Skills behind the success: Accelerator to subject matter expert
Mathilde Cramer joined Columbus' Accelerator Programme five years ago and found her path along the way growing into the role of Security SME. What stands out most about her journey is that she did not follow a specific path, and her experience has been shaped by working across different cultures, teams and customers.
How did it start?
My intention was to mainly work within Retail, but I quickly found my passion in D365FO Security. What started as an area I was curious about gradually became my main area of expertise. I chose to focus 100% on security, and over time I have had the opportunity to work with many different customers, challenges and colleagues across Columbus.
Since then, I've taken responsibility for larger customers, supported colleagues, mentored others, and grown into the role of Security SME. I have also built some really strong relationships with customers, and it means a lot to me that people reach out to me because they trust my knowledge and know I will help them find a solution.
What matters the most in your career?
It's definitely the people. I really value having good relationships with both customers and colleagues and being someone people feel comfortable coming to when they need help. And probably just as important: having fun along the way. I spend a lot of time working, so I think having good people around you and enjoying the day-to-day is pretty important.
Looking back over your career?
I have learned a lot technically, but I have probably learned even more about customers, relationships, communication and taking responsibility. I am working on developing my advisory skills and want to help our customers understand the bigger picture and make the right decisions for their business.
What skills, knowledge or areas are you currently developing?
At the moment, I am mainly developing my knowledge of Copilot and generative AI in relation to D365FO security. It is a relatively new area, and I find it interesting to understand what it means from a security and governance perspective, especially when it comes to sensitive and financial data, access, permissions and information users can actually expose through AI.
Going forward, I would like to broaden my knowledge beyond security and get more involved in other areas of D365FO, especially Retail and Commerce. Security has been my main focus for the past five years, and I really enjoy it. But having a broader understanding of D365FO will help me better understand the business processes behind security requirements and how the different areas fit together.
Ultimately, I want to be a trusted advisor who can help customers see the bigger picture and not just solve security issues.