Restless tinkerer in her own Datasphere: Irene Preiner

Data is her passion, the Business Warehouse and the SAP Datasphere her mission. As one of the longest-serving SRB employees, Irene Preiner has shaped the company with her hands-on mentality for over 20 years. And hands-on in the truest sense: Irene is tinkering – with data, in the garden, on the saxophone. What the team lead of Data Engineering finds peace in and which animal friends accompany the mother of two, read here in a new episode of our employee series 'Inside SRB'.

Irene Preiner is forging her own path. She knows exactly where her attraction to SAP came from. Back then, right after her electronics studies at the university of applied sciences, she discovered SRB and the solutions of the Walldorf software expert at a job fair. And although (or precisely because) none of her friends could make sense of those three little letters, she chose to do an internship at SRB. A challenge that Irene approached with passion.

For over 20 years, the native Viennese has been combining her technical and business background at SRB, now as team lead of Data Engineering and Senior Consultant. The data expert covered many areas at the beginning of her journey at SRB until she found her 'calling': data. When the opportunity arose to delve deeper into the topic of 'Data Warehouse' at SRB, she seized it. The rest is history.

"Working with data, working in IT and with people is simply exciting. I love tinkering and finding a solution. When a new challenge suddenly appears and I can immerse myself in it for the next hours or days – that is simply fantastic."

Broad knowledge as an advantage

From reporting and analysis in Business Warehouse to BW/4HANA and Datasphere and SAC – Irene Preiner has experienced it all. And not only that: she has always been at the forefront. Engaged with developments, engaged with customers, their IT architectures and needs.

The 43-year-old knows how to leverage this experience well. Customers appreciate her foresight, as she explains: "Staying on the ball and knowing the new technologies well is one thing. The other is a certain all-round knowledge about earlier versions, about connections with IT networks or any SFTP servers or such topics. The more integrative it becomes for the customers, the more points one can score, the more one has experienced and seen in consulting life."

However, even the greatest know-how is of no help when companies are pressing. "It should have been finished yesterday" – that is the phrase Irene often hears. Too often, as she admits. Because what looks time-critical at first glance often turns out to be relative in most cases. "I have had many things that were very, very urgent, where it turned out that rushing does not help and, for example, the time for testing was simply important for overall success," Irene shares from her rich experience.

That she does not simply act in such situations, but addresses things straightforwardly and openly, has developed into something of her trademark. A trademark that was also felt within the company: during a company outing many years ago, she – mind you, later in the evening – exclaimed in a venue, "Lorenz, you pay!"[Note from the editorial team: Lorenz is a member of the management and head of finance & administration at SRB]. Even after many years, this image has remained vividly in the memory of many SRB employees.

(Almost) always at work

At home, the atmosphere is quieter, but Irene still finds it hard to sit still. Her great hobby is her garden. "I am constantly replanting, building new things here, arranging things there. When I think about it, I am actually a craftsman. It surprises some when I talk about my IT job," she notes.

Thus, Irene does not shy away from bigger 'projects', having recently installed the electrics in her garden shed and adorned it with LED lights, as well as installed the lawnmower robot and the well pump. Not to forget the turtle house and the adjacent fenced area that the mother of two built for her shelled friends.

The turtles are Greek tortoises, which have accompanied her since childhood. Three males and one female. Irene shares her connection to Greece with her pets, as she is fond of Greek cuisine. "γεμιστά" (Gemistá), meaning stuffed tomatoes and peppers, brings her much culinary delight. And when it needs to be truly authentic, she prefers to go on holiday to southern Europe, where she simply orders her favourite dish herself – in Greek, of course.

Not accompanying her on holiday is Irene's alto saxophone. It gets the well-deserved break, as Irene's fingers fly wildly over the mother-of-pearl buttons for the rest of the year. Practice is essential, as the enthusiastic musician is not only engaged in the local music school orchestra but also with the city music of Schwechat, where the 'Restless' – who would be surprised – also serves on the board and as treasurer.

Inspiration from reading

Irene can only truly switch off with one thing: reading the newspaper. Classically in paper form and preferably in the garden. Or on holiday in Greece. Yet even here, she cannot completely shed her skin: simply reading is not an option. For Irene, reading has a purpose. It is important for her to keep track of what is happening in the world, to absorb knowledge, to think through decisions and arguments. Enriched with information from a solid, well-researched source.

"What I focus on when reading are innovative and positive news. It does not happen all the time, but on many days when something is in the newspaper, I think to myself, 'Wow, that is brilliant' or 'Wow, what an innovation'. That is extremely enriching," Irene concludes. For foresight and inspiration. And as preparation, so that when tinkering in her own Datasphere and that of the customers, everything is well thought out.

INSIDE SRB

This year, we are also introducing some of our employees in more detail here on the blog. We look behind make-up, business outfits and PowerPoint slides and want to bring you closer to the people who make up our SRB expertise. Together we are SRB.

More SRB employee portraits to read:

#1 – Manfred Scheiner

#2 – Veronika Lomasow

#3 – Yamen Albahesh

#4 – Norbert Leimgruber

#5 – Michael Henninger

#6 – Harald Epner#7 –

Jelena Ilie#8 –

Michael Auer#9 –

Thomas MeizerThomas Meizer