ABOUT ME
BEN ABT
Platform Architect · Engineer · Coach · Microsoft MVP
Hi, I'm Ben and I use code to solve your problems.
I'm a Principal Software Engineer at Medialesson GmbH, specialized in cloud and hybrid platforms on Azure and .NET, with a strong focus on performance, scalability and sustainability.
I have been a Microsoft MVP for .NET and Azure since 2015 and support the developer community through publications, talks, articles and open source projects, as well as through myCSharp.de - the largest and most active C# forum in the German-speaking world.
OPEN FOR WORK - BUILDING HIGH-PERFORMANCE CLOUD PLATFORMS
Currently open for work and available for new opportunities, with a strong focus on building high-performance cloud platforms using .NET, Azure, modern APIs and AI-driven components.
Microsoft MVP since 2015
Recognized for exceptional technical expertise and community engagement in the area of Developer Technologies (.NET, C# and ASP.NET Core) and Microsoft Azure.
.NET Experience
C#, ASP.NET Core, EF Core
Azure Cloud Focus
Cloud Native, Serverless, PaaS
Software Architecture
Modular Monolith, Microservices, DDD, Event-Driven
Machine Learning and AI
Azure Cognitive Services, OpenAI, Custom AI Solutions, Copilot
Professional experience
Medialesson GmbH
Principal Software Engineer
2022 - Present
- Cross-project accountability for technology and architecture decisions
- Strategic guidance and hands-on support to implementation teams
- Design and implementation of highly scalable, end-to-end cloud solutions based on Azure, .NET and container technologies
- Define and drive key technical strategies
- Trusted advisor to C-level executives and technical stakeholders on cloud and AI initiatives
- Develop and deliver professional training sessions and workshops covering cloud computing, Azure, .NET, security, and AI scalability
CGI Deutschland
Director Expert for IoT and Industry 4.0
2021 - 2022
- Leadership in Microsoft Azure IoT, delivering internal and external consulting
- Conception and implementation of highly available IIoT and IoT platforms (cloud-based and on-premises)
- Solutions for manufacturing, agriculture, and facility management sectors
- Presales activities across Southern Germany focusing on development, Microsoft Cloud, IIoT, and IoT solutions
- Development advisory centered on .NET, ASP.NET, containers, Azure, and IoT
- Cloud advisory emphasizing Azure technologies
- Planning and delivery of comprehensive trainings and workshops on .NET, ASP.NET, Azure Functions, Azure Web Apps, Azure DevOps, GitHub, CI/CD, Docker, Azure IoT, modern API development and scalable cloud architectures
Devoteam GmbH
Principal Consultant - Cloud / IoT / Connected Factory / Industry 4.0
2018 - 2020
- Internal and external consulting for highly available IIoT and IoT-focused cloud and on-premises platforms
- Conceptualized and delivered trainings, technical talks, and deep-dive workshops on .NET, ASP.NET, Docker, and Azure
- .NET Guild Leader and Offer Owner for IIoT and IoT
- Strategic initiatives and presales activities throughout the DACH region
- Focus on development, Microsoft Cloud, and industrial IoT solutions
- Active speaker at user groups, conferences, and meetups
Alegri GmbH (acquired by Devoteam)
Lead Consultant - Cloud / IoT / Connected Factory/ Industry 4.0
2015 - 2018
- Internal and external consulting for highly available IIoT and IoT-focused platforms
- Design and implementation for manufacturing, farming, and facility management industries
- Solutions built with .NET, Azure, Azure IoT, Azure IoT Edge, AWS, AWS IoT, and Rancher
- Azure DevOps-based workflows implementation
- Trainings and workshops on .NET, ASP.NET, Docker, Azure, Azure IoT, Azure IoT Edge, DevOps, modern API development, cloud architecture, and IoT architecture
- .NET Guild Leader and Offer Owner for IIoT and IoT
- Strategic initiatives and presales activities across DACH region
- Active tech community contributor as speaker at user groups, conferences, and meetups
TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG
Architect + Engineer - C# / ASP.NET / Angular / Cloud + IoT
2008 - 2015
- Planning, development, and support of distributed web applications based on ASP.NET MVC, WebAPI, WebSockets, and MongoDB
- Automated generation of operating systems and components for machine controls
- Design and maintenance of custom backup systems for Windows XPe and Windows Embedded-based machine controls
- Development of software modules for machine controls running on Windows 7 Embedded
- Performance-optimized low-level libraries based on .NET and Win32 API
- Software installation, distribution, and production processes
- Supervision and technical support to system developers worldwide
- Planning and development of distributed, cloud-based web applications in Industry 4.0 and IoT context
- Silo-Leader Web Stack: architecture and implementation of web stack and single-page application
