In early 2022, Wouter began his career at Root3 as a Support Engineer. In 2019, he started his career in the retail sector for Apple devices. Soon he found the technical aspects of the job more appealing. Wouter considered Root3 the top of the market from the beginning, and it still is to this day. Root3 is characterized by a fun group of colleagues, and plenty of opportunities for personal development. There is considerable investment in development, in addition, the customer base is varied, which makes the work interesting. Root3 also encourages knowledge sharing, with weekly meetings or thinking along about new features of the App Catalog or the Support App.

Wouter Kneppers

I am Wouter, 31 years old, father of three children and live in Pijnacker, a village in between the cities. I am currently renovating our house, which will hopefully be finished in early 2024. In my spare time I am mostly busy with my children and working on my smart home. Too little I do squash and besides that I am a member of Scouting Nootdorp.

Since April I am a System Engineer, with a focus on software, but with a love for hardware (the eye wants something too). At home I am working on smart home automation, linking different systems via Home Assistant.

My technical background was already pretty good, which made the transition to System Engineer easy. Our work mainly revolves around helping customers optimize their workstations, getting systems to talk to each other and keeping them up to date.

What is your history with Apple?

I consider myself a school example of an Apple user. My journey began with an iPhone (iPhone 4, 2011), followed by an iPad Air 2 (2015), and in 2016 I made the switch to the Mac. Apple’s intuitiveness and seamless integration of hardware and software are very pleasing. I also notice this at home, where the kids can easily control the Apple TV themselves. The optimization of hardware and software for Apple products makes them work efficiently and that sets them apart from other brands which is why I love working with Apple.

What’s something that often surprises you?

I’m sometimes surprised that people don’t report their problems until the very last minute, making them bigger than they need to be. In my ideal world, I would like to see problems reported sooner to prevent future problems.

What event in your life has been important to you?

I started my career in horticulture, growing plants. Later, I made the switch to selling Apple devices, which introduced me to the technical aspects. In 2019, I took my steps into sales. In 2022, I found my way to Root3, where I gradually progressed to System Engineer. This change has been very positive for me. Now I can separate work and private life more easily and I now do much more where my heart lies.

How do you view working from home?

Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest advantages is the elimination of travel time. No more traffic jam stress, which means I can manage my time more efficiently. With no noise around me in the office, I can concentrate better on my tasks. Of course, there are also disadvantages to working from home. It is more difficult to have quick consultations with colleagues, which can sometimes lead to delays in projects. Moreover, there is less easy social contact than when I am in the office or at the client’s premises. I also noticed that I do my laundry at home more often.

Where would you like to develop further?

At Root3 we are in an industry where everything changes quickly. Therefore, I want to continue to develop in the latest MDM features and other technical aspects that change every year. Both for Root3 and on a personal level, I want to expand my knowledge in network technology.

What can we wake you up for?

You really don’t need to wake me up at night.