Ville Santaniemi, Senior Partner at QOCO Systems, entered world aviation in 2005 when he started working for Finnair. It did not take long for him to find the position where he felt he could contribute the most to the success of the company. Having a strong background in IT (teaching Java programming in the university) and having focused heavily on business studies, Ville has always felt comfortable working with and aligning the needs of business and IT. Within aviation, aircraft maintenance and airline operations are the two areas where Ville has gathered the most experience. His career has taken him from Finnair, to Emirates and now to QOCO Systems Ltd as a Senior Partner since 2015 and he says that, honestly speaking, he stumbled into aviation, but has loved the journey from the start.
How did QOCO Systems get started?
QOCO Systems was established in 2009 by my colleague Ilari Neitola, CTO/Chairman of the Board. He wanted to combine his two main interests , aviation and IT. Ilari saw opportunities to improve maintenance planning activities through software combining information from multiple sources with an easy and user-friendly interface. He thought that the best opportunity to drive the change was becoming an entrepreneur and that is when QOCO was established. Ilari ran the company successfully for many years delivering IT solutions for both the aviation and railway industry. In 2015 QOCO’s ownership was reorganized. This is the time when I joined the company as a partner along with Lauri Jämsén and Arttu Kataja. Both Ilari and I have a long history in the aviation field having started working at Finnair while studying at the Helsinki University of Technology (nowadays Aalto University).
Ilari saw opportunities to improve maintenance planning activities through software combining information from multiple sources with an easy and user-friendly interface.
What is the guiding business principle that drives the business?
QOCO has a unique combination of aviation and software development/IT expertise that allows us to deliver high quality solutions for our customers. Our solutions focus on enabling seamless data exchange services for intracompany and intercompany purposes. Quality is at the heart of everything we do and, as of this summer, we are proud to be an ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified organization.
What has the greatest business achievement been to date, and why?
I have to name two achievements here. Our long term partnership with Finnair is the reason why we are here today and we are truly grateful for everyone at Finnair for trusting us. Working together with the airline allows us to deliver solutions that are 100% fit for the purpose. Of course the recently (February, 2021) announced Rolls-Royce partnership is the major achievement for us. In this partnership we are utilizing our strengths to deliver seamless data exchange services, EngineData.io platform, for enabling high value digital services for Rolls-Royce customers.
What have been your disappointments and what have you learned from them?
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has shaken the aviation industry and will continue to do so. Having made the strategic decision to focus solely on the aviation industry makes us vulnerable to global crises such as COVID-19. However, following our passion and utilizing our core competences for the benefit of our customers is the only way out of this crisis.
In a sentence, how would you summarize what the business does for aircraft maintenance customers?
We are the key enabler for new digital services by providing seamless data exchange services and complementary solutions for intra- and intercompany processes.
What will be the next big thing in maintenance Aviation IT?
As maintenance digitalization steadily continues, I see that the next big thing will be the utilization of blockchain technology.
What do you want your customers to say about QOCO Systems Ltd?
Running a successful business within aviation is based on trust. We hope that our customers say that QOCO is their trusted partner to help them to succeed in the changing world by creating new ways to work, to communicate, and to utilise data.
Ville Santaniemi
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