Everything starts with you: Jan Theobald, Cloud Architect at OVHcloud

Jan Theobald, Cloud Architect at OVHcloud in Central Europe, has made an impressive career at OVHcloud: He met the company as a client himself, started with positions in the IT support and technical account management and changed the department to support and consult clients nowadays as a Cloud Architect. Beyond his daily expertise in IT projects, Jan loves to talk about IT and is one of our podcast hosts for the German podcast Cloud Rider . Discover his stunning career path with us in his interview.

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Jan, how did you get to know OVHcloud?

Jan: In my professional education as a computer specialist, I rented server hardware from OVHcloud and got to know the company. I have been an OVHcloud customer since 2012. Right after my education, a colleague from my former employer changed to OVHcloud in Saarbrücken in Germany. They were looking for more support employees at the time and through the contact of my colleague, we had two or three interviews and I started working at OVHcloud in the year 2016.

Which background in IT do you have?

Jan: I have a background in software development and am a trained IT specialist for application development – you could just say I’m a programmer. I’ve worked in the profession of software development for three more years and then have moved to OVHcloud to work in Enterprise Support for our customers. The role as a Technical Account Manager (TAM) was a real mindset change for me: From direct contact with customers before to an important part of the solution chain. As a TAM, you have to see the big picture and not just the individual technical problem. That was totally exciting and enriching for me.

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You’ve been promoted from a Technical Account Manager to a cloud architect. How has your role evolved at OVHcloud?

Jan: I moved from Technical Account Manager in Enterprise Support to a completely different area and became a Cloud Architect at OVHcloud a year ago.? As a Cloud Architect, I still work really closely with our customers and focus on the customer's wishes and needs. However, the tasks are more to work at the conceptualisation and implementation. I’m planning with the customer, and we implement the IT projects directly together.

What are the main challenges you face in your new role?

Jan: From my experience with the management of customers in support, there are of course challenges, but nothing that really throws me off the course. Difficult conversations and project stages are part of the job for me. What motivates me the most is to provide my customers the best help possible. I want to give the customer the level of help they expect and even go beyond that to offer a level of IT expertise and help they wouldn't otherwise get at other cloud providers.

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How have you personally grown with the shift in your role?

Jan: Every change in life goes along with a personal growth. Dealing with different people every day has pushed me a lot. Due to the complex tasks and requirements of the customers, I had to keep on educating and training myself. I also have many projects with French customers and am continuously improving my French skills, which is a great plus. In an international company like OVHcloud, I always have so many intercultural experiences and learn a lot. That's really inspiring!

What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?

Jan: I appreciate the contact with so many different people. Not just in Germany, but on a global level as well. I enjoy helping people and then to see their results - from our conceptualisation to the result in deployment. It's great for me to develop personally and professionally through the topics that customers ask about and want to implement in their cloud infrastructure.

Tell us a bit more about your team. How do you collaborate with the colleagues on the whole world?

Jan: I work and collaborate fully remote with my colleagues and my core team of cloud architects. Most of the team is spread across France and there are some colleagues situated in India. We always help each other at OVHcloud. If another cloud architect needs help, we have meetings to chat about it, support each other in the preparation of meetings and help each other with content-related and technical questions.

What do you like at OVHcloud the most?

Jan: I like many things: The location in Saarbrücken is perfect for me and makes it easy to combine the work with our family life. I love the team spirit at OVHcloud, which has been going on for many years and has made me stay here for so long. The opportunity to work in an up-and-coming cluster like Central Europe gave me a great deal of experience and knowledge.

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Maintaining a work-life balance is vital. How do you unwind and find personal time?

Jan: I live very close to a lake and go running there several times a week. I'm also passionate about playing the guitar, especially in the winter months when it's cold outside. My favourite thing to play is rock and grunge music, but I write my own songs and lyrics, too. Besides that, I spend a lot of time with my family and my children. We love to explore the nature together.

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What is your best memory at OVHcloud?

Jan: We once had a customer who gave us lots of biscuits and a present at Christmas. He thanked us from the bottom of his heart and it was very lovely to see how he appreciates our work. I perceived his words and cheers as extreme appreciation and am very thankful for precious moments like this one.

Favorite food: I love to eat and cook Indian food ??

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Favorite movie: The Hobbit ???

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Favorite song: Wicked Game – Stone Sour (Cover version from Chris Isac) ??

Thank you, Jan Theobald , for sharing your inspiring journey with us. We’ll be delighted to see your future career path, listen to more podcast episodes and support you in your role as a Cloud Architect.

If you are interested in joining the OVHcloud adventure and doing amazing things together, everything starts here: https://careers.ovhcloud.com/