Jukka Kauppinen
I first entered consulting at IBM Global Business Services in 2009, working with topics like solution architecture, target operating models and technology strategy. After several years, I got involved in large industrial sector projects focusing on Predictive Asset Optimization and Service Transformation. As a result, I have since been working with industrial companies. A few years before leaving IBM, I was assigned to lead a team of very experienced solution architects, IT consultants and project managers.
In 2015 I was on a paternity leave, when I was approached by different companies about what different avenues I might want to pursue in the future. Since I spent considerable time at home and had some distance from my daily work, I had time to evaluate possible career options. Midagon was one of those options. What I found interesting about Midagon was that it didn’t focus on the traditional pyramid model utilized by the big consulting companies. Midagon wanted to do things differently. Their business model has always been based on experienced professionals working independently and sensibly balancing work with family, hobbies and other important things in life. During this process, I had the opportunity to talk with some Midagon employees. I was very inspired by what they told about the company, its culture and ways of working.
In early 2016, I joined Midagon and began developing process and manufacturing industry consulting with a strong digital focus. The goal was to gain a foothold with the big actors in this sector and get to work on projects related to the smarter use of data and technology in offering management, product development, sales, delivery operations and services. We also developed the MIW (Midagon Innovation Wagon) method. Its goal was to identify the most feasible ideas and innovations which would be worth implementing and productizing. Some of our current process and manufacturing industry clients were due to this original 2016 groundwork.
I have spent the past four years working closely with large OEM companies developing critical business capabilities for field maintenance and asset and product life-cycle management, as well as offering modularization, standardization and configurable solution sales. These have undoubtedly been some of the most challenging and rewarding projects of my career. Our assignments are rarely simple. That is what I like about my work. The more complex the challenges, the more fun it is. It has been great to be part of the whole end-to-end development lifecycle and to see those concepts implemented in organizations. Hard work and the courage to do the right things have brought great rewards.
My latest challenge has been to establish and lead Midagon’s Industrial Services Community. One of the most important focus areas is industrial service transformation. This has been an extremely interesting task. We have been able to develop new frameworks, guidelines and transformation steps for the most complex target business and operating models as well as the underlying integrated processes and architectures to be leveraged for our clients. The community work is also a great way to keep learning new things and to share knowledge with the team. It has also facilitated the much needed social and informal aspects of the working culture during Covid.
Flexible remote work has always been the norm at Midagon. This has been supported very well during the past two years. Since I have small children, I greatly appreciate the support for organizing my days in a way that suits my family’s schedules. This is possible because of the high level of responsibility that Midagon’s consultants take for their projects. We do what we say and say what we do. It is all based on a high level of trust.
