Harry: 'At OptimaData, I feel like a fish in the water'

At the end of 2022 we were pleased to welcome Harry Splinter to our team. The arrival of Harry with his years of experience as a DBA is a nice and solid reinforcement of our multi-platform database expertise. With a number of extensive migrations in the pipeline from Sybase and MSSQL, among others, to open source solutions, plus a number of complex (cloud) database issues, Harry can be of immediate added value. But above all, we are very happy that Harry has chosen us as his new work home. In this blog, Harry tells us what he thinks of his new employer.

Homecoming

As a DBA, I've had quite a few employers. From Ministry of Defense to Getronics and from Politie Nederland to CGI and Stater. At Politie Nederland, I worked with Martijn Wallet, co-owner of OptimaData. At Stater, Thomas Spoelstra was my colleague, who joined OptimaData in 2020. I have also known Jan Kootstra, a DBA developer at OptimaData, for some time. Because of this, I was already familiar with OptimaData. I had been looking for some time for a company where I could develop further in the field of databases, as my work was often limited to the day-to-day. Thomas told me that OptimaData is much more in-depth and that appealed to me. I decided to have a chat. When I met everyone, it immediately felt like coming home. I made the switch at the end of last year and I haven't regretted it for a day.

Subject Fanatics

We talk to each other easily because we all share the same love for the profession. The atmosphere among us is very open and relaxed, but also direct. I like that. We don't beat around the bush and say what's what. We talk to each other about both the good and the bad. That way we are constantly learning from each other. Having lunch together is fun. Although we also try to talk about other things, the conversation often returns to databases. In the eyes of others, we are probably a club of "nerds" or "professionals" all together. I love it.

Fish in the water

At OptimaData I can really develop myself further in the field of databases and learn plenty of new things. For example, here they work with clients using Galera clusters on MySQL, while I myself only have experience with a few clusters. This technical specialty is challenging and I find it very interesting. They also work here with replication for Sybase, which I had not worked with for years and can now pick up again. The wide range of technical specialties at OptimaData makes the work challenging. I myself come from a multi-database environment, so it fits well with my experience. You normally deal with two or three databases, but at OptimaData they have four or five different kinds, which makes it very varied. Yes, I can keep developing myself here, which is essential in our field. Moreover, if, like us here, you have a passion for the work, learning is much easier. In short, I feel like a fish in the water here.

Want to know more?

Would you like to talk more about our services and what the OptimaData experts can do for your company? Feel free to contact us, we would love to get to know you. Looking for a job or interim assignment? Take a look at our special web page.

Back to blogoverview