Karim's official title within IS&T is Enterprise Support Engineer, but he sees customer service as his primary goal. "I'm responsible for the Mac OS X SAP client application, which has a large role in almost all we do here at Apple, including the iTunes music store, the online store, our retails stores, and just about everything else," Karim explains. "I ensure that what SAP develops will meet all of Apple's business needs. So I have internal customers all over the company."
I develop my own ideas in whatever capacity to help the company succeed. The greatest thing about Apple is it gives you the space to be who you are. You're encouraged to think on your own, and come up with great ideas.
These customer interactions are key to Karim's job satisfaction. "I've met a lot of great people from so many different groups around the world because of our SAP projects," he explains. "As I move forward, the relationships I've made will have become a great asset."
A typical day for Karim can include almost anything, but it all boils down to making sure Apple's 200+ SAP users can do their jobs effectively. Karim constantly incorporates feedback from users on how he can make their jobs easier with the tools they use. He also develops internal applications and solutions for various internal IS&T groups—things like documentation servers, retail store systems, self-service websites, and resource planning databases. "I develop my own ideas in whatever capacity to help the company succeed," Karim says. "The greatest thing about Apple is it gives you the space to be who you are. You're encouraged to think on your own, and come up with great ideas."
"At Apple, you're going to be working with some very intelligent people," Karim continues. "This makes it challenging but also very worthwhile. Be prepared to work hard but also to have fun. The experience is always rewarding, and seeing the cool products that we produce is something to be very proud of."