Get to know Ihssane Jibou

On how she moved from Morocco to Luxembourg. 

Today, we’re chatting with one of our colleagues, who is a total rockstar when it comes to data analytics. She’s got a fascinating story to share about her journey to Cubis Luxembourg, and the challenges she faced along the way. Let’s dive in!

Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your background? 

Hi, my name is Ihssane and I’m a data & analytics consultant at Cubis Luxembourg. I graduated from an engineering school in 2018 in Morocco. After that, I started working for Teal Technology services  where I worked 3,5 years as an SAP Analytics Consultant. In the end of 2021, I started working for  an SAP Partner. While I was working for that company, I got in touch with Soufiane via Linkedin. He contacted me and after that, my application process at Cubis Luxembourg started and the rest is history.

How did you get into data analytics?  

During my studies, I had a data-related subject and learned about Business Intelligence. I really enjoyed that part of my study, especially since I’m not so into programming. During my internship I could practice a lot of the skills I learned during the lessons. I think you can learn the most by doing it, so I was happy to put the theory into practice. Also, a friend of mine was really into SAP. We started talking about it and it sounded so interesting that I was triggered to start my career in SAP as well.

How did you get in touch with Cubis? How did you experience the application process?  

I got a notification on LinkedIn that Soufiane Boulaamayl, managing director of Cubis Luxembourg, viewed my profile, and we started talking. Soufiane told me that there was an opportunity in Luxembourg for me, and my profile was a perfect fit. The fact that my husband was also looking for opportunities all over the world made Soufiane’s offer quite interesting, as we could move together to Luxembourg. My application process involved a first interview with Soufiane, a second interview with Eric, senior manager in Luxembourg and Jeroen, CEO of the Intellus Group, and after that, I got an offer. The good thing was that my husband also got an offer in Luxembourg 15 days later. So, the timing really was perfect. We both accepted and started our paperwork to move from Morocco to Luxembourg. It was like a match made in heaven! 😉

What was the biggest challenge you experienced when moving to Luxembourg and how did you tackle this challenge?  

So, we both accepted our offers and were ready to take the next step in our lives. We had only three months to move to Luxembourg, so it was a big rush to get here on time. We were a bit worried about finding a new apartment, as the rent is high, and the number of available apartments is low. There was a lot of stress because it took a while to arrange everything. We had to move all our stuff from our apartment to our parents’ house, I had to sell my car, we had to arrange all the paperwork, our visa, …. But we managed it! Once we got our apartment, we could finally relax and enjoy our new chapter together. We started from scratch again here in Luxembourg, so it’s been quite an adventure!

What are the biggest differences between working in Morocco and working in Luxembourg? 

In Morocco, I worked for 2 companies. The first one was a very big company with a lot of structure, everything was well managed, we had access to a lot of trainings, we got a lot of advantages and so on. The second company in Morocco was the total opposite. So that was a big difference for me. But it’s good to taste a variety of company cultures. As a consultant, you will be working for different companies in different environments. What I immediately experienced at Cubis Luxembourg, was the familiar atmosphere. There is a flat hierarchy, everyone is on the same level, you can talk about anything, it feels very welcoming here. We are really one warm family.

How did you develop yourself as a data analyst and which skills did you develop the most?  

I’m an SAP Analytics Consultant. In order to deliver reports to the business, you have to gather the business requirements. You have to identify the different sources that will be used. And after that, you need to do some conception, some data modelling so you know how to gather all the data to get the information using SAP Business Intelligence Tools (SAP BO/BI). That’s what I was meanly doing in Morocco.

Once I came to Luxembourg, I learned my first steps in ABAP thanks to the trainings I had to follow here at Cubis. I also had a BW training and followed some courses on Udemy. At my first project in Cargolux, I had the chance to implement all the things that I learned during my trainings at Cubis. Now, I’m currently focusing on BW. I had a BW training at the Intellus Group HQ, in Boortmeerbeek a while ago, so I got the chance to sharpen my skills on that topic. I have now more knowledge in different tools and technologies. It’s great to know that if you want to learn something, you will get the chance to develop yourself!

Can you tell us about a project you are most proud of and what was your role in that project?  

At my first customer I worked on a project where there was a lot of ERP involved. For me, it was also very interesting to understand how the clients are working here in Luxembourg. Because it was my first project in another country. I got really familiar with the client, I got to know how they handle things. There is not a huge difference with the way of working in Morocco. But putting into practice what I learned in the trainings was very interesting. I feel very blessed that I joined such a warm atmosphere where everyone is very helpful.

What are the biggest challenges facing data analysts and how do you think the industry will evolve in the future?

I think that the biggest challenges facing data analysts are data Integration for data stored in different systems, data quality when it comes to work with inaccurate, or inconsistent data, and Real-time Analytics that is becoming essential for decision-making that requires efficient tools and optimized development for better performance. The technology landscape is already evolving rapidly, so we need to stay updated with the latest tools, techniques, and best practices to keep up with it.

What are the most important tools and technologies you use every day when working with data and why are they important?

It depends on the project. Every project is different, so you use a lot of the same tools, from ETL into front end reporting tools as SAP Analytics Cloud, going through modeling like SAP BW, SAP HANA, or IDT. It depends on what the client uses. But SAP HANA is my favorite modeling tool because besides being an in-memory database it is also an application platform that accelerates data processing and analysis.

How do you think companies can use data analytics to improve their business results?   

For example, you are working for an industrial company. You have a lot of transactions. You have a lot of raw data that doesn’t give you any insights. You want to have an overview of your company’s activity. You can’t get this information if you don’t do an analysis on all your raw data. That is when we step in! We make sure your raw data is structured and gives you insights on how to steer your business and make the right decisions to improve your company’s health.

What is your opinion about women in the data world?

Well, it’s stereotype to think that the data world contains only men or is a men’s world. But we, women, have also a lot of knowledge on data and analytics. If you have a look at my colleagues in Luxembourg, you can see that almost 50% of the employees is female. I’m really proud that more and more women that are interested in data & analytics. We get recognized, and I’m very happy about that.

What are your personal goals and ambitions for the future and how do you hope to achieve them?  

I really want to focus on my career, learn new things. As a consultant, I want to have the balance between the technical and the functional part. It’s not enough to be a strong technical person. The combination of both is very important because I’m convinced that if you combine the logical and strategical knowledge with the technical implementation, you can get very far in this world!

Why do you think someone should apply for a job at Cubis?

I think no one should doubt about applying for Cubis. You really get the feeling that you belong in a team. You get the opportunity to learn on your own pace but also from your colleagues. That’s what is beautiful here, everyone works together and shares their knowledge to reach the highest level in data and analytics.  Besides that, you also grow as a person. They really invest in you. And that’s not something you’ll find in every company. There is a great atmosphere and I really love that.