Trust, diversity, and tech interest – These are the three main driving forces behind the exemplary collaboration (both within and outside the team) that has earned the MCS PaaS Core Operations Team the DT-ITS Hungary Best Employee Award in the Most Collaborative Team category.

Every year DT-ITS Hungary rewards the best performing colleagues and teams with the Employee of the Year Award in 8 categories. After several rounds of entries and voting, this year’s winner of the Most Collaborative Team category is the MCS PaaS Core Operations Team, part of the Cloud Services division.

The MCS PaaS Core Operations Team started with 8 people in 2019 and it is now a highly diverse team of 26 people. They show exemplary collaboration both within the team and with T-Systems and its customers.

The majority of the team of 20 people is responsible for the operation of OpenShift* for about 15-20 customers, both on public cloud (mainly Open Telekom Cloud – OTC) and private cloud (mainly Future Cloud Infrastructure – FCI, also developed by Telekom) infrastructure. This task is performed exclusively by DT-ITS Hungary employees.

Diversity and trust are the answers for solving problems

In addition to operations, the rest of the team is responsible for solving major problems that arise during operations and for minor improvements. Consequently, the team is very diverse, ranging from entry-level to senior engineers, from 22 to 54 years old. “The majority of the group is under the age of 35, very young colleagues, but because there is a wide age range and experience level, it results in a very diverse team. I believe that’s the secret to our problem solving, that we have such a diverse team, that we can see problems from so many different perspectives. Therefore, we can come up with several solutions and then discuss them, listen to each other’s opinions. We trust each other, and thanks to that, there is no problem we can’t solve.” – says Antal Bódi, Operation Manager, who has been working with the team since its inception and who also manages it professionally.

If a problem arises, the first step is to contact the first or second level support (OTC, FCI, AWS) working in parallel with the operation. If the depth of the problem requires it, the rest of the service chain is involved, including management where appropriate. Over the years, they have developed a collaboration where everyone works as a team to solve the problem, regardless of where they belong in the organisation. “If there’s a problem in the operation, we don’t just solve it and close the ticket, we talk to the reporter, the customer, find out if the problem was what it first appears to be. Where we have an open attitude, we are always happy to give advice, because over the years we have gathered a lot of experience, and sharing it makes the work much more effective for everyone in the long run.” – said Antal Bódi.

For operational teams, such as the MCS Paas Core Operation group, it is important that the operations themselves are managed within the core framework. This means that there is a common purpose, a common customer, a common ticketing system and a common technology. This also makes it easier to coordinate operations. “It’s very difficult to work individually in such an organisation. Everyone has to work in the same way to be able to collaborate successfully within the team and with other teams. In fact, what makes the team special is that the operational manager has a complete technological overview on what the team is doing, and this has allowed a real common understanding to develop, which is a kind of symbiosis.” – says Beáta Urák, People Manager who has led the team for many years.

„Do it with passion, or not at all”

The majority of the team is made up of colleagues who are passionate about their field and who learn and research new technological opportunities in their spare time. It has happened that several team members have already gained experience in a new product that is just entering the T-Systems portfolio. It is no coincidence that the team’s motto for years has been “Do it with passion, or not at all”.

“Most members of the team have their hobby as their profession, and this shared interest in tech further strengthens cohesion. It’s certainly helped to create an open, trusting atmosphere within the team, where even personal issues can be brought up. Indeed, this is probably what is felt outwardly, that local cohesion does not result in a closed circle, but in an openness and supportive atmosphere that then impacts and transfers to cooperation with other areas.” said János Szikszai, who has been the group’s People Manager for the past year.

*OpenShift is an open source Kubernetes container orchestration system of Red Hat, optimized for enterprise use.

Members of the MCS PaaS Core Operations Team:
Antal Bódi
Béla Bővíz
Norbert Csonka
Péter Csűrös
Csaba György Dobó
Ákos Elek
Endre Gyovai
Loránd Frigyes Kelemen
Ádám Klein
László Ladányi
Balázs Lenkey
László Maczkó
Zsolt Molnár
József Németh
Imre Simon
Loredana Stoica Mihalikné
László Szabó
Bálint Imre Terjék
Balázs Trenka
Péter Vámos
Balázs Varga
Gábor Vörös
Balázs Zahorecz