Iulia Botos, Tenaris IT applications senior analyst in Romania, is not afraid of stepping up to new challenges. She graduated from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Romania: 'I should be able to share with you technical and marketing knowledge about vineyards and greenhouses,' she says jokingly. But, in 2018, she returned to her hometown of Zalau, where she was offered the opportunity of joining Tenaris as a Global Trainee, in a facility, Silcotub, where, coincidentally, her father worked for almost three decades. 'Growing up here and having a father who worked for the company for so long helped me understand that Tenaris is a big player. However, after joining, I realized that it is way bigger and more exciting than anything I had in my mind,' she says.

When in the Global Trainee program, Botos started her duties in the SAP support team for six months. 'I enjoyed everything: my work, my colleagues, my team and the environment, everything from the start. When I was asked if I wanted to rotate, I expressed my desire to stay in IT. Then, this opportunity came to become part of the Industrial Support team, IT Applications, where I still am today.'

During these years, Botos had the opportunity to be involved in many projects whose goals were, among others, to standardize operations by eliminating the use of paper, storing information in secure databases, or installing different devices in order to increase efficiency. On a daily basis, she provides local support on several applications under her responsibility. 'I am responsible for my projects' functional documentation, for monitoring implementation tasks and post implementation support. This includes, for example: project follow-up, functionalities testing, support with any issues that might arise after deployment and necessary trainings to the internal customers,' she explains.

Recently, her experience with apps led to her appointment as project leader for the implementation of an app in Abu Dhabi. 'That was very unexpected and exciting. I had to test the functionalities of the app, make sure it worked according to the definitions and that everything was in place for the implementation in Abu Dhabi. For this, I travelled there by myself and during the pandemic, which for me, was yet another challenge. It was a nice experience; people there were very involved in this project and curious, the implementation and trainings went well,' she says.

What Botos likes most about her job is 'being out in the field,' since having the opportunity to interact with so many different people is what she enjoys the most. 'It's something that fills me with energy. I think it is very important for people you interact with to see you. It is difficult to implement any new technology if you do not gain customers' trust, first' she adds, and stresses how users are key to the process. 'They are the ones doing the entire job. Users are strategic people in all this process; everything starts with them.'

When asked about resistance to change, Botos completely debunks the myth that customers are skeptical to new technologies. 'I have seen generally the opposite; customers are open to innovation and embrace new things in a very good way, knowing that 'the new' will make their work easier.'

Her goal for the future is to grow within Tenaris and take on new projects and challenges. 'I have great managers, maybe later I will be able to provide similar guidance, potentially taking a leadership role. However, so far, I am very happy with what I do.'

(C) 2022 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire