The „WE“ is ondeso: Andreas Decker

Andreas has been supporting our team as a consultant at our Dormagen branch since August 2019. He guides clients from the very first steps through to the successful implementation of ondeso SR. Andreas provides customer support, conducts proofs of concept, tests new features, and develops customized solutions for specific requirements. With his calm demeanor, structured approach, and a good sense of humor, Andreas is a valued colleague who keeps a clear head even in challenging situations.

We can’t wait to learn more about you in our interview. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started:

Let’s start with a quick Q&A session:

What are your top 3 hobbies?
Climbing has been my great passion since 2014. What fascinates me about it is the challenge of accomplishing things that seem impossible at first and that special rush you get when you hold onto a hold or place a foot where you could actually fall. Always well-secured, of course! It’s exactly this interplay between mind and body that has kept me hooked ever since.
Then in 2018, I took up kitesurfing because I was looking for a new, more complex challenge. I’m fascinated by the idea of being pulled across the water by a large kite using only the power of the wind and “taming” that power in the process. It’s a sport where you never stop learning, and that’s exactly what makes it so appealing to me.
Recently, I’ve also discovered wakeboarding. Here, too, it’s all about mastering complex sequences of movements on the water—step by step, with plenty of falls and all the more joy when something finally clicks. You might be noticing a pattern: I need challenges that help me grow.

Would you rather be able to read minds or be invisible?
It’s clear: to be invisible. Reading minds sounds tempting at first glance, but honestly, I wouldn’t feel any need to constantly know what’s going on in other people’s heads. I actually think that, in the long run, it would be more of a burden than a blessing. Some thoughts simply belong to their owners.
Invisibility, on the other hand, suits me much better. I’m someone who likes to step back and spend time with my own thoughts. It’s precisely in these quiet moments, when I’m alone with myself, that my best and most creative ideas often come to me. So being invisible would, in a sense, be the “superpower” version of something I already enjoy doing: simply stepping away from the hustle and bustle, observing, reflecting, and coming back with new ideas.
And, of course, invisibility would also have its practical appeal. You could take in the world around you in peace without being the center of attention. For me, as someone who tends to be more introspective, that would be the much more appealing choice. Don’t worry, by the way: I’m still very visible and approachable as part of the team!

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
I wouldn’t have to think twice: Lucky Luke. The cowboy who draws faster than his shadow has always inspired me and the more I think about it, the more I realize that his values describe me quite well as a person.
Lucky Luke is someone who stays calm and keeps a cool head even in dicey situations. He doesn’t push himself into the spotlight, but prefers to let his actions speak for themselves. He’s reliable, fair, and helpful. You can trust him when it counts. And he never takes himself too seriously, but faces the chaos around him with a certain calmness and a wink.
It’s exactly this combination that I like: staying calm, doing the right thing, stepping in when necessary, and in the end, riding off into the sunset with ease. Whether I’m actually faster than my shadow remains to be seen, but I like to model myself after Lucky Luke’s composure and reliability. A little bit of Wild West romance never hurts, either.

If you had to choose: would you rather go snorkeling in the Caribbean or hiking in Iceland?
I don’t have to think twice: definitely hiking in Iceland! White beaches and turquoise waters are certainly beautiful, but Iceland’s nature holds a completely different fascination for me. It feels like it’s from another planet.
What appeals to me most are the extreme contrasts that come together in such a small space: glaciers next to active volcanoes, black lava fields next to lush green moss-covered areas, hot springs in the middle of an icy landscape, plus waterfalls and endless expanses. This rugged, unspoiled nature has always fascinated me: landscapes shaped not by humans, but by the forces of the Earth itself.
On top of that, hiking just suits me better than lying on the beach: I enjoy being active, setting goals for myself, and looking back on what I’ve accomplished at the end of a hike. That’s why Iceland has long been at the top of my bucket list and I’m determined to check this item off in the next few years.

What is your motto in life?
My life motto comes straight from the Rhineland and can be summed up in two articles of the “Cologne Constitution”: “Et kütt wie et kütt” and “Et hätt noch immer jot jejange.” Loosely translated: Things happen as they happen and so far, everything has always turned out all right.
For me, there’s far more to it than just a catchy saying. It’s a fundamental attitude: You can’t control or plan everything in life, and you don’t have to. Many things turn out differently than expected anyway and most of the time, a way is found in the end, often even a better one than what was originally planned. This sense of calm helps me stay composed even in stressful or unexpected situations, avoid panicking, and focus on what I can actually influence.
That doesn’t mean that I just let things run their course. I do my very best. But when something does go wrong, I know: Et hätt noch immer jot jejange. With this attitude, life and work are much more relaxed.

Now it’s getting serious:

What exactly is your role at ondeso and what does a typical working day look like for you?

I work in the Professional Services division at ondeso. My responsibilities are intentionally broad: I manage our clients, provide support, conduct proofs of concept, and put our software through its paces. In addition, I develop specialized solutions for individual client needs and I enjoy contributing my own creative ideas on how we can make our software even better.
My day starts early: I begin at 6 a.m., first by catching up on the previous day’s emails. It’s not uncommon to have early meetings with clients in other time zones, after all, the world doesn’t sleep. At 8:45 a.m., we have our daily department meeting, where we coordinate as a team and assign upcoming tasks.
What happens after that is different every day and that’s exactly what I love about my job. The wide range of responsibilities means there’s a tremendous amount of variety, and no two days are alike. Boredom? I’ve never heard of it.

How would your colleagues describe you?

Anyone who has read my answer to the question about the fictional character might already have guessed: I think my colleagues would describe me as a sort of Lucky Luke. And I don’t mean that because of how fast I am with a gun, but because of the qualities that define that cowboy.
I’m someone who stays calm and keeps a cool head even in hectic situations. When a client has an urgent issue or a project is under time pressure, I don’t panic. I tackle things in a structured way. My colleagues know they can count on me: When I commit to something, I follow through. At the same time, I don’t push myself into the spotlight; I’d rather let my results speak for themselves.
And last but not least, a certain amount of composure and humor is part of the mix. I take my work seriously, but I don’t take myself too seriously. Would my colleagues agree with all of this? You’d best ask them yourself, but I’m quite sure they would.

What did you want to be as a child and how did you end up at ondeso?

Thanks to my older brother, I was exposed to computers at an early age and from that point on, it was clear to me: I wanted to do “something with computers” when I grew up. As a teenager, it became more than just a hobby: I wanted to understand more and more deeply how the technology worked together and what happened behind the scenes.
After high school, I was lucky enough to land an apprenticeship as an IT specialist, which I successfully completed. Then I joined the German Armed Forces: first basic training, then assignment to my home unit in the S6, the German Armed Forces’ IT division. So even there, I stayed true to my childhood dream.
After my time in the Bundeswehr, I worked for almost ten years in the IT department of a Fressnapf subsidiary. At some point, however, I felt it was time for a change, with new challenges, a new environment, and new responsibilities. Through a personal recommendation, I joined ondeso seven years ago. And looking back, I can say: That was exactly the right move. The little boy sitting in front of my brother’s computer would be thrilled about it.

Thank you very much for your time, Andreas!

If you would like to learn more about Andreas Decker and his work at ondeso, follow him on LinkedIn.