Timo Casanova
Freelancer (SAP and AI)
Experience
Jun 2024 - Present
1 year 2 months Vienna, Austria
Freelancer (SAP and AI)
Timo Casanova e.U.
- Specialised in SAP architecture, SAP Basis, S4, SAP Migration - R3 and IT-infrastructure (On Premise and Cloud)
- Leading complex SAP S/4HANA implementation/migration projects
- Consulted on and optimized SAP landscapes for large enterprises
- Developing tailored IT infrastructure solutions for SAP system environments
- Managing projects from conception to go-live, including post-implementation support ensuring best practices
Nov 2023 - Present
1 year 9 months Bielefeld, Germany
Technical Pre-Sales SAP Manager
IT Service Provider
- Technical consulting
- Consulting and planning of SAP architecture, SAP cut-over strategies, sizing of SAP environments, calculation of operational costs and server hardware (On-Prem and hyperscaler)
- Consulting and solution proposals for new and existing customer segments
- Ad hoc customer visits across Europe with the entire SAP team for direct solution proposals, marketing and presentation of the proposed SAP architecture
- Designing and conducting customer workshops for SAP S/4 HANA introduction at Management/CIO level
- Developing product-related sales and marketing measures in collaboration with specialist departments
- Participation in SAP customer tenders
- Technologies used: SAP R/3, SAP S/4, SAP Business on HANA, SAP BTP, SAP BW on HANA, SAP RISE on Public Cloud, SAP RISE on Private Cloud, SAP BW on HANA, AWS, Microsoft Azure, SAP Basis, SAP Business Suite on HANA
May 2023 - Sep 2023
5 months Frankfurt, Germany
SAP & Generative AI Manager
Law
- Developed a prototype for a generative AI language model. The main goal of the project was to create a model capable of analyzing and comparing M&A contracts (Mergers & Acquisitions) to identify gaps or deficiencies.
- Requirements analysis and planning by gathering specific requirements and preparing data collection
- Model development and training by analyzing a variety of M&A contracts.
Apr 2023 - Jun 2024
1 year 3 months Frankfurt, Germany
Manager for SAP and Generative AI
SKAD GmbH
- Leading teams in the implementation of SAP solutions and Gen AI technologies in mission-critical projects for digitalization and process optimization
- Managing SAP S/4 migrations (On-Prem, SAP Cloud)
- Developing and implementing comprehensive strategies for integrating SAP systems and generative AI tools to address critical business challenges and generate competitive advantages
- Providing deep expertise in SAP and GenAI platforms, consulting on the selection, customization and implementation of technology solutions for clients
Apr 2021 - Sep 2021
6 months Vienna, Austria
IT-Consultant
Public Services
- Supported a SAP S/4 tender worth €1.5 million
- Inventory analysis of IT infrastructure (IBM hardware), requirements analysis of the SAP landscape (SAP R/3)
- Managed the procurement process (RFI, RFP, RFQ)
- Negotiations with manufacturers and sourcing partners
- Technologies used: SAP HDB Sizing Tool, SAP RISE on Private Cloud, SAP ECC, SAP BTP, SAP Fiori, SAP S/4 HANA, IBM Power9, IBM Enterprise Storage Data Solutions, AWS Managed Cloud Hosting, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Service Cloud
Nov 2020 - May 2021
7 months Vienna, Austria
SAP Cut-Over Manager
Public Services
- Project management of all migration activities for new IT infrastructure (SAP, storage, servers, etc.) across 50 instances
- Workshop management for requirements analysis, IT infrastructure conception including cloud environment, system load assessment, coordination meetings, status reports on cut-over activities
- Technical design of the migration path with all involved departments, escalation meetings
- Lead the migration
- Technologies used: SAP, SAP Public Cloud, WSUS, Microsoft Exchange Server, Dell Storage Fabrics, AWS Object Storage, Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing
Sep 2020 - Dec 2022
2 years 4 months Vienna, Austria
Infrastructure Solutioning & Business Development
Schrittmacher Netzwerkconsulting GmbH
- Led IT infrastructure migrations & IT delivery management group
- Provided technical & business guidance to customers migrating from on-prem to cloud infrastructure with various providers (AWS, Microsoft, IBM)
- General management for leading Austrian companies within a managed service structure
- Aligned latest IT technology trends with customers’ business strategies
- Led IT migrations
- Provided technical & business guidance to customers from on-prem to cloud
- Restructured and scaled inside & outside sales structure (increasing turnover by double digits)
- Implemented organizational, IT process, and automation system changes to build a foundation for growth
