Working Abroad to Grow IT Business – and Grow Personally

Since it’s graduation season, I thought I’d share my story of how graduating with a Master of Science degree in Information and Communications Technology led me to a business development job that allowed me to work abroad.

All I knew when I graduated in 2013 was that I wanted to work as an IT business analyst and put all I’d learned at university into practice. What I couldn’t have known was the degree to which a career path could open me to new people, places, and experiences.

I heard about Infobip from some of my classmates at the University of Zagreb. As an IT startup in 2006, the company made a name for itself as an early player in the A2P SMS market by delivering 14,000 SMS greeting cards to the entire city of Vodnjan, Croatia. From these humble roots, Infobip was driven to make a major mark on the global telco industry.

Living in the town of Pula, just miles from Vodnjan, opportunities like this were few and far between. As someone with big ambitions for business development in IT, I knew I’d found my dream opportunity.

Moving Up the Ranks, Fast

My first position was in Core Operations, where I gathered technical knowledge about all Infobip products, communicated directly with our partners, and learned how the platform works.

After two months of working in Core, my team leader recognized my passion and affinity for the business side so I earned a promotion to Quality of Service Manager. There I discovered a whole new perspective of Infobip business and realized how I could contribute with my technical knowledge and experience. That opportunity led me to my current position – Business Growth Senior Executive.

Business Growth at Infobip

As the name says, we help Infobip’s business grow – steadily and exponentially in all aspects. To make the best business decisions you need to have business knowledge, market experience, and a technical background. Each day we collaborate with other departments such as Operator Partnerships, Sales, Core, Legal, Finance, Product, and Presales to achieve the best possible outcome and minimize risk.

Some of the main team tasks are:

  • Detecting new business opportunities, defining priorities, and creating business proposals for Mobile Network Operators around the world
  • Evaluating and assuring the commercial benefit and ROI for various projects
  • Participating in yearly and quarterly planning for strategic projects with the regional board
  • Using broad knowledge from both the business and technical sides of our platform to come up with new features that can increase the quality of our services and maximize profit

I’ve experienced the real meaning of teamwork – helping others, sharing knowledge, mentoring new colleagues, and brainstorming ideas.

Opportunities for Working Abroad in India, Colombia, Malaysia, and Beyond

Collaborating across teams efficiently means traveling to meet with partners and colleagues face-to-face. My career path led me to Asia, where I spent most of my time in Kuala Lumpur. My role took me to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. I enjoyed working with colleagues in the region to identify opportunities in these markets and create strategic partnerships with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) for products such as Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS, Voice, and more.

In order to achieve success in other regions – whether it’s business development in India, Colombia, Russia, the Philippines, or Malaysia – you have to understand the culture. Working abroad enriched me both professionally and personally. I’ve met so many interesting people, visited beautiful places, went to business meetings with esteemed customers and mobile operators, and participated in some of the most impactful projects in the region.

Number 1 Vendor for MNO’s and Enterprises

Working at Infobip is both very challenging and motivating. We’re not just following, but also creating new trends in the IT world. It’s enriching to work in such an environment and be part of a company that dreams big. And I’d say we’ve more than delivered on the company vision set during those early days in Vodnjan.

Just last week, Rocco Research named Infobip Number 1 A2P SMS Messaging Vendor 2019, as rated by both MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) and enterprise clients. This was the third year in a row Infobip earned the recognition from MNOs, and the first time the award included a ranking from enterprises.

Ready to Dream Big?

Whether you’ve just accepted your college diploma or have up to five years’ experience in business development or data analytics, you could help to shape the next level of growth at Infobip. We are currently looking for talented business development and data analytics professionals who are interested in working abroad.

Residents of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who can train locally and are open to possibly relocating to one of our regional offices in India, Russia, Malaysia, Colombia, or the Republic of the Philippines, are encouraged to apply.

Jun 10th, 2019
4 min read