Let me introduce myself...

I was born on June 1, 1968, grew up in Haaksbergen, and after obtaining my VWO diploma, I moved to Wageningen to study Environmental Hygiene at the Agricultural University. I graduated in 1993 and worked for 3 years in the field of environmental research and policy, lastly at Tennet, which at the time operated under the name SEP (Collaborating Electricity Production Companies). At SEP, I was involved in setting up an automated system that provided environmental data required as input for the mandatory annual environmental report. After the implementation, I took on the role of functional manager of this system. Due to the "last in, first out" principle, I was laid off a year later as part of a restructuring.

During my studies in Wageningen, it was already mentioned that only a small number of graduates find work in their field of study, and that applied to me as well. I was retrained by the Ministry of Defense as an IT specialist, with a focus on COBOL, at the DTO (Defense Telematics Organization), the automation company of the Ministry of Defense.

During my DTO training, it was often suggested that COBOL was gradually disappearing. Nothing could be further from the truth! It is still widely used by banks, insurance companies, and government institutions, where it is responsible for billions of transactions per day. COBOL still plays a crucial role in the IT sector and often forms the backbone of critical business processes, where reliability and stability are essential for daily operations.

Of course, I have been involved in decommissioning projects during my career, but I have also participated in maintenance and new development projects where optimization and modernization (integrating new technologies) played/continue to play a significant role. Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that there is little new talent entering the field of COBOL IT. The language is often regarded as (very) old and unappealing. On the other hand, the language is understandable and easy to read. It often operates in very complex environments, which presents a significant challenge to make the software do what it is supposed to do. There are, of course, tools that make COBOL development more modern, such as Microfocus COBOL.

Okay, that's enough about COBOL for now; after all, this website isn't meant to be an entire plea for COBOL but is intended to keep myself working. I am no longer dependent on the language, as I have gained enough experience as a functional designer, which I can practice independently of any platform. However, I do have a preference for a COBOL platform, as I still enjoy programming and/or testing in it.

For more information about me, I would like to refer you to my expertise section later on the website. If you have any questions or the like, feel free to contact me via the contact options listed on the website.