- Developed and implemented a national go-to-market strategy aligned with the business model
From an internal Business Development project (10/2020–12/2022):
- Restructured internal organizational and operational structures to create a successful basis for strategic sales activities
- Developed and implemented a national go-to-market strategy with a managed service business model
- Introduced organizational structure, ITIL processes, and automation in procurement, sales, and IT operations
- Built sales channels
- Key Technologies: ITIL v4, Kanban board, Agile project management, IBM Maximo Service Management
Jul 2019 - Dec 2020
6 months Munich, Germany
SAP Migrations Manager DACH
Aerospace & Defense
- Technical and budgetary planning of a lift-and-shift migration (existing on-prem SAP landscape to IBM private cloud) with concurrent transition to S/4 architectures—60 SAP instances
- Managed a team of five and various external teams
- Defined objectives and prioritized by SAP systems and core processes
- Identified a cut-over strategy and created a detailed cut-over plan including responsibility matrix, required resources and schedule, conducting workshops and coordination meetings
- Coordinated all cut-over activities including communication with all stakeholders (status reports, escalation meetings)
- Handover to operations team including creation of all necessary documentation
- Technologies used: SAP R/3, SAP Suite on HANA, SAP RISE on Private Cloud, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0/2.0), SAP Basis, SAP Data Services, SAP Process Orchestration, HDB Sizing, SAP BTP, SAP SWPM, IBM DB2, SAP MaxDB, SAP NetWeaver, SAP BO, SAP ERP, SAP BW, SAP CRM, SAP Router, SAP Solution Manager, SAP STMS, SAP Ariba, SAP Migration Cockpit, SAP EHP Upgrade, IBM Maximo, IBM Power8, Dell PowerEdge, ITIL v4, Kanban board, IBM Storage Protect, IBM Cloud Backup, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, Nagios
May 2017 - Jan 2018
9 months Austria
SAP Cut-Over Project Manager
Paper & Packaging
- Conducted feasibility study and subsequent proof of concept for an OpenShift container solution for SAP dev systems within a cloud IT infrastructure environment
- Analyzed and evaluated OpenShift method including proposed SAP systems and SAP HANA database
- Built a cloud infrastructure environment (storage, compute, OpenShift) including SAP instance
- Technical project management of implementation including creation of a cut-over plan through workshops, status reports and escalation meetings
- Technologies used: SAP Basis, SAP NetWeaver, SAP R/3, Windows Server, AIX, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0, 2.0), SAP BTP, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Solution Manager, IBM Maximo, Nagios, IBM TSM, ITIL v4, IBM Storage Protect, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS Cloud Object Storage, IBM Private Cloud, SD-WAN, VPN, Agile project management, Docker
Dec 2016 - May 2017
6 months Austria
SAP Migrations Manager
Semiconductor
- Migrated two heterogeneous SAP landscapes (45 SAP systems total) through acquisition in a HA environment
- Developed a cut-over strategy
- Planned all migration and cut-over activities
- Technical planning of data migration and upgrade paths for all SAP instances and databases to a new data center
- Risk management through constant communication with stakeholders, problem solving via escalation meetings
- Onboarded and handed over to the responsible operations team (created necessary documentation)
- Technologies used: IBM AIX, Windows Server, SAP Basis, SAP NetWeaver, SAP R/3, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0, 2.0), SAP BTP, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Solution Manager, IBM Maximo, Nagios, IBM TSM, ITIL v4, IBM Storage Protect, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS Cloud Object Storage, IBM Private Cloud, SD-WAN, VPN, SAP SWPSM
Jan 2015 - Jun 2016
6 months Austria
SAP Technology Consultant
Public Services
- Upgraded a 4-tier ERP, 2-tier Solution Manager and 4-tier BW SAP landscape
- Technical design of SAP upgrade paths
- Performed SAP system copies, database upgrades and performance analyses
- Project management of various IBM tech teams (operations, engineering, IT infrastructure) and the customer’s operations staff
- Managed and executed change requests and coordinated with external developers
- Account management for the customer
- Technologies used: IBM AIX, Windows Server, SAP Basis, SAP NetWeaver, SAP R/3, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0, 2.0), SAP BTP, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Solution Manager, SAP TMS, SAP NetWeaver, IBM Maximo, Nagios, IBM TSM, ITIL v4, ABAP, Java, IBM Storage Protect, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS Cloud Object Storage, IBM Private Cloud, SD-WAN, VPN, SALT, IBM DB2
