24 June 2025

Johanna Rantanen

At the Heart of the Product Management Team: RAIsoft.net and Listening to Customers

Vitec Raisoft’s new product management team was established at the end of 2024 when Jan Finell began his new role as Chief Product Officert on December 1st. During the spring of 2025, Raisoft’s organizational structure was reshaped, and Jan’s team was strengthened: Mari Sipilä was appointed Product Manager, and the support team, led by Juha Himanka, transitioned from the development team to become part of product management.

Jan Finell is one of Vitec Raisoft’s first employees and knows the software inside and out. This is an excellent foundation for his new role, but Jan also acknowledges the challenges it brings—especially the need to shift perspectives and avoid falling into the trap of “this is how we’ve always done it.”

“Even the first few months have shown that this is an important team; honestly, it could have been established long ago. The work is just beginning, but it’s already clear that the team will grow over time,” he says.

Product Manager Mari Sipilä agrees:

“It feels like we’ve already gained new clarity and perspective in just a few weeks.”

“In my previous roles, I was always focused on the present and also involved in selling our product to customers. Much of the work was ad hoc—reacting to and addressing immediate needs. Now, I’m looking ahead with a long-term perspective. I’ve had to shift my mindset to gain new insights. This team also considers many things that previously didn’t fall under anyone’s role,” Jan reflects.

 

Investing in Customer Communication

CPO Jan Finell is pleased with the new team and looks forward to getting the work fully underway with a larger group.

“We’re now clarifying our product strategy and building a concrete action plan for 2026–2027.”

He cautions against expecting too much too soon. The impact of the new team will take time to become visible, and in the beginning, many small steps are needed before bigger leaps can be made.

“An important part of the product management team’s work is also improving customer communication. We want to inform our customers better and more proactively about upcoming changes. With this team, RAIsoft.net is always at the center, and listening to the customer is the most important thing. We align that with the company’s and the software’s long-term goals and strategy.”

Product Manager Mari Sipilä has already worked closely with customers in her previous role, leading the Vitec Raisoft development forum and hosting informational webinars about software development. She plans to stay close to customers going forward.

“I bring customer feedback and requests to the product management team, and through us, they are refined into development requirements for the development team,” she explains, adding that the integration of support into product management has been a natural progression. “I’ve worked closely with support for years. It’s great that support is now part of product management—just as it should be!”

CPO Jan Finell concludes:

“Our job is to understand WHAT the customers want to solve and WHY. Once we’ve clarified that, we pass the ball to the development team, who figure out HOW.”