- Technologies: ASP.NET, OData, HTML5, AngularJS, and TypeScript
- Transfer to newly founded subsidiary Axoom GmbH in Karlsruhe
Professional projects
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and migration of an enterprise reporting platform from on-premises to Microsoft Fabric with Power BI reporting.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement integration with SAP and internal systems
- Design and build the Microsoft Fabric data platform
- Design and establish the DevOps strategy using GitHub Actions
- Plan and execute the migration from on-premises Microsoft SQL Server and Analysis Services to Microsoft Fabric and Power BI
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and implement a multi-agent AI platform for AI-assisted analysis and interaction to improve grid stability and operational decision-making for an energy utility.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement the Azure-based platform
- Build an agent-to-agent (A2A) platform for orchestrating multiple cooperating agents
- Integrate external APIs and data sources (e.g., ENTSO-E, wind turbines, solar plants and data providers)
- Integrate the platform into existing systems of the energy utility
Platform-Architect / -Engineer / -Coach
Design and architect a cloud and hybrid customer platform for the gold and jewelry retail sector, providing strategic coaching to development teams.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and development of a highly scalable self-service platform
- Migration of existing standalone applications into a unified, modular platform architecture
- Provide consulting support for the technological implementation of on-premises and hybrid platforms using .NET, ASP.NET, Azure, Windows Server, and Linux containers
Platform-Engineer / -Coach
Build and migrate an OpenAI Custom GPT-based platform to Azure AI Foundry.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design the Azure AI Foundry setup, including model selection and deployment strategy
- Migrate Custom GPTs to the target Azure AI Foundry architecture
- Implement a token-based billing system for B2B customers
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a B2B cloud platform to plan and manage table bookings for hotels and restaurants.
Key Responsibilities:
- Architect and develop the backend services for tenant and user management, reservations, notifications and reporting, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance
- Migrate to Microsoft Entra External Identities
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a multi-region B2B self-service platform for a leading global IT system and consulting company of Microsoft. Multi-tenant setup, license self-service automation, connection of third-party IT systems for the security evaluation of IT systems and Azure tenant environments.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and development of a highly scalable self-service platform
- Migration of existing standalone applications into a unified, modular platform architecture
- Modular monolith design with full container readiness
- Cloud-native deployment leveraging Azure services
- CI/CD with Azure, Azure DevOps, SonarQube, and GitHub Advanced Security
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a multi-region B2B self-service platform for a worldwide (incl. China) leading system for the planning of kitchen and kitchen systems.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and development of a highly scalable platform for kitchen planning tailored to studios across Europe, North America, and China
- Development and migration of a microservices platform using Azure Web Apps, Azure Container Apps, and integration with legacy systems
- Refactoring and migration of legacy code to C# 10 and C# 11 (.NET 6+)
- Migration of monolithic applications to ASP.NET-based microservices
- Consolidation of local identity systems into a unified SSO platform using Azure B2B (employees) and Azure B2C (customers)
- CI/CD pipelines using Azure and Azure DevOps
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a multi-region rental platform for cargo bikes, including Partner connectivity and integration of connected cargo bikes for B2C and B2B rental.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implementation of a Java-Spring-based IoT platform on Azure
- Integration of connected cargo bikes for B2C and B2B rental
- Setting up the CI/CD workflow with containers and Azure DevOps
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a quarters platform for the management of properties and real estate, including contract management, resident management, complaint management, IoT connection of devices for building monitoring.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implementation of a district platform to manage real estate, rental contracts, facility services, and property administration
