Firewall Experts in Germany

• Architected, Deployed and Supported hosted email solutions in Linux and Windows environments with enterprise-grade anti-spam and security architecture for service-provider environments.
• Managed Microsoft Azure environments including Virtual Machines, VNets, Storage, VPN, and Firewall configuration.
• Administered Microsoft Exchange Server (2010-2019), Microsoft Exchange Server SE, Active Directory, PKI, Hyper-V and Zimbra environments with disaster recovery planning and operational support.
• Led Microsoft 365 onboarding and migration projects from Exchange, IMAP, and Zimbra platforms to Microsoft 365.
• Prepare security and compliance to support Microsoft 365 Copilot.
• Implement information protection and data loss prevention by using Microsoft Purview.
• Implement retention, eDiscovery, and communication compliance in Microsoft Purview.
• Integrated Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS).
• Delivered secure hybrid infrastructure solutions integrating Microsoft Windows Server and Linux-based enterprise environments.
• Supported enterprise integration projects involving Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Red Hat, Barracuda ESG, Qmail and Zimbra Platforms.

• Operation and further development of the network and security infrastructure.

• Monitoring, analysis and resolution of network and security incidents.

• Cross-departmental collaboration with other teams on operations and further development, and reporting.

• Firewall vulnerability analysis.

• Firewall access requests.

• Troubleshooting IP communication issues on network and firewall infrastructure.

• Security-critical IT infrastructure, processing of personal data, compliance with legal requirements.

• Products: Palo Alto Networks Firewalls, Cisco ACI, Checkpoint Firewalls, F5

• Technologies: SDN, SDWAN, Cisco EPIC, Cisco ACI

Description of duties “Atruvia / HCL International” Role: HCL Notes Banking Support, Domino Administration / Migration / Operations Operations, administration and technical support of the HCL Notes/Domino environment in the Atruvia banking environment on behalf of HCL. As part of an international support team, the focus was on second- and third-level support as well as the processing, management and monitoring of SLA tickets in categories 1, 2 and 3. Duties included the technical analysis and resolution of incidents in the Notes/Domino environment, system administration, and the development and modification of Lotus Notes /Domino applications and LotusScript agents when a programming solution was required. Another focus was ticket dispatching: analysing and assessing incoming tickets, assigning them to the responsible departments and specialist teams, and subsequently coordinating and tracking processing within the agreed SLA periods. There was also direct communication and coordination with subject-matter experts, departments and end customers of the connected banks. In particular, when language or technical communication problems arose within the international support team, German-language customer communication was handled and mediation between customers and technical specialists was provided. Objective Ensuring stable and reliable operation of the HCL Notes/Domino landscape in the Atruvia banking environment and the timely processing of business-critical support cases in line with the agreed Service Level Agreements. Incidents were to be analysed as early as possible and either resolved directly through administrative measures or suitable LotusScript/Notes solutions, or forwarded specifically to the responsible specialist teams. As of: 25.09.2026 (Version 2.10 LITE) including project times Page: 3 of 32 SPO-SOFT EDV Beratung, Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Kano, Tel.: +494532-2767682, Mail: [email], [link] At the same time, qualified preliminary analysis and targeted ticket dispatching were intended to ensure that every ticket reached the technically and professionally responsible department immediately and that unnecessary transfers, processing times and associated costs were reduced. Result Operational Notes/Domino support for the banks served was reliably ensured throughout the entire project period. SLA-relevant tickets were systematically analysed, prioritised, assigned to the responsible departments and tracked through to resolution. Some incidents were resolved directly through administration, technical error analysis and the development of suitable LotusScript agents and modifications to Notes/Domino applications. By directing tickets specifically to the relevant expert and specialist teams, incorrect assignments and unnecessary processing loops were reduced and compliance with the agreed SLA times was supported. Direct communication with the banks and mediation between German-speaking end customers and the international support team also contributed to efficient problem resolution and high customer satisfaction.

