Like Tanya, Joanne started work at International Computers Limited (ICL) after leaving University one summer. After a successful placement during the summer, Joanne was offered a role in the Research Department at ICL as a graduate. From there, Joanne moved into software development and team lead roles but finally moving into the solution architecture space where she has stayed for the past 20 years.
As a Solution Architect Joanne designs large, secure solutions for Fujitsu’s clients. Looking at infrastructure application, commodity application and custom development, Joanne is effectively the Chief Technical Architect for an account that works on both designing and delivering a system.
“Effectively, I’m responsible for the technical leadership, generally, that works alongside project managers who will be doing managing the day to day activities.”
With just over 23 years at Fujitsu, Joanne attributes the wealth of opportunities that Fujitsu affords its employees as one of the main reasons for her long tenure.
“You can move quite widely within the company if you want to. There’s always opportunities and I think it’s one of the great things this organisation offers – the ability to find new roles that stretch you without leaving.”
In addition to the opportunities Fujitsu has provided her, Joanne has also benefitted from a diverse range of influential mentors and coaches who have not only been there to sponsor her for certain roles, but also to coach her and support her throughout. Never resting her network building skills, Joanne believes the ability to cultivate a network of like-minded professionals is key to progression – whether that’s within a company or moving on to the next.
Finding new opportunities is one thing, providing the right framework and support for success is another. Fujitsu have, on multiple occasions, moved around resources and redistributed strengths to support and guide Joanne so that she’s able to hit the ground running with very large and important projects.
“The first bid I did was a very large piece of defence business and Fujitsu were keen to give me an opportunity to do bid work but also to architect something that was on a massive scale. That system has over 100,000 users and I was able to design and architect it.”
Throughout her career, Joanne has been able to interface with talented technology professionals who have both uplifted and challenged her. Now in a Leadership role, Joanne is always working on her own leadership philosophy which is deeply rooted in empathy and understanding.
“If you can understand how people work and what motivates them and are able to align that with technical skills and projects, then you can really get the best out of your technical team.”
Working with other technical professionals is what motivates Joanne, with the process of building them up as leaders while meeting immediate goals being both a major challenge and a major driver.
“I think I think there’s a lot to be said for having some extra strings to your bow about understanding how you might manage and how you might incentivize people and how you work with them. So I think developing or working on your people skills is really useful.”
No two projects are the same for Joanne. Surrounded by like-minded technical professionals and challenged everyday to push harder and achieve more, Joanne would recommend Fujitsu as a place to work and grow.
“There are so many opportunities right now – especially in defense.”
