“BalaBit introduces a new version of its flagship Shell Control Box. This enterprise activity-monitoring application manages remote privileged access to IT systems, records activity in searchable, movie-like audit trails, integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and operates independently of clients and servers.”
That is the opening paragraph of a recent press release from BalaBit, one of my B2B technology clients at Progress Communications. For someone outside IT, I can imagine it might as well have been written in Uzbek.
Before joining Progress, I spent several years as a PR consultant at another communications agency. My main client was Albert Heijn Belgium. I was therefore much more familiar with Dutch custard and smoked sausage than server virtualisation or open-source technology.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed working for a brand such as Albert Heijn, I felt ready for a complete change. IT had always fascinated me, so when I learned that Progress Communications Belgium, specialising in B2B and B2C technology communication, was looking for a PR consultant, I responded immediately. A few interviews and signatures later, I became a new member of the team.
The past few months have been tremendously educational. I had to get to know many clients. I freely admit that, during the first two weeks, I kept Wikipedia open to look up unfamiliar terms.
The fundamentals of communication remain the same, however: how do you reach an audience, build understanding and influence behaviour? Changing jobs gives you a fresh perspective on a new sector, allowing you to apply your experience and skills in original ways.
Specialist B2B IT clients may initially seem less appealing than travel companies or makers of fashionable consumer gadgets. But dig a little deeper, without being intimidated by jargon, and you discover a fascinating world.
It is a world where advanced technologies genuinely affect how companies work. A world where Kangaroot’s two Belgian founders can build a thriving business and be consulted by software giants such as HP and Red Hat. A world where a PR consultant can make a focused contribution to clients’ success.
That last point is why I have not regretted the move for a moment. Working alongside clients and achieving concrete results is what makes the job worthwhile.
And shopping? I still go to Albert Heijn.
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