The expert willing to meet new challenges
Moving from IT training into identity and access management
Brigitte, how did you become an IT specialist?
I completed a course of in-depth IT training and studied business informatics. Alongside my studies, I was already working as a trainer for Microsoft Office products and Lotus Notes.
Joining Porsche Informatik 2007 was actually just a small step, as I was already working in the predecessor companies as an external service provider for Porsche Holding Salzburg.
Where did the step from trainer to developer for Lotus Notes come from?
What fascinated me back then about Lotus Notes was the ability to quickly create results-oriented solutions for a wide variety of use cases. I also liked the combination of design and logic.
How did your career at Porsche Informatik develop?
As a software engineer, I initially implemented clients’ requirements in the form of Lotus Notes applications. For example, I would create an order and investment database or develop a database for when employees joined and left the company.
In 2019, a specialist in identity and access management (IAM) was being looked for and due to my many years of experience and the wide range of tasks I had implemented, I already had a good overview and a broad knowledge of the many processes surrounding the “identity lifecycle” of employees. This was actually the perfect preparation for my transition to the IAM project.
Calling from garden to garden: Author Michaela interviewing IAM specialist Birgit Hemetsberger while both work remotely
From Notes to IAM specialist: What was the biggest challenge in this change?
Starting from almost zero was quite something. You have to reinvent yourself, start everything afresh and redevelop your professional recognition. I was keen to take on this challenge and I haven’t looked back since!
A lot has changed, especially in the last two years, and I have learned an incredible amount. The range of new topics is so diverse, and I like that.
There are still relatively few women in IT, so how can you make a career in IT more attractive to young women?
You need to create an awareness that IT is nowadays a very varied and diverse field of work and that without IT, many things would simply not be possible. This includes both software development and IT project management, as well as consulting and training activities, to name but a few of the areas involved. And new, cool jobs are constantly being created. IT is creative, innovative and communicative!
What advice would you give to young women interested in IT?
Be curious and try things out; just look around and don’t let anything stop you. Ignore people who say things like, “IT isn’t for women”. Be brave and give it a go!
Brigitte, many thanks for this pleasant, virtual conversation!IAM-Expertin Brigitte Hemetsberger beim mobile working.
You’re an IAM architect, so what does that entail exactly?
The goal of IAM is to provide users with their accounts and specific permissions right when they need them. When changing jobs, these have to be changed accordingly and they have to be de-activated when an employee leaves the company.
We are currently carrying out a standardisation process and working on the integration of further automated systems and processes for the accounts. My part in all this is to manage the underlying processes and technical components for the Active Directory. This means that I am responsible for the technical side.
It’s not always easy to reform processes that have been around for a long time. In the past, for example, it was possible to respond to individual requests in terms of e-mail addresses or name abbreviations. But with the new, automated processes, manual intervention is neither possible nor recommended. At the scale we are dealing with, manual doing is simply no longer an option.
From Notes to IAM specialist: What was the biggest challenge in this change?
Starting from almost zero was quite something. You have to reinvent yourself, start everything afresh and redevelop your professional recognition. I was keen to take on this challenge and I haven’t looked back since!
A lot has changed, especially in the last two years, and I have learned an incredible amount. The range of new topics is so diverse, and I like that.
There are still relatively few women in IT, so how can you make a career in IT more attractive to young women?
You need to create an awareness that IT is nowadays a very varied and diverse field of work and that without IT, many things would simply not be possible. This includes both software development and IT project management, as well as consulting and training activities, to name but a few of the areas involved. And new, cool jobs are constantly being created. IT is creative, innovative and communicative!
What advice would you give to young women interested in IT?
Be curious and try things out; just look around and don’t let anything stop you. Ignore people who say things like, “IT isn’t for women”. Be brave and give it a go!
Brigitte, many thanks for this pleasant, virtual conversation!
