It's strange how, looking back, you don't measure your career in projects – but in moments.

My path began at the end of the Windows NT era, when Active Directory was still new and most things simply meant manual work. I understood how identity really works long before I had tools to manage it. Maybe that's exactly what shaped me: I always wanted to know why something works – not just that it works.

15 Years of Consulting – Avanade, CGI, and the Public Sector

The following 15 years in consulting – 10 of them at Avanade and CGI – were a blend of technology, people, and organizations. At CGI, I had the chance to dive deep into public administration: KVR Munich and BLKA. That world has its own rhythm. Security, compliance, and traceability are not projects there – they are prerequisites. You build differently when people depend on reliability.

Going In-House: enfas and a New Perspective

At some point, I wanted to know what it feels like to not just give recommendations, but to be part of a system that runs under load every single day. That's why I joined enfas – working with Thomas Plaschko and a team that was technically further ahead than you'd expect from a 40-person company.

And Then COVID Hit

While uncertainty was everywhere, we had to deliver. M365, Teams, Zero Trust, Conditional Access. We had YubiKeys, certified VPN connections, Fortigate firewalls, a large Atlassian on-prem setup, and a cloud strategy that had to be implemented faster than anyone had anticipated.

We tried a lot, learned a lot, and corrected some things along the way. The hybrid device world (AD-joined + Azure AD-joined)? A chapter I would write differently today – but I'm glad I lived through it. Not everything in IT is elegant. But every stumble leaves you with experience.

Change, Decisions, and What Comes Next

Then came the acquisition. A company suddenly changes direction – and you have to decide whether you go along or take a different turn.

By that time, my move into self-employment was already in the making. Not as an escape, but as the natural next step on my path.

And then came a conversation with Peter. No big moment. No drama. Just someone who asks the right question at the right time. Enough to shift my timeline – not my plan itself.

What Every Chapter Taught Me

Today, I know that every chapter changed me in its own way.

NT was the phase where patience was the only way forward. Active Directory showed me how structure creates order – even when it's uncomfortable. My time at Avanade and CGI taught me how differently organizations operate, and that technology is rarely the real conflict. KVR and BLKA brought me closer to responsibility – not as a concept, but as a daily reality. enfas made me bolder, faster, more spontaneous, and showed me that mistakes are only a problem when you ignore them. And the acquisition taught me that change is not an event – it's a state.

And somewhere along the way, I realized that I enjoy being the bridge – between technology and reality, between concepts and people, between cloud and organization.

Why I'm Sharing This

I'm not writing this to sell myself. If you work independently, you naturally want to be found – but not through big words. Through the path you've walked and the experiences that shaped you.

And what I take away from all these years:

You always meet twice in life. And the way you carry yourself along the way – the willingness to give something without expecting anything in return right away – that sticks.

I believe that much of it comes back on its own when you do things with good intentions. Often at the very moment you least expect it.

Complex IT? I make it simple – with M365 that protects, scales, and simplifies processes. For SMBs that think ahead digitally.