Her commitment to creating innovative IT products that serve people is shaping the face of the IT industry. Anita Niedźwiedź has not only taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer, but has previously gained experience as a business and systems analyst, database scientist and project manager. Let’s get to know each other!

How did your adventure with programming begin?

Like in many cases – from studying computer science and the need to create, because in computer science you always create something and have a real impact on the creation of a digital product. In parallel with computer science, I studied physiotherapy. There was a specific plan behind it – the combination of IT and the medical sector, which has always interested me. During my studies I started my first job for a pharmaceutical company, so this idea of mine already had its first effect. During my studies I mastered the first coding languages, but I was most fascinated by the analytical area, projects that were aimed at contacting customers, collecting business requirements and creating a process description in a way that everyone could understand, i.e. BPMN (Business Process Notation and Model). This absorbed me. My lecturer played a big role in this, as she showed me a side of IT that isn’t all about coding, and isn’t as introverted because it requires constant contact with people. She suggested books that I read from cover to cover, she motivated me.

And after graduation? Was it a hard landing to enter the job market full time?

After college I ended up as an analyst in two corporations – one distributed medical equipment, the other is a global brand with medical products and every other thing you can imagine. It was a time when I had the opportunity to learn quite a lot about IT systems and come to the conclusion that the decision-making process involved in introducing a new IT product in a large company, due to the scale of the business, can take so long that the purpose of that implementation can become diluted.

And what did you do about it?

I changed job. I joined an IT company, where my tasks were already close to meeting my expectations, but I went a step further and joined RITS Software House, and frankly, I can’t imagine working outside a software house anymore.

Where did you start and how did it happen that you took the position of COO of RITS Software House?

From the very beginning I was in contact with clients and used my knowledge in the area of business analysis. Post-graduate studies in databases and obtaining a certificate were also very helpful, which came in handy at RITS Software House when dealing with technical issues, creating database scripts for developers. I drew handfuls of experience from the team and juxtaposed it with theoretical knowledge.

In addition to the role of business-systems analyst, database writer, there was the role of project manager. Software houses have it that they often need a one-man army at the beginning – a person who can lead a project, analyze it, prepare databases, and later distribute tasks and properly lead a team of developers.

I can confidently say that at RITS Software House I gained 99% of all my skills, and the addition of team management competencies led me to my current position. However, being a director doesn’t exempt me from development, so I’m also constantly expanding my knowledge of programming languages to be able to speak freely with developers.

That doesn’t slow down the company’s strategic goals, either. What goals have you set for RITS Software House in the coming years?

My main goal is to grow the team through projects for new clients in close cooperation with our companies RITS Professional Services and RITS Vietnam (Relyon IT Services Vietnam). RITS Professional Services is our backoffice support, but more importantly, it is a source of projects to be implemented and a pool of highly specialized IT staff that we have the opportunity to benefit from. RITS Vietnam, on the other hand, is a team of developers with an extremely high culture and work ethic, with whom we have been working since the very beginning.

I also make sure that these projects are useful, serve people. This gives everyone a sense of the work being done. I also see my team absorbing new technologies, and my goal is to enable them to further develop in directions they are interested in. I want to strengthen their competence through the exchange of knowledge and experience, hence we’ve got meetings permanently written into the calendar, where we analyze our needs and share insights, tips on ongoing projects and what is happening in the technology market.

Is there a project that has recently passed through the hands of your software house that you could tell us about?

We recently realized a web application that streamlines the process of collecting medical consents in medical, aesthetic or massage offices. The patient receives medical consents for approval at the email address provided during the registration process. After completing them with one button, he sends back the consents, confirming them with a code received via SMS. The generated and confirmed „SMS certificate” with the consents goes to a database on a server, where these are securely stored. The application is already up and running and can be previewed at www.zgodymedyczneonline.pl. More projects related to its development are underway.

You mentioned technologies that thrill your team. What is driving them?

The big world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Competent teams in these areas are a huge market advantage, and the dynamic development of technology is really a wealth of knowledge to be absorbed on an ongoing basis. The standard question in discussions about projects with business partners becomes that regarding the use of AI. And I’m not surprised by this at all, because the last several months have simply been a technological revolution. And so, on the one hand, my team is carried away by this power of AI capabilities, but on the other hand, they are broadening their knowledge in the area of cyber security, because they are aware that it must at least go hand in hand with this first trend. Here we benefit from RITS Professional Services’ experience in implementing projects for the banking sector, and I don’t think I need to explain that when it comes to cyber security, banks and financial institutions are a leading player. The security of their data and money is subject to a huge number of regulations, and complying with them requires a lot of investment in the latest security solutions. These projects have been going beyond a simple SSL certificate for a bank’s website for years now. And this raises tasks for software houses, which makes me very happy.

Breaking away from professional issues, what makes you happy after hours? How do you reset your head?

Running, sports, walking outdoors – these are the main activities that allow me to relax.

Thank you for your story, Anita.

The interview was published by SoDA – Software Development Association Poland. You can also read it here (in Polish).