Consulting - IT Systems

I'm working since 1978 in different intensity in the IT area, I was starting with Cobol, PL1, Algol and Fortran for mainframes, in this time still with eighty-column punched cards. As there where coming the first terminals I was studying Basic, since 1984 I was working intensive with PC's nearly daily.

So I was working also with different operating systems, R300, over UNIX, CENIX, LINUX, CPM, NEC, all DOS and the most of the Windows versions (since 3.0) and I have get my experiences.

Until 1990 I could say that I have seen all commercial software on the PC's, today this is not more possible, de diversity is too big.

In the first years my main task was system analysis, solution conception and programming, focused in the programming part. As programming languages where used Assembler, dBase, Fox, Clipper, different versions of Pascal, Basic, Visual Basic, according to thematic content and the desires of the client. Since 1994 I was working more in the conception of data bases, like MS-SQL, Oracle, Informix and Sybase, in the last years also for MySQL solutions for web based applications. Programming tasks I was fulfilling only in special cases, checking new algorithms or developing special functions for the new solutions. As example there can be mentioned functions programmed in C for own thermodynamic auxiliary equations, biometric functions or functions for the sample recognition problems.

With the increasing level of assigned tasks unfortunately the distance to the programming tasks was also increasing, but on other hand the level of knowledge over the information systems of the institutions where I was working was increasing. An exception in this are the any data base solutions of Web based projects, where I sill prefer to program this alone. For the most of the Intranet solutions I have programmed my own small content management system, which is updating the sites in a fast and easy way.

In the last years, I was working as project manager in different huge projects, mostly substituting older mainframe based solutions by modern browser based information systems with 3-tier technology. The most of these applications where implemented in the security area of Peru, for the Peruvian Navy and the Ministry of Interior, mostly as WAN over the entire country, in 3 cases also outside, in embassies, mission offices in oversea, etc. These systems where mostly Informix based, in each one case also in MS-SQL, respectively in Oracle.

For all these systems I was preparing the technical specifications and later the bidding documents, as well the technical test routines end conditions for the evaluation of the proposals of the bidders. In the execution phase I was managing the contractor supervision and in any cases also the source code revision. Special modules with the security parts were developed in the same institutions, which were implemented in the total solution as black box. In the preparation of these security relevant parts I was participating in the conception part.

My later IT activities in Germany - from 2001 until 2003 where more focused in small and medium enterprises, mostly in network problems or in the integration from special software into a mostly MS-Office dominated working environment. But also in the biometric area I was working in this time, elaboration an investigation and development project for an IT enterprise for the modular integration of different applications of biometric equipment into an integral system.

The next bigger assignment was the elaboration of a concept for an integrated information system for the Lebanese Energy Ministry and the new Regulation Authority, which should be founded in the next year. The assignment was inside an EU project managed by MVV and the task was aligned over Decon.

In the year 2004 I was changed in the assignment from Decon to a World Bank Project in the Ministry of Energy and Water in Kabul, Afghanistan. The task in this project was divided in two subprojects. The first was the development of the internal IT capacity of the ministry, including hard and software, also the capacity building activities, the second part was to support the internal work of the project team of PISU - the new founded Program Implementation Support Unit. PISU was founded to coordinate and promote the work in the energy projects in Afghanistan, coordinating the different donor and project activities.

In the following are mentioned the main activities I have had in Kabul:

  • Installation of a Windows Network, which was starting with 20 PC and extended successively until 90 PCs,
  • Installation and maintenance of the local PC and print equipment inside the network as well from the PCs in ministry own enterprises,
  • Elaboration of a information database, in which are stored the information content of all manual used forms, Excel tables and cyclical Word documents. Also the information flow is stored in this database. The database information is used to know the information source and the flow to setup corporative applications,
  • Elaboration of web-based first corporative applications - personal and room usage of the departments of the ministry,
  • Elaboration and implementation of an  database based Intranet to support the project execution and planning control,
  • Publication of a Web-presentation to inform interested enterprises on the ongoing and planed biddings,
  • Elaboration of georeferenced information's of the Kabul City Network and other relevant information of the countrywide existing energy network and the planned extension,
  • Setup of the communication network of the ministry as part of the governmental network of Afghanistan,
  • Preparation of a document database to store the existing documentation of the Ministry, especially the old documentation from the power plants and other electrical installations, which are stored in the corresponding places in very precarious conditions, avoiding so the destruction of the information,
  • Participation in the bidding evaluation in IT- and automation relevant projects,
  • Execution of IT courses in Dari for the local staff of the ministry and the subordinated enterprises,
  • Central planning of all capacity building activities as coordinator for all donor organizations, including all activities, not only the IT relevant part.

In this time in Afghanistan I was working as the member of PISU fulfilling all tasks of the future IT-Manager of this institution which are typically for an institution starting with a very low level of IT equipment and knowledge. As advantage of this low level can be mentioned that there are no existing older IT solutions which must be integrated into the system, and the starting point can be with a considerable high level, under the condition that the staff must be trained to be able to satisfy the requests of the system. Other advantage is that the systems are more homogenous in the conception and development as in other places, permitting so a limitation in the training to the new systems. Only the budget was the limit for the development, considering that our training courses where so dimensioned that there was an overhead en trained persons, and the people are very focused and enthusiastic in the training.

Since the second quarter of 2006 I'm working in Spain in the IT-area. Currently we have any projects, where the most mentionable is the optical sample recognition of shooting targets. Central idea of the project is the automatic evaluation of the targets, capturing an image with a web cam and evaluation the result of the shoots without personal influence.

Summarizing I can say that I have the following practical experiences in the IT-area:

  • Software standard
    • Microsoft Office
    • ABC-Flow Charter
    • etc.
  • Operating systems
    • Unix,
    • AIX,
    • Novell,
    • Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT
    • Linux
  • Special Software
    • ErWin,
    • Power Designer,
    • MathCAD,
    • PGP,
    • PKI-Systems,
    • MS Exchange,
    • ArcInfo,
    • MapInfo,
    • MapPoint,
    • MS IIS,
    • MS Project
    • MS Frontpage
  • Data base
    • MS SQL,
    • MySQL
    • Informix,
    • Sybase,
    • Oracle,
    • xBase
  • Programming languages
    • Visual Basic
    • HTML
    • Javascript
    • PHP
    • Pascal
    • C
    • older mainframe languages

As activities are mentionable additionally the followings:

  • Problem analysis and technological studies,
  • Project descriptions an studies as well the preparation of customer requirement specifications and bidding documents,
  • Technical evaluation of biddings,
  • Project supervision and coordination and
  • Security controls and assessment reports.

 

 
 

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Contact

Dr. Holger Frommert

info@cons-int.net

Phone: ++49-39932-195-60