At Technology from Sage our purpose is to support libraries in advancing teaching, learning and research. We can’t achieve this mission without the work of the talented team at Technology from Sage, so we’ve launched a series of posts for you to find out more about the team.
In this Meet the Team post, we’re joined by Daniel Horvath, Product Director at Technology from Sage.
1. Tell us about joining Technology from Sage and your experience beforehand
I worked at Lean Library for 4 years before joining the Technology from Sage Leadership Team in 2022, which was an exciting time. My background has always been in product; I worked as a Quality Assurance assistant, did a bit of product training and consultancy - and a bit of coding myself!
2. Can you tell us a bit about what you do at Technology from Sage?
I am Product Director at Technology from Sage. I lead the product teams across the businesses (Talis, Lean Library, and Sciwheel), and develop the long-term product strategy on the product suite level. Additionally, I work closely with other departments such as sales, and marketing, to align our efforts and support them in their work.
3. What excites you most about your work at Technology from Sage?
I am excited about the opportunities and possibilities we are seeing at Technology from Sage, and it’s great to be working with a team full of bright, talented and motivated people on these opportunities.
4. How have you been putting Technology from Sage’s strategy and values into action?
At Technology from Sage, we believe that librarians are fundamental to learning and research at their institution and that the right technology can remove barriers to knowledge. This is particularly true for the product department. The ultimate goal of our products is to make learning and research easier for our users (the library's patrons). Therefore, we need knowledge and input from librarians when we build and develop our product suite. To achieve this, we conduct regular interviews, workshops and feedback discussions with our librarian partners (and their users!) to ensure our roadmaps are meeting their needs. On top of that, we work closely with a few libraries as development partners, who directly advise on specific products as we develop and grow.
5. What’s the best day you’ve ever had at work? Is there a particular project or milestone you are proud of?
I don’t think I’d be able to pick one particular day from the last 5 years. It has been an exciting and challenging journey, through which we have been continuously evolving, and as we’ve evolved, we face different challenges to solve. This has been keeping my work at Lean Library and Technology from SAGE ever exciting and enjoyable.
6. What three things are always on your desk?
I try to keep my desk as clean as possible, so apart from my keyboard, mouse and speakers, most times there isn’t anything else on my desk (well, maybe a cup of coffee).
7. Is there a quote or mantra that you live by? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard?
A quote I recently heard from Rick and Morty goes 'Confidence is the food of the wise man but the liqueur of the fool'. I found it to be a great and humbling quote.
8. It’s your day off. What do you have planned?
You will almost certainly find me with my friends having fun by the beach or having dinner and boardgame nights.
9. If you didn’t work at Technology from Sage or in your current role, what would you want to do?
Good question. I feel I would either work on a similar project and product, or do something totally different like video editing and videography that is my main hobby.
