Mobile XL
makes work of
your process

Raymond spent more than 20 years working for “the big software companies” in the Netherlands and abroad, with clients including all the major banks, insurers and other international enterprise organisations, until he started out on his own in 2014. “I had learned a great deal about people and about the work. I wanted to share that knowledge with smaller and mid-sized companies. At those insurers it never really mattered much whether a process succeeded. Nobody truly took responsibility and there was usually enough money. I found that a shame. I wanted to sit at the table with real entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs with the ambition to keep improving. What exactly I would do as my own boss was not immediately clear. I really did wrestle with what kind of company it should become. I started out building websites and apps. That was not quite it. I used Zoho as my CRM system. When Zoho came to the Netherlands in person and started looking for serious partners, I took that chance. My knowledge and experience matched exactly the type of partner Zoho was after. Mobile XL became successful quickly. More and more companies found their way to me, up to the point where I could no longer handle it alone, because Mobile XL grew rapidly into the fastest growing partner in the Benelux. Now I have a good team around me and I mostly work as a consultant myself. I let my team build up plenty of experience and everyone has room to grow within their own role. My goal is to keep growing with Mobile XL, but not too large. It has to stay a close team where we can speak freely to each other. In my spare time I play golf. That is my ultimate way to unwind. My head empties completely when I am busy with that little ball. Beyond that I try to free up as much time as possible to enjoy life with my partner. We are both entrepreneurs, so we really have to plan our time together.”

Tim was a product owner at a software company in healthcare, where he worked with Zoho. Raymond was his contact for Zoho related integrations. So when his employer went bankrupt, one and one made more than two. “We both thought ‘why not’. We already knew each other and I already knew the product. I have not regretted the move for a moment. If anything I regret not doing it sooner. In my previous role I was mostly busy with running the business and setting policy. Here I am among people again. It is good fun to be in touch with all sorts of companies from all sorts of sectors. It is my default setting to find almost everything interesting and then to want to learn all about it. At Mobile XL I am allowed to dig into anything. Freedom, my own interpretation and creativity are the main ingredients. And all that in a good team. Eventually I do want to become a project manager, but not yet. First I want to develop further and keep learning. Zoho is huge and keeps expanding. I do my best to understand the bulk of the functionality, and that alone means I will never be finished learning. In my spare time I mostly do fun things with my partner. We are both fans of photography and regularly head out to take good pictures. Computers have been my real passion for as long as I can remember. Hardware, software and gaming. I have too many hobbies and too little time, but you will not hear me complaining about that. In earlier jobs I worked far more hours and a lot of my overtime went unpaid. Now I get much more enjoyment out of my work.”

Nick had a marketing role he was enjoying less and less when he came across a vacancy at Mobile XL. “I had always found software related work interesting, but I never applied in that industry because I had not studied IT. This time I decided to go for it, because the vacancy really appealed to me. I was invited for an interview, had a good feeling straight away and thankfully got the job.

What I mainly do as a customer success manager is listen carefully to what clients want and need, and then implement the right software for it. If you find something interesting, learning comes easily. I found a lot of knowledge online. And of course I learned a great deal from Raymond. Step by step I moved from small assignments to bigger ones. Marketing often leads to discussion; a lot of people in a company want to have an opinion about it and there is always something subjective to it. Software is more straightforward and simply has to work. That makes client contact easier and more enjoyable. In the meantime I keep developing myself. I want to get to know more and more applications and earn the matching certificates. What is good about working for Mobile XL is the flexibility. I get interesting assignments and plenty of freedom in how and when I do my work, as long as it gets done. In my spare time I have a busy social life in the village, you will regularly find me in the local pub where my group of friends meets, or out in Sittard.”

Nando got a call from Tim asking whether he would like to come and talk to Mobile XL. They had been colleagues in an earlier job. “The vacancy Tim asked me about did not immediately appeal to me. I would never have applied for it myself, because Zoho is about low-code development and I am a coder at heart. But the conversation with Raymond led to a job anyway, because it felt right straight away. Mobile XL is an enjoyable company with a relaxed atmosphere. And yes, low-code is very different, but it is also an interesting challenge to find my way in it. To look for the way I can keep working a little like I was used to, while discovering what is and is not possible within Zoho. Zoho is enormous, there is so much functionality in it that there is always plenty to discover and learn. At Mobile XL I have a lot of responsibility of my own and I can shape my role the way I want, as long as I keep my agreements and meet my deadlines. Freedom and flexibility: every employer says it, you read it in every vacancy, but in practice it often disappoints. In earlier jobs someone was always looking over my shoulder and it had to be done the way the boss wanted. At Mobile XL freedom and flexibility are not empty words. Outside work I have no great passions or hobbies. A weekend of doing nothing makes me very happy. Cooking now and then, playing with my son, maybe seeing some family, but otherwise taking it easy. Feel free to call me the youngest pensioner in the Netherlands. I take that as a compliment.”

Kanaga worked as a developer in Veldhoven for a company that uses Zoho applications. She wanted to put her skills as a Zoho developer to work at a Zoho partner. “Someone at Zoho’s European head office in Utrecht pointed me to Mobile XL. I got in touch with Raymond and had an interview that went really well. I could start right away.

Because of my young daughter I wanted to work 32 hours, and because of the travel distance I wanted to work from home a lot. None of that was a problem for Raymond. He is extremely flexible and gave me his trust immediately. He gives me the freedom to plan my own day. Just as well, because at home I start at six in the morning. At first I came to the office once a week, now it is once every two weeks. That is always a good day, because everyone is friendly and we are a nice team. I also really enjoy achieving something and growing as a team. It is a shame that I am the only woman. Something else I like about working for Mobile XL is that Raymond is not a developer himself, but understands a great deal about the software. When I tell him how I am tackling a particular problem, I do not have to go to great lengths to explain how it works or to convince him that it is right. During my work I hardly come into contact with clients, so it is good that there are occasional events where we meet them. In my spare time I love gardening. I like walking when the weather is good. And I go swimming with my daughter a lot.”

Kelvin is responsible for all our front-end development. Thanks to his work our solutions not only work well, they look good too. A solid front end makes an application simpler to use.