Seppe Duwé , ICT System Manager
The ICT Logistics team is responsible for managing, developing, documenting and implementing the internal IT (hardware and software) at Belnet. This team also supports different projects to improve Belnet's service offerings. Within this unit, employees have a varied job with lots of responsibility. Are you curious about what an ICT System Manager at Belnet does? Read all about Seppe's workday.
7:30 a.m. – Get up
I get up a bit late today. Luckily, we have very flexible working hours at Belnet. I quickly pack everything up and check that I have my laptop with me.
8:14 a.m. – Commute to Brussels
I take the train from Denderleeuw to Brussels North station.
9:00 a.m. – Arrival at Belnet
I arrive at the office and sit at one of the free workstations. We have been working according to the “new way of working” for some time. I greet my colleagues and grab a beverage at the coffee machine. On our unit's screen, I briefly check how many tickets have come in and how many notifications there are for the IT infrastructure.
9:10 a.m. – Look at planning & deal with emails
This week I am “OPS”, which means that I am the first point of contact for Belnet colleagues. This is a rotating system within our unit. I am also on call this week: after working hours I am on stand-by to solve urgent problems that cannot wait until the next workday.
I run through my new emails; there are about 90. A large proportion of them come from automated systems. I immediately answer the simple requests and send the rest to our ticketing system. I link the new tickets to a category/service so that the right colleague is notified.
10:20 a.m. – Prepare laptops
To meet the government's measures to combat the coronavirus, all our colleagues will have to work from home as of next week. I treat a few priority tickets so that this switchover goes smoothly for everyone.
The first ticket concerns a request from a colleague who will soon be returning from maternity leave. She wants to know if her company laptop is ready so she can work from home. I check the software overview to see if her laptop has received the vital updates. Then I give her the necessary information about our new unified communications tool, which we are adopting more quickly so we can communicate with colleagues optimally during the lockdown.
I also make sure that our ‘floater’ laptops are fully in order. If a colleague's laptop malfunctions during the teleworking period, they can come and get a new one from a safe in our building.
10:50 a.m. – Short break
Time to fetch some water at the fountain and a biscuit from the dispenser. I have a chat with a few colleagues; the atmosphere is very relaxed.
11:00 a.m. – Process tickets
I deal with a series of tickets that I received today. As usual, they are very diverse: a problem with a smartphone, a laptop that won't start, software that has to be updated, a request to search for a new tool, adding a new user… Ideal for someone like me who loves variety!
12:30 p.m. – Lunch
I fetch some lunch and enjoy it in our cafeteria. I have a chat with colleagues. I must say, when IT professionals get together, we cannot help discussing projects with each other.
12:55 p.m. – New tool for our PMO unit
I have processed all the high-priority tickets by now. This gives me time to work on a tool that was requested by a colleague from our Project Management Office (PMO) unit.
It's a tool that will enable them to quickly call up and consolidate data from different employees. After some programming, I plan a meeting with the internal customer. That way, we can look at what still needs to be adjusted before initialising the test phase.
In the meantime, a few colleagues pass by with questions about their smartphone and laptop.
3:15 p.m. – Kiosk for Belnet guestroam
The nice thing about our team is that we can indicate which projects and tasks interest us, according to our personal interests. During our weekly team meeting, I proposed to undertake the action point related to Belnet's guestroam.
This is a service that enables our customers to give their visitors (e.g. suppliers) quick and safe access to their Wi-Fi network. Belnet also wants to make this service available to our own visitors. To achieve this, I will set up a kiosk in our reception area where visitors can sign in on a tablet. I am developing the front end so they can submit their data and gain access to our Wi-Fi network.
4:45 p.m. – Check emails for the last time
A few low-priority tickets have come in, and I place them on tomorrow's schedule. Since we use the ‘clean desk’ principle, I clear off my desk. Our offices are close to the station, so I quickly check whether the train is running on time.
5:12 p.m. – Go home
The train ride home is the ideal time to relax after my workday. Thanks to a smooth connection, I am home in just over 40 minutes.