Oct 2014 - May 2020
5 years 8 months Vienna, Austria
Technology Consultant & Solutioning
IBM Austria AG
- Technical lead for SAP projects & migration (ERP, CRM, BW and Fiori systems) managing agile near-shore delivery SAP team
- Project management of SAP (cut-over, migration, system introduction) including technology change management
- Consultant for infrastructure services and architecture (IaaS) for various leading clients
- Focal point for automation projects, especially SAP S/4HANA IaaS tasks
- IT solutioning for SAP projects (pre-sales & pricing)
As SAP Solution Architect DACH (01/2019–06/2020):
- Led a team of five, technical/financial planning of SAP architecture including integration of SAP BTP with off-loaded application servers in hyperscaler environments and cut-over methodology
- Technical and financial planning of bespoke SAP infrastructure solutions across the IT architecture for both existing and new customers
- Designed and architected system solutions with focus on:
- SAP S/4 Cloud infrastructure solutions through workshops
- SAP projects for system modernization, implementation of latest technologies and operational efficiency improvements (S/4, HANA 2.0, SAP BTP, migration/cut-over plans)
- Created cut-over plans for SAP project teams
- Key Technologies: SAP R/3, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0/2.0), SAP Data Services, SAP Process Orchestration, HDB Sizing, SAP BTP, SAP SWPM, IBM DB2, SAP MaxDB, SAP NetWeaver, SAP Ariba, SAP Fiori, SAP PI, SAP SCI, SAP Gateway, SAP BO, SAP ERP, SAP BW, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP HCM, SAP CRM, SAP Basis, SAP Router, SAP Solution Manager, SAP STMS, SAP Migration Cockpit, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP EHP Upgrade, IBM Maximo, IBM Power8, Dell PowerEdge, ITIL v4, Kanban board, IBM Storage Protect, IBM Cloud Backup, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, Nagios, SD-WAN, VPN
Internal project as SAP Technology Consultant (07/2016–11/2016):
- Developed software for automatic SAP HANA database installation on IBM servers
- Requirements analysis and feasibility study
- Implemented custom JAVA solution using SALT software in IBM data center
- Key Technologies: IBM AIX, Windows Server, SAP Basis, SAP NetWeaver, SAP R/3, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0/2.0), SAP BTP, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Solution Manager, IBM Maximo, Nagios, IBM TSM, ITIL v4, IBM Storage Protect, Red Hat OpenShift, SAP TMS, SAP SWPM, SAP Unicode Conversion, AWS Cloud Object Storage, IBM Private Cloud, SD-WAN, VPN, SALT, ABAP, Java
As SAP Basis Consultant for Public Services, Semiconductor, Pharma clients (12/2014–12/2015):
- Operated and optimized SAP ERP, BW, Fiori, Solution Manager, and BO systems
- Administered system landscapes including various databases (DB2, Oracle, MaxDB, SQL) and underlying OS (Windows/AIX/SUSE)
- Managed change requests and coordinated with external consultants
- Administered monitoring, backups and redundant synchronization
- Planned and executed EHP6 upgrades, system copies, Unicode conversions, database upgrades, SPS stack deployments
- Performed performance analyses and optimizations
- Key Technologies: IBM AIX, Windows Server, SAP Basis, SAP NetWeaver, SAP R/3, SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA (1.0/2.0), SAP BTP, SAP Cloud Platform, SAP Solution Manager, SAP TMS, SAP NetWeaver, IBM Maximo, Nagios, IBM TSM, ITIL v4, IBM Storage Protect, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS Cloud Object Storage, IBM Private Cloud, SD-WAN, VPN, SALT
Summary
- Business & Strategy: Translation to Technical and Business Audience, External & Internal Communication, Analytics, Architectural Thinking
- IT: IT Governance, IT Service Management, Performance Management, IT Delivery & Migration, IT Operations & Upgrade Management, IT-Infrastructure, SAP Systems (CRM, ERP, APO, BW, SCM, DB HANA, S/4 HANA)
- Software Engineering: Software Engineering with Chaos Programming, RUP, UML Design, Expert in JAVA, C, C#, C##, Profound Knowledge with PLSQL and RDBMS Database Architecture, CICS, Cobol
Languages
German
Native
English
Advanced
French
Elementary
Education
Oct 2012 - Aug 2014
Universität Klagenfurt
MSc International Management · International Management · Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
Oct 2012 - Aug 2014
Business School La Rochelle
MSc International Management · International Management · La Rochelle, France
Oct 2009 - Jul 2013
Fachhochschule Kärnten
BA Information Management · Information Management · Austria
Certifications & licenses
SAP HANA 2.0 certification
SAP
Technology Consultant & Solutioning
IBM Austria AG
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