Get to know our Segment Leader: Teemu Niemi, Head of Enterprise & Cloud

Wapice’s Enterprise & Cloud is one of the company’s largest segments, with around 70 experts across seven different teams. Our mission is to help our customers succeed, and by doing so, we succeed as well. We create added value from data and improve our customers’ operations through IT solutions, using cloud-based services, data platforms, and IoT solutions. Our focus is on delivering everything with quality and security. We aim to be a trusted partner for our customers in these technologies and related expertise, so they can leave their tech concerns to us.

Within our segment, we have several skilled cloud architects across seven teams who design and implement cloud and IoT solutions for our products and customers, working together with project teams. Two of our teams focus on providing continuous services to customers, ensuring systems are secure and available 24/7. Our experts range from highly experienced professionals to promising new talents, and we have team members from five different countries.

Before joining Wapice, I studied programming at a University of Applied Sciences in Vaasa in the late 1990s. During those years, I became a Linux enthusiast, having fallen in love with it back in 1993 (using Slackware 2.2 and Linux kernel 1.2.1). Even though I studied programming, I had also gained solid skills in HPUX/Solaris/Linux environments and networking. While studying, I worked part-time as a systems specialist at two different places: the school and a local newspaper company. My plan was to continue working with servers and networks, despite my background in programming, which included building several web and database systems for schools and businesses during my studies.

In late 2000, during my military service, I got a call from Timo Kankaanpää. He told me about a new company that had been founded and asked if I wanted to join Wapice. During a weekend leave, I attended a job interview where Timo drew a salary figure on a piece of paper, along with a sketch of a Nokia “banana” phone. He paused, looked me in the eye, smiled, and then added a drawing of a PalmOS handheld. That was the moment I immediately signed the job contract, as I was really excited about the idea of a digital pocket organizer.

At Wapice, I’ve had the chance to work on a wide range of tasks, including many new and exciting projects. I sometimes say I’m like a “caretaker” at the company because I’m involved in so many things. I’ve worked on industrial software, architectural design, server maintenance, and cybersecurity. I enjoy solving technical problems, and the best part is that I still get to do that today. It’s important to me to stay hands-on, even though I lead a team of 70 experts. I also have a lot of influence over my role and the company’s development, which is very important to me. And best of all, I get to help people. That’s what motivates me the most.

Some of my best memories are definitely from Wapice trips, whether up north or across different parts of Finland. Once, we went on a cruise on a ship to Sweden, with about 200 Wapice employees on board. It was a funny feeling to keep running into familiar faces on the cruise. I also have memories of times when I made a big mistake (but managed to get through it) or successfully completed something significant. I get a real kick out of solving problems and achieving success together as a team.

I’m at my best in the mornings, and I often start work before seven. I use the calm morning hours to get through my daily routine tasks and clear my to-do list. In the mornings, I take a little time to review and plan how my workday or workweek will look. Throughout the day, I receive a lot of messages, and my afternoons are usually spent talking with people. Naturally, my workday also involves quite a few meetings.

I also set aside time for a “flow state,” where I can focus efficiently on a single task. I avoid using the word “busy” because, in my view, there will always be things to do, both at work and in my free time. The goal is to do them as well as possible and in the right order.

In this field, you are constantly learning new things, so I spend a lot of time seeking new knowledge. I see the software industry as a personal hobby too. I’m particularly interested in everything related to technology. There is so much new to learn and utilize now and in the future. At Wapice, we use various AI solutions across different areas, as they make work easier now and will continue to do so in the future. The work environment is constantly evolving, thanks to technology.

In my free time, I’m passionate about alpine skiing (slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill), freeriding, and various home automation solutions.

Family is very important to me, as well as the well-being of children and youth. I used to do alpine skiing when I was younger, and for the past 13 years, I’ve been coaching children and teenagers in the sport. Currently, I coach under-14 and under-16 skiers at the Vaasa Ski Club, and I travel around Finland with them for competitions. It’s important to me to support and coach kids to be active because they are the future of our country. We need to focus on their well-being and the importance of physical activity now and in the future.

My colleague Risto from Wapice and I enjoy freeriding, especially in the Alps. We met through work and became very good friends. Since 2008, we’ve been chasing fresh snow together every year across Europe and even in Japan. Since I enjoy speed, I also do mountain biking and love riding downhill at bike parks at a faster pace.

Through home automation, I actively engage with technology, which also helps me develop skills that are useful for my work. I’m very interested in electrical energy because I find it fascinating to understand how energy systems work and how to optimize energy use at home. I’ve been using solar panels and electricity market optimizations in my home automation setup since 2016.