- Development of a modular monolith with microservice readiness using ASP.NET Core, .NET, and existing container-based services
- Implementation of an enterprise-grade identity system using Auth0
- Cloud-native development leveraging Azure services
- CI/CD using Azure and Azure DevOps
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a smart live analytics platform for agricultural seed breeding
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implementation of a cloud platform to live-analyse seeds via various sensors
- Development of a modular monolith with microservice readiness using ASP.NET Core, .NET, and existing container-based services
- Cloud-native development leveraging Azure services
- CI/CD using Azure and Azure DevOps
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a hybrid and shop-floor-only platform for the world's leading gear-technology manufacturer.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement a hybrid shop-floor platform to integrate production machinery and precision measurement systems for gears and bevel gears
- Architect and deploy a K3s-based microservices ecosystem
- Build a scalable, customer-facing platform on Microsoft Azure
- Establish an Azure DevOps–driven container deployment pipeline for on-premises maintenance and service applications
- Engineer robust ASP.NET Core API services to support platform operations
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a cloud-based customer platform for clients of large-scale industrial systems, enabling planning and production of rubber compound products such as tires.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and development of a cloud-based customer platform
- Development of various microservices (contracts, master data, machine integration, and legacy systems)
- IoT architecture for isolated production machines in the tire manufacturing industry
- Design and implementation of ASP.NET Core-based backend systems
IoT-Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a global, hybrid B2B platform for managing connected tools (drills, milling machines, saws, etc.)
Key Responsibilities:
- Architect and develop a multi-region, Azure-based cloud solution
- Design and implement an event-driven .NET solution
- Build and deploy various backend systems and establish CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a global B2B platform for managing customers and partners.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and develop a .NET based cloud-platform incl. connectivity to existing on-premises systems
- Design and implementation of the event-based messaging system
IoT-Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a global, hybrid B2B/B2C platform for smart refrigerators for a leading German appliance manufacturer
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and develop a hybrid/on-premises B2B/B2C platform for smart refrigerators
- Design and implementation of the event-based messaging system
- Development of the end-customer platform using ASP.NET Core and Azure Service Fabric
Platform-Architect / -Engineer
Design and architect a highly available platform for tracking cleaning equipment for a leading German industrial cleaning group to monitor legal hygiene regulations in hospitals.
Key Responsibilities:
- Architect and develop an on-premises platform for tracking cleaning equipment in hospitals
- Design and implement a highly available ASP.NET-based solution
- Evaluation and implementation of hardware (RFID) for tracking cleaning utensils
Platform-Architect / Backend- and Frontend-Engineer
Design and architect a cloud-based IoT platform enabling vendor-agnostic machine connectivity and real-time data analytics for smart factory solutions.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design modular microservices for device connectivity, data ingestion, and analytics
- Integrate OPC UA, MQTT, and RESTful APIs to enable seamless communication between machines, sensors, and applications
- Develop rich, responsive frontend components and dashboards using AngularJS
- Implement CI/CD pipelines for automated build, test, and deployment workflows
- Ensure secure, role-based access control aligned with industrial data security standards
Platform-Architect / Backend- and Frontend-Engineer
Design and architect an internal platform to support the development, deployment and production of machine operating systems and components.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement the .NET-based platform
- Integrate Kerberos-based authentication and authorization for secure access control
- Migrate legacy AccessDB applications to a modern, scalable platform
- Design and develop custom build processes for automated creation of operating systems and components for machine controllers
- Implement CI/CD pipelines to automate build, test, and deployment workflows