Who are the people who make your pension a little more future-proof every day? What drives them in their work, and where do they find satisfaction? In the series “The people behind your pension,” we take a look behind the scenes at APG. Today we talk to Martijn van der Linden (41), DevOps engineer and Scrum Master at the Cloud Competence Center (CCC). “When I see that something has value, I go for it and I don’t let go until I've achieved what I want.”
What exactly do you do at APG?
“I work in FB/DWS, the department responsible for all pension services, pension administration, and communication. I am part of the Cloud Competence Center, a team of five people who act as a link between the business and the IT department that manages the Azure cloud platform. We help teams transition from their old, on-premises systems to the cloud. For instance, we use examples to show how their requirements can be met in Azure, enabling the teams to configure their applications more quickly. It is totally different from the way things used to be handled.”
You call your team a bridge between departments. In what ways do you act like a bridge?
“At APG, each business unit has its own Cloud Competence Center. To ensure that we don’t lose sight of each other, we set up a community of practice last year. This connects Asset Management, FB/DWS, and IT, allowing us to learn from each other and keep each other on our toes. I am very active in this community, and it really feels like my thing. We organize knowledge sessions and make it easier and easier to find each other. Anyone who works with Azure or wants to learn more is welcome to join.”
When did you start working at APG?
“In 2021. For the first few years, I worked on developing the Azure platform itself, and now I am helping the business to actually start using that platform.”
What attracted you to APG?
“I changed employers regularly in the past, mainly because I worked in consulting, where it is common to switch jobs frequently. But I always had my eye on APG. It is a major player with a lot of impact. Here, I have been able to put my experience in cloud technology to good use.”
What do you like about your work?
“It’s the combination of technology and customer contact. We have a small, powerful team that gets things done. The freedom we have to look for areas where we can really add value makes the work meaningful. We’re not just focused on technology, but on making the entire IT landscape future-proof. That’s what excites me.”
What is your greatest challenge at this time?
“The transition to the cloud is technically straightforward, but it also needs to be easy for the teams who will be working with it. We develop tools and automate processes so that teams only need to indicate what they want in general terms— we take care of the rest. This saves time and effort. That is our ambition: to keep making things easier.”
Sounds like a great mission. Is there anything you don’t like about your work sometimes?
“In big organizations, there are often a lot of people who have an opinion about everything. That’s also true for the cloud. The cloud is obviously ‘hot and happening’, so everyone wants to join in on the conversation about major developments. That makes sense, but it can slow things down. Fortunately, we’re moving forward at APG. There’s innovation, there are new ideas, and there’s a growing willingness to work together.”
What is your personal power in this?
“I get things done. When I see something of value, I go for it and don’t let go until I’ve achieved what I want. That’s also why I started that community of practice. In big organizations, good ideas sometimes get bogged down in the implementation phase. I get satisfaction when things do work out.”
How do you envision your future at APG?
“I feel good here. It’s an organization with a lot of knowledge and opportunities to show your added value. Maybe in the future I’ll focus more on a managerial role, but for now I’m still enjoying the technical side too much.”
When do you feel proud of APG?
“When I see all we accomplish with our small team. We are building a platform that is ready for the future and saving costs at the same time. I am equally proud of the people—all the people—I work with. Everyone is cooperative and does their best to get things done, regardless of which department they work in. I had different experiences around this at other companies.”
And what do you do outside of work? How do you relax?
“I live in Maastricht with my wife, daughter, and son, where we regularly go for walks. We often play video games together and enjoy board games. I also go hiking in the caves here in Maastricht, the Zonneberg. I have a permit for this because it is too dangerous to just roam around there without one. With a good knowledge of the caves—and their dangers—I regularly venture into them on Friday evenings. It’s a unique experience every time, and just a fun social activity to do with a group. I’ve taken coworkers with me on occasion. Then I tell them about how the caves were formed and what you can see and discover there. It’s nice to share things with each other outside of work.”