Nikola Vanevski
Principal Solution Architect
nikola@vanevski.net
nikola.vanevski@gmail.com
+971 55 753 2770
My background
Born 1973 in North Macedonia, completed the vocational school for ICT in 1992 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems Management in 2019. I have a solid background in IT Solution Architecture in multiple industries (7 years in Utilities, 3 years in Banking, 20+ years in Telco Business Support Systems).
My native language is Macedonian; I speak couple of other Slavic languages, have excellent command of spoken and written English, and rudimentary (but improving) Spanish.
I currently live and work in Dubai, UAE.
What do I do
As a Principal Solution Architect, I partner with the account management teams to identify and create opportunities. I drive the value argumentation and technical proposal creation, and I assume leading architecture roles in presales and execution – from inception to handover.
During those engagements, I work closely with the customer C-Level executives, their Enterprise and Solution Architects. I identify the target Architecture Vision, design the business and technology transformation blueprint, and create feasible architecture roadmaps tailored to the business vision of the customer.
Finally, I work with the project teams as a lead architect to create the system solution design, and I guide the technical project execution until the rollout.
Where do I work
In the past 3 decades, I held various positions in different companies, as represented in my experience timeline:
At the moment, I am also attending my MSc Computing – Artificial Intelligence course, expecting to finish in 2027.
What have I learned
In many different projects and activities, I was required and excited to learn something new. The learning still continues, and here is an amalgamation of the most important learnings that have shaped my carreer.
Analysis, design and management
- Business analysis and enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman, Archimate). No certification, but actively practicing for the past 15 years.
- Telco industry frameworks (TMF ODA, eTOM…)
- Waterfall and Agile project methodologies and tools
- CI/CD – from exotic (Rational TeamConcert) to modern DevOps practices and tools
Programming languages
- Excellent command of Java, Python, C/C++, Javascript, Pascal (Delphi)
- Web development – HTML, CSS
- Database backend languages (PL/SQL, TransactSQL, PL/PgSQL)
- Significant experience with .NET (C#)
- x86 and Z80 assembly language (it has come in handy in situations)
Databases
- Oracle – DBA level
- Postgresql – DBA level
- MS SQL, MySQL/MariaDB – well versed
- Cassandra – some experience
- In-Memory DBs (TimesTen and similar) – working experience
- Clipper / dBase III – ancient history
Operating systems
- DEC Tru64 Unix Certified Admin (yes, I am that old)
- Linux – admin level (specifically on RedHat and Debian/Ubuntu flavors)
- Other Unix OS (HP-UX, Solaris)
- Windows – developer level
Platforms, Technologies
- JBoss, Apache Tomcat, Jetty J2EE and SOA application servers / platforms
- Virtualization platforms (VMware, Proxmox…)
- Container platforms (Docker/k8s)
- AWS and OpenShift cloud platforms
- Deep knowledge of integration, SOA, API and microservice design
Other important things
Work isn’t everything, and I hope and trust that I’m not defined only by my profession. I am also a husband, a father of two wonderful children, a wannabe guitarist (it’s never too late!). I also love to read, travel – and it’s perfect when I manage to combine both.
