Achim Christ
Master Certified Technical Specialist
I am a Master Certified Technical Specialist at IBM. In this role I lead complex infrastructure modernization projects for the most innovative companies around the globe, to help them get the most out of their IBM solutions.
I use my deep technical knowledge for enabling customers, business partners, and fellow IBM architects to build hybrid cloud infrastructure for high-performance big data and machine learning use cases. I successfully led international teams, helped launch new technologies, and expanded into new market segments. Furthermore, I am training instructor, conference speaker, open source maintainer, and author of numerous books, papers and articles.
I love to dig into customer problems and solve them with cutting-edge technology. This calls to all my passions; it incorporates curiosity, creativity, and problem solving. My specialties include quickly learning new skills, staying on top of industry trends, translating customer requirements into technical specifications, and applying DevOps principles to foster continuous improvement.
I am a graduate of RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, where I majored in Computer Science. I currently live in Mainz, Germany, with my wife and my son. When I'm not exploring new technology, you can find me listening to podcasts, taking pictures, cycling, or running.
Work Experience
IBM, Technology Expert Labs, Infrastructure
Solution Architect
As solution architect for IBM Expert Labs I defined and implemented cutting-edge infrastructure solutions in alignment with business requirements. I collaborated with customers and sales teams to understand client needs, lead technical decisions, and build solution proposals incorporating IBM servers, storage, and software. I scoped and oversaw activities, roles, and timelines for professional services provided to clients spanning various industries.
IBM, EMEA Storage Competence Center
IT Consultant
As senior technical specialist for IBM Systems I helped clients deploy, modernize, and efficiently manage software-defined infrastructure solutions. I headed pre-sales and service development, delivery, and training for various strategic IBM Storage products across EMEA. I became leading technical expert on distributed file systems and object storage technology, specialized in automation and cloud orchestration. Furthermore, I acted as technical lead for a group of 8 senior specialists.
- 2021: Lab Services Award
- 2019: Lab Services Award for demonstrating the practice: Put the client first
- 2017: Lab Services Award for demonstrating the practice: Share expertise
- 2016: Lab Services Award for demonstrating the practice: Listen for need, envision the future
- 2015: Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for: Creating significant assets for IBM Spectrum Scale / ESS storage
- 2012: Lab Service Award for: Delivery excellence in the execution of IBM Storwize V7000 Unified service development & training
- 2011: Lab Service Award for: Delivery excellence in the development & execution of IBM Information Archive services with superior customer satisfaction feedback
IBM, Systems Lab Services, Storage
Chief Technology Officer
As Lab Services CTO for IBM Storage I developed and established the strategic technical direction for the EMEA team. I assessed industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure that the skills of 80+ consultants remained current in order to best support customers in a rapidly evolving market. I liaised with senior leadership to replicate best practices among 9 geographies in Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Freelance
Open Source Maintainer
- 28 public GitHub repositories, 320+ stars, 180+ forks
- 26 GitHub Enterprise (inner source) repositories
- One project later adapted across IBM Storage product portfolio
IBM, Linux Integration Center
Degree Candidate
Thesis title: "Development of a Portal-based Business Application in Combination with an Eclipse Rich Client"
Education
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences
Computer Science
Diploma
Awards
The Open Group Master Certified Technical Specialist
IBM Level 2 Technical Specialist Profession Certification — Expert Level
The Open Group Certified Technical Specialist
IBM Level 1 Technical Specialist Profession Certification — Experienced Level
Publications
Speichernetze — Storage Networks Explained
Co-author of the 3rd edition of the publication: ISBN 978-3-86490-503-2 (dpunkt.verlag)
Managing data storage in a set of storage systems using usage counters
Co-inventor of United States Patent No. US 9-830-101 B2
Skills
Primary
Things I do every day
- Technical Leadership
- Solution Architecture · Systems Design · Systems Engineering
- Software Defined Storage · Clustered File Systems · Distributed Computing
- DevOps & Cloud Orchestration · Infrastructure as Code · Ansible · Terraform · Packer
- Linux · BSD · Unix Administration, Automation & Virtualization
- Cloud Computing · Public Cloud · AWS · IBM Cloud
Secondary
Things I do regularly
- Agile Methodologies
- Structured & Organized
- Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) · Jenkins · Travis CI · GitHub Actions
- Docker · Kubernetes · Red Hat OpenShift
- Kerberos · Microsoft Active Directory
- Hadoop · Cloudera Data Platform
- Monitoring · Nagios · Icinga · Prometheus · Grafana
- Web Technologies
Programming
- Version Control · Git
- Bash · KornShell
- C/C++
- Go · Golang
- Java · Java EE
- JavaScript · Node.js