Róbert Bakonyvári
What do you do at OPSWAT?
I work in the IT Department as a Global Service Desk Manager. We serve OPSWATers globally 24/7/365 with a wide range of tasks from mouse replacement or phishing email investigation to iDP provider change, server issues, or SSL certificate renewal. My main task besides managing the team is to implement these changes and problem-solve.
If you could describe OPSWAT in one word, what would it be and why?
Pioneer. The company’s visions about the products and company culture are unique in the world and are an example to other companies.
Your Time at OPSWAT
What do you like most about the office where you work?
The Hungarian office in Veszprém is in one of the best areas of the city. The building is surrounded by huge 30-40 years old trees, and it is quiet but not far away from the downtown. We have everything here for daily life: a huge well-equipped kitchen, training room, recreation room, showers, even an outside dining table in the garden. Moreover, it will be even greater when the third floor is finished with a 360-degree terrace and when the second building is opened with a bigger training room, bigger meeting rooms, and the critical infrastructure protection lab.
Sidenote: I was working in this building 10 years ago, when it was one of the HQs of an internet service provider. It is incredible to see how the office has involved from year to year. I do passionately believe that we have the best office in Veszprém.
What do you like about your direct team?
In the IT and the Global Service Desk team we are full of highly trained and continuously improving colleagues. We cannot rest until we find the best solution for a request or an issue; that is the reason we can rely on each other all the time. Maybe one of us does not have the perfect solution, but the other 22 colleagues might have it. A perfect example was our big accomplishment in Q1 2024, when our CEO asked us to create PowerBi dashboards. We lacked experience in it, so we got together, started planning, attending courses, and figuring out the best way to build the dashboards. After a few days, we were able to build and display them in the Wallboards all around the offices in the world.
What do you enjoy most about the OPSWAT culture?
Being an OPSWATer is not just a line in your LinkedIn profile—it is a feeling you can remember your entire life. I really love that OPSWAT takes care of its employees. You can find fresh fruits and cereals all day in the kitchen; if you are vegan, you always can find plant-based milk in the fridge and you get vegan food at office events without asking. If you need to see the doctor at the middle of the day, you can. If sometimes your mind is full – it happens – you can do a training with a trainer or you can invite your family to lunch together. The most important thing for me is that your personal time is respected.
The You Outside of Work
Tell us a bit about your family.
First, I would mention my wife, Petra, who also works in the field of informatics as a QA engineer. She is smart and eager to learn new skills. She always amazes me with her patience when I work, learn, or run late night. Second, my father, Robert, who is a visionary, inspires me all the time with his thoughts, which first look crazy and then end up became great ideas. Last but not least, my one-and-a-half-year-old son, Noel, who is experiencing all the beautiful things in the world. He always stops to wonder about the blinking stars, wind-blown leaves on the trees, or small bug on a flower.
What are your favorite activities outside of work?
Before my son was born, my wife and I did CrossFit training 3-4 times a week. Nowadays we are training separately; she goes to the local gym on a weekly basis, and I do Kettlebell training in the office and go running at night to calm down my mind. Besides the daily duties and workouts, mostly I love being with my family. With my son, we go to swimming lessons and explore new playgrounds or unfamiliar places every weekend. I also teach cybersecurity awareness training at high schools in Veszprém.
What are some of your favorite local spots to visit?
I am lucky that I live in the best area of Hungary, so I have plenty of astonishing places to visit. First, I would mention Lake Balaton, which is the biggest lake in Central Europe. It offers a bunch of outdoor activities, like swimming, sailing, or kayaking.
Secondly, the Witness Hills in the east part of Balaton—these hills were volcanoes, and they have beautiful sights viewing each other and to the lake. The wines produced here are extremely delicious. Moreover, the hills’ landscape sight is carved to my wife’s and my wedding rings.
Last but not least, the Bakony hills (which is in my surname), which hug Veszprém, have beautiful ancient forests where you can relax and recharge. Overall, I love this area so much that I have a tattoo on my back of a map of Veszprém in a Lord of The Rings style.
