Technical Platform Lead
Technical Platform Lead
Tribe IT4Consumer
Works in Utrecht, Maastricht and from home
Lives in De Meern
At VodafoneZiggo since 2003
Apps, unlimited internet and streaming video? None of it existed 20 years ago when Pravesh Mahabali started tinkering with websites. His fascination with the digital world led to an extraordianry career at VodafoneZiggo, Where he is now Technical Platform Lead. Pravesh's knowledge and skills have developed dramatically over time, as has the technology.
The computer made its first appearance in the Mahabali household when Pravesh was 19 years old. "I was immediately intrigued by the internet. All my free time went into learning programming languages and making simple websites about music. I soon became interested in the hardware side of things, too, and even built my own server. As an accountancy student, I took a part-time job at VodafoneZiggo. Little did I know then that I would still be here today."
Very quickly, Pravesh earned himself a reputation as the department all-rounder. Whenever his colleagues got stuck with HTML or JavaScript, they'd come to him. "I was a real jack-of-all- trades, involved with our tools and systems at the deepest level. My objective was to further improve and develop them. In addition to programming and design, I concerned myself with copywriting and project management. I became an Interactive Media Specialist and started working at the precursor of the Digital Department. When I was then asked whether I wanted to become a Web Analyst, I saw that as a great opportunity to develop myself even further."
It was during this time that Pravesh discovered his true talent: exploring new digital opportunities and defining a roadmap with next steps for the company. "A number of colleagues and I were tasked to ponder an interesting question: What exactly does digital transformation mean? We interviewed 50 directors for answers, came up with a plan and pitched it to the CEO. Thanks to this success, I landed myself a new position yet again: Manager Digital Transformation. My small team and I availed ourselves to VodafoneZiggo's digitalisation, and the first step was to acquaint the company with agile working. The move enabled us to work faster and offer greater value to customers."
Fast forward to now. VodafoneZiggo is currently in the final phase of digitalisation: the one in which all departments become go digital. Pravesh’s focus is on the IT behind the products for customers. “Things like the queuing mechanism Ticketmaster uses. VodafoneZiggo sometimes experiences peaks in visitor numbers, too. When an iPhone is launched, for instance, or when tickets go on sale that can be bought with Priority. Now teams dealing with events like that can configure queues themselves."
“There are many such challenges throughout the organisation. Dedicated tribes work on the solutions. Like a delivery platform in the cloud, so that teams can bring their products into production themselves. Or a CMS for our websites, in which the whole organisation can work and not just colleagues from the digital departments.” Pravesh has an advisory role to Tribe Leads. “How do we keep the organisation up to date so that we can always respond quickly to changing circumstances? Do the tribes possess the right skills to rise the challenges? Do new squads need to be formed?” In this way, he ensures that the organisation’s structure can always take advantage of any opportunities he spots.
A case in point is the Vodafone & Ziggo app. The joint app of the two brands launched in 2024. Pravesh saw the potential, helped persuade top management and coached the people working on it to the finish. "During the process, I didn’t tell my colleagues what to do, but instead gave them a lot of autonomy. I also shared my knowledge and experience and asked many questions to help them along. At the start of my career, I thought I could digitalise the company all by myself. I now know that the great digital transformation is something we can only achieve together."