As part of preparing and providing operational support for a company succession:

• Company analysis: Analysis of the overall economic, organizational and structural situation (current status, strengths/weaknesses, potential risks)
• Process analysis: Recording and documentation of all relevant business processes (BPMN, UML) in the areas of management, finance, purchasing, sales and operations
• Process optimization: Identification of weaknesses and inefficiencies, development and operational implementation of improvement measures
• Stakeholder management: Identification and analysis of all relevant internal and external stakeholders; structured communication and coordination with former and future owners, shareholders and employees
• Change management: Supporting employees and management throughout the handover process; building acceptance and trust among all parties involved
• Governance & documentation: Preparation and handover of structured operating manuals, process documentation and an organizational manual for the new business owner
• Risk & weakness analysis: Assessment of operational and strategic risks in the handover process and development of recommendations for action
• Operational support: Interim assumption of management responsibilities; ensuring business continuity during the transition phase

• Strategic planning, detailed technical preparation and operational management of an email gateway migration in a security-critical government environment.
• Preparation of the technical specification and development of technical concepts and migration approaches in line with BSI requirements.
• Technical requirements management with business units, information security and operations.
• Coordination of external service providers, integrators and implementation partners; maintenance of project plans, milestones, resources, risks and dependencies.
• Regular reporting to project management, the program environment and internal stakeholders.

Migration of an existing application to a new IT infrastructure.

• Managed all project activities (infrastructure, applications, data, security, architecture)
• Planned complex network architectures with security requirements
• Designed and coordinated firewall configurations
• Planned and managed interfaces between ERP, cloud, and third-party systems
• Coordinated middleware solutions (e.g. SAP Integration Suite, MuleSoft, Boomi)
• Defined data flows, mapping rules, and integration architectures
• Managed data migrations and master data harmonization
• Coordinated with business departments, IT teams, service providers, and external partners
• Team size: International team of 35 employees – Germany | Poland | India | USA
• Languages: English

Tools: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project), Brainloop, Jira, Confluence, MS SharePoint

• Functional management and further development of a team of 28 IT employees (internal & external) in the areas of HelpDesk / HelpLine, RHEL (Red Hat), MUREX (trading system & applications), SAP basic operations
• Management of external service providers (including FI-TS for SAP basic operations)
• Personnel, resource and budget planning for the IT department and projects
• Introduction and establishment of regular communication formats (regular meetings, team and cross-departmental meetings)
• Ensuring application operations in a hybrid environment (Windows / Linux with database and web/application servers)
• Support for transformation projects to modernize the application landscape (e.g. DevOps approaches)
• Building and introducing digital IT procurement for hardware & software (e.g. with DELL)
• Development and management of the „IT Operations DOS" department based on the company strategy
• Preparation of management reports & decision papers on IT projects, optimization potential and automation opportunities
• Representing the department in Rentenbank committees and ensuring regulatory compliance (BaFin §44, DSGVO, BSI, MaRisk)

• Completed the integration of log sources into Microsoft Sentinel, including GCP workloads – centralized consolidation of all security-relevant events from Azure and GCP environments for complete end-to-end telemetry and comprehensive compliance evidence
• Developed custom rules and use cases based on the GFG Use-Case Library and the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix to cover company-specific threats and GFG-relevant scenarios with precise, mapped detection rules
• Tuned detection rules to minimize false positives, optimized detection thresholds, and modeled exceptions – enabling the SOC to work with relevant, prioritized alerts while reducing Mean Time to Detect/Respond
• Built SOAR capabilities in Sentinel by developing playbooks to automate recurring response processes such as containment, user and host isolation, and ticketing – shorter response times and 24/7 scalability
• Designed and built a log transformation solution to normalize and enrich incoming raw logs (GeoIP, CMDB, threat intelligence) and convert them into a consistent schema for high-performance KQL queries, use case logic, and correlations
• Managed Azure security through Azure Policies to enforce security and compliance standards, prevent drift, and continuously remediate deviations
• Operated the Defender XDR portal to link endpoint, identity, email, and SaaS signals with Sentinel findings, enable holistic incident triage, and orchestrate measures directly from XDR

Technologies: Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender XDR, Azure Policy, KQL, GCP, MITRE ATT&CK

As part of this project, the existing active network infrastructure was modernized and made fit for the future. The goal was to introduce a powerful, secure and scalable network and WLAN infrastructure, including a Network Access Control (NAC) solution to improve network security and centralized access control.

At the beginning of the project, a comprehensive requirements analysis was carried out, taking into account the technical, operational and security-related requirements of the hospital sites. On this basis, a technical tender was prepared for new switches, WLAN access points and the NAC solution.

The successful implementation of the project established a modern, standardized and secure network infrastructure that meets the growing requirements for availability, mobility and IT security in hospital operations.

