Project Manager

nicos AG is a specialist in secure global data communication.

As a managed services provider, it connects the sites and production facilities of medium-sized companies worldwide via so-called WANs (Wide Area Networks).

It handles all services from planning and setup to secure 24/7 operation and guarantees maximum availability and the highest possible security with its managed services.

In all projects, I was responsible as project manager for coordinating the work streams:

WAN line procurement

Hardware procurement

Service transition management to coordinate with the customer

Service delivery management for line commissioning

Service operations, handing over to operations for monitoring

Project 1: Data Center Transition

The interim mandate aimed to lead a project divided into three phases for nicos AG and a large private data center.

The project was of high organizational and financial importance for both parties.

It featured an internal and external steering committee with the managing directors/board members of the companies participating.

Additionally, the project involved intensive communication outside the steering committee meetings.

The project was divided into three phases.

Phase 1:

Takeover of about 400 global WAN customer lines from the data center into nicos AG's 24/7 managed service to detect and resolve potential issues early.

The lines were taken over "as is" based on existing lines, without optimization, which was implemented in Phase 2.

Fail-over tests were conducted

Phase 2:

Build a shared infrastructure in nicos data center in Frankfurt with a highly available 4x10G WAN connection to the data center.

Optimize all individual customer sites to ensure maximum availability and security.

For this, individual line and security solutions were developed and implemented for each customer site.

Phase 3:

Replace over 500 VPN connections from hardware solutions in the data center to a shared infrastructure in Frankfurt.

Projects 2-4: WAN solution for existing customers

The mandate aimed to manage the update of the existing WAN infrastructure for two existing customers and a new customer of nicos AG.

The projects differed in scope, affecting the timeline but not the project organization.

All customers operate internationally.

In all projects, new WAN lines were (are) commissioned for all sites.

Due to the semiconductor crisis, needed routers (CISCO) were not delivered on time, so I could not oversee parts of the implementation and commissioning.

Two projects that I handed over to a new project manager are still ongoing.

The mandate aimed to onboard and introduce a new Product Owner in an agile environment.

Coaching into the role for all meetings like sprint planning, review or retro, including personal reflection.

Four weeks before the new Product Owner’s onboarding, I filled the role myself.

The back-office process of billiger-mietwagen.de was the focus.

I founded the company with Dr. Norbert Hartkamp, a psychotherapist in private practice.

The company creates an online platform for psychometric testing.

The target groups are psychological and medical psychotherapists in private practice and clinics.

The eCommerce platform offers content and integrated billing features.

The product has been on the market since 2017 and won the “Digital Future Practice” competition of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians at the end of 2018.

I manage the company and oversee product and development planning agilely using Kanban boards.

This includes preparing user requirements as use cases for development.

Dr. Hartkamp covers the content topics.

My tasks also include resource planning and communication before and during projects with clients.

The company’s concept follows a lean approach with short decision paths and minimal overhead.

We employ one developer and one support staff.

Project-based resources are supplemented by freelancers as needed.

I have ongoing mandates on leadership and communication.

Developing mission statements, goals, and strategies to reach the desired state.

Focusing on values clarification, conflict resolution, and personal development of leaders and employees.

Support in corporate governance and motivation.

Providing space for stakeholders to voice fears in change processes; identifying and resolving resistance.

Facilitating employee-oriented processes to develop communication architectures in Work 4.0 using agile roles, methods, and techniques.

Resolving resistance and uncovering behaviors against the agile mindset.

I support roles like Scrum Master and Product Owner in daily work according to standards and given conditions.

Agile environments differ across companies.

It’s important to clarify what an agile framework, an agile mindset, and implementation rigor mean in each company.

References in leadership development include Stadtwerke Krefeld, NEW AG, ÖRAG Versicherung, and the national bank.

My coaching is in demand across all industries, from startups to teachers, skilled workers, and managers in service and commercial sectors.