Every month, we move our spotlight to someone behind In The Pocket's screens. Who are the people behind the digital products? What drives them? And what can they teach us? Time for you to meet one of the best Solution Architects behind our digital products: Jochen!

"I’m still dreaming of the day when my oven can detect my lasagna and knows what heating program to use."

What’s the one elementary skill for being a successful solution architect?

Being eager to solve complex puzzles as simple as possible. It’s important to maintain focus on the problem you are trying to solve and always weigh cost vs value. If buying or building a solution costs more than it will return, most of the time it’s not worth the effort.

Just checking. Is there anything in your house that isn’t connected to the cloud?

Our washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher. But that’s about it. I’m still dreaming of the day my washing machine could detect if there’s something wrong in my laundry. Or when my oven can detect my lasagna and knows what heating program to use.

How do you explain your job to your parents?

My dad is retired but used to work in software... so he actually understands what I do. To outsiders I just say I work in IT, usually followed by: "I’m in software so I can’t help you with your slow computer".