Activities:

• Supporting the tender process, including technical evaluation of offers and bidder evaluation
• Leading and managing the entire project implementation
• Coordinating the project process with internal stakeholders, business units and hospital IT
• Managing external service providers during the implementation and installation of the systems
• Monitoring the implementation, including quality control, project acceptance and defect management
• Coordinating and managing communication between hospital IT and external service providers as part of the NAC implementation
• Managing escalations in the event of technical and organizational challenges
• Ongoing budget monitoring and control of project expenses and additional costs
• Preparing decision papers for management on project changes, additional services and risks

• Managed Microsoft Cloud Accelerator Factory (CAF) programs for global enterprise customers, ensuring Azure cloud implementations aligned with security, governance, and compliance best practices, including ISO 27001-aligned controls and cloud security frameworks.
• Managed complex global enterprise transformation programs with strong focus on project delivery, financial governance, budget control, planning, risk management, and executive reporting, ensuring delivery within scope, timeline, and budget.
• Led the implementation of e-invoicing solutions for Nestlé, coordinating finance, IT, business stakeholders, and external providers to ensure successful integration, testing, rollout, and delivery of electronic invoicing processes.
• Managed an Oracle-to-PostgreSQL database migration, coordinating technical teams, application owners, testing activities, dependencies, risks, and cutover planning to ensure a controlled and successful transition.
• Led cross-functional programs involving finance and payment-related processes, enterprise platforms, and system integrations, with strong stakeholder management across business, IT, vendors, and senior leadership.
• Delivered transformation programs in FMCG environments, including Nestlé, managing complex international stakeholder structures, third-party providers, governance, RAID management, and business-critical dependencies.

As PMO for the key focus areas of the IT Planning Council in Saxony-Anhalt, I am responsible for monitoring the four funded projects in Saxony-Anhalt to ensure compliance with funding guidelines, the State Budget Code, project standards, scope, and objectives.

• Central PMO for four digitalization and funding projects as part of the Digital Strategy of the State of Saxony-Anhalt
• Cross-project coordination and management in collaboration with the ministry, FITKO, and project leads
• Planning, structuring, and tracking project milestones, deadlines, and work packages
• Creating and maintaining project, status, and final documentation
• Establishing and carrying out cross-project reporting to ensure transparency and traceability
• Carrying out budget and cost control and supporting the financial management of projects
• Setting up and continuously maintaining cross-project risk management, including assessment, action planning, and escalation
• Coordinating change management, including assessing, planning, and tracking change requests
• Monitoring project progress through planned-versus-actual comparisons and identifying optimization and management actions
• Aligning and communicating with all relevant stakeholders through designated contacts
• Supporting compliance with funding, procurement, and budgetary requirements
• Preparing and facilitating status meetings and management reviews
• Ensuring transparent, timely, and quality-focused project delivery across several concurrent funded projects.

• Development of a comprehensive transformation model for IT departments and ITSM organizations, from operational stabilization through structuring and optimization to strategic advancement
• Design of a transformation matrix that connects development phases with the implementation activities Position, Focus, Model, Enable, Anchor and Develop
• Development of assessment, maturity and decision-making logic to determine the operational starting point, the appropriate entry point and the prioritized areas of action
• Structuring of an end-to-end approach from current-state assessment and target vision through operating model, roadmap and service modules to implementation and integration into steady-state operations
• Derivation of combinable consulting and implementation modules, including methods, deliverables, role models, governance structures and transformation paths
• Collection, structuring and prioritization of business requirements from the perspectives of IT management, service management and operational roles
• Translation of requirements into target visions, process and role models, decision criteria and traceable deliverables

Environment / Tools: ITIL 4, IT4IT, Operating Model Canvas, SIAM, maturity models Kanban

• User account management and creation in Active Directory
• Group management and updates in Active Directory
• Permissions management on file servers
• Exchange/Outlook support
• VPN setup
• System and product support: Windows 10, Windows 11, Office 2019, Office 365, Active Directory, TeamViewer, RSA VPN, Microsoft Teams, RSA Security Console, Deep Discovery Mail Inspector, ServiceNow, Macmon

• Management of firewalls (Securepoint)
• Operation and maintenance of the client-server infrastructure (Windows)
• Operation and patching of IoT devices in the hazard management system (cameras, Web IOS, IP-to-serial converters)
• Support with the integration of security technology into existing IT infrastructures
• Planning and implementation of network segmentation and separation
• Transfer and implementation of solutions in other plants
• Tools used: Wireshark, Network Service Manager, PRTG, Cisco Catalyst, Nexus, HP Service, FNT/Command Manager Console, Service Now, Confluence, Active Directory, Wingard, Securepoint FW.