ranging from the before mentioned IoT Specialist to Technical Service Manager to Senior Customer Engagement Manager. Today, I am the Head of IoT Professional Services and as I grow comfortable in my new role, it’s clear to me that having worked in a variety of positions within the organization allows me to bring both a macro and micro view to my job.  

I’ve worked with areas that include tech, operations, and commercial and while I never imagined I’d be in a customer-facing role, my journey has been rooted in giving support to customers, doing business reviews and other face-to-face interactions – and it turns out it’s a great fit for me and gaining that experience on my way to this position benefits everyone.  

Then there is my team: many of them have also grown their careers here at Tele2 IoT, which means they also have a huge bank of knowledge gathered from years of working with our customers – and the result is that we can come together to address any challenges our customers are facing and use our combined knowledge to assist them in a more comprehensive way. In other words, if one person doesn’t have the answer, it’s almost certain someone else on the team does. We can zoom out and see challenges from different perspectives and when we tick a box, we can ensure it is quality.

Ultimately, I came into the IoT industry when it was quite young, and even today it’s still developing, although it’s maturing quickly, and I’ve seen a lot of changes and evolution since I started.  

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen is that in the early days, IoT was something you put on top of an existing business model. That still happens, but today it’s a more thought-out process and it’s integrated in a more deliberate way, because customers have a much better understanding these days as the added value IoT brings. They understand what all that data can do for them and how, for example, monitoring assets in near real time benefits them in a lot of different ways, including helping their bottom line. There are also many new businesses or companies launching new products or services where IoT is crucial to their success, meaning the product or service won’t work without IoT at its core. Having daily contact with all kinds of customers means no matter what challenge they face, we have probably seen it before and can use that experience to help them handle things quickly.  

This is all to say that my Professional Services team is here to assist you throughout your IoT journey. We understand the challenges you face and helping you successfully navigate those challenges is why we’re here – so please feel free to get in touch. 

Nauris Upitis 
Head of Professional Services 
Tele2 IoT