Blog it Forward – Ivona Crnoja

Hey there, Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, Dobar Dan!

Hello there SAP Community! Being fairly new to the SAP Community and in desperate need for more followers (help!) I took on the challenge forwarded to me by  Pierre COL and will try to give you a little glimpse into my little world and hopefully find a new way of connecting with you. Thank you Pierre!

So Who am I?

Let me start off with the Basics

My name: Ivona

I was born in: Former Yugoslavia, currently the area of Bosnia & Herzegovina (It’s a complicated country but SO pretty! You should go!)

I was raised in: Germany (Saarland – the place that invented the Lyoner and the Schwenker)

I speak: 5 Languages (Serbo-Croatian, German, English, Spanish, French + a tiny little bit of Mandarin)

I consider myself a: Voyager

And more importantly a: Taco Lover

Though currently I am eating: Pretzels and Currywurst in Berlin

Why Voyager? I am a little restless, never stop seeking the unknown and get bored if I stay in the same place for too long. Which is why in the past 5 years I called various places my home:

• Tablecloth, Braii and Biltong – Cape Town, South Africa
• Mannekin Pis, Gaufres and Frites – Brussels, Belgium
• Banks, Handkäs and Grüne Soße – Frankfurt, Germany
• Tacos, tacos and más tacos – Mexico City, Mexico
• Kafka, Beer and Buchty – Czech Republic
• Currywurst, History and Art – Berlin, Germany

But gone are the times of teenage irresponsibility. Being an adult now and trying to be a decent human, the environmental pollution needs to stop, and with this my restlessness. So, it’s time to create a base – Heidelberg, Germany. Which brings me to my next point – SAP.

How did you start in SAP?

I started my “SAP” -career with Concur in Frankfurt, where I was writing my Master dissertation developing a GTM strategy for a new Concur market – which was a huge success. I got hooked but had to finish my studies with an internship abroad first. I was nevertheless not ready to yet give up on SAP and being a multinational corporation with offices all over the world it was not hard to find an internship with SAP abroad. So, I landed with SAP in Prague where I spent awesome 6 months – I only say free monthly back massages and meeting rooms with billiard tables in it!!

After my internship and 5 years of intensive studying I decided to take a short break and – ended up living in Mexico City for a year where I was working as a freelance writer. But hooked as I was, I was being pulled back to Germany, my family but also SAP who just seemed to be the right fit for me. With my new passion and experience in writing and being back in Germany, my current position was simply calling out for me – Communications for SAP AI Business Services. Which brings me to Pierre`s second questions:

Can you describe in one short sentence: “what need does your SAP solution meet”?

SAP AI Business Services automate and optimize business processes out-of-the-box across the intelligent suite – thanks to AI and Machine Learning craftsmanship!

You might have figured – I love working for SAP. But more than that I love working with my awesome team. A bunch of intelligent, dedicated, passionate and creative experts who just seem to never get tired of going the extra mile. And I am so grateful and honoured for being a part of this team.

And since it is Friday afternoon and we are all waiting to start our well deserved weekend let me answer Pierre`s last questions before I let you go:

If you were 20 again, what would you study?

If I was 20 again, I might not study at all. In Germany there is a general attitude that studying or taking the academic route is just what everyone does! Many students are not even considering other possibilities to studying. Though I do believe that a degree can be extremely beneficial it certainly is not the only way to a successful career. I could imagine going for an apprenticeship and learning a craft, where you can use your creativity more often than in a regular office job. Or establishing yourself as a freelancer or securing an entry-level job straight away and learn your profession by actually doing it. The world is full of possibilities that do not require you to go the “classic” career path and might be worth considering.

Thank you for reading me and keep blogging forward!

The following are my nominees to blog it forward:

Nik Sacher

Cindy Lehradt

Maximilian Herrmann

Dear colleagues, please pick 3 questions you would like to answer in your post from that list:

• Who is your hero?
• If you could live anywhere where would it be?
• What is your proudest accomplishment?
• If you could those to do anything for a day, what would it be?
• What do you love about your Job?