IT Manager • Infrastructure & Security Architect • Builder
Richard
Beukes
Managing technology across South Africa, Kenya & Nigeria.
Building platforms that run factories.
--
Years in Tech
3
Countries
500
Users Managed
28
Servers Managed
920+
Total Pages Built
58
Platform Modules
Scroll
Azure • FortiGate • Zabbix • Next.js • TypeScript • Prisma • PostgreSQL • Wazuh • Grafana • Python • Hyper-V • SCADA • Docker • SAP • Citrix • VMware • PowerShell • OPNsense •
Azure • FortiGate • Zabbix • Next.js • TypeScript • Prisma • PostgreSQL • Wazuh • Grafana • Python • Hyper-V • SCADA • Docker • SAP • Citrix • VMware • PowerShell • OPNsense •
// About
Who I Am
I'm an IT Manager at GZ Industries, one of Africa's largest aluminium can manufacturers. I run technology operations across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria — everything from cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity to SCADA systems and factory floor applications.
I started as an electronics technician, became a triple-certified Citrix engineer, spent 6 years at Dimension Data deploying enterprise solutions across the Middle East and Africa, then moved into manufacturing IT where I found my calling: building systems that make factories smarter.
When I'm not managing infrastructure, I'm building full-stack applications. I wrote a complete manufacturing operations platform from scratch — 58 modules, 416 pages, 414 API endpoints — in Next.js and TypeScript.
On my own time I tinker with Raspberry Pi projects, build media servers, and get into car diagnostics and ECU tuning. I believe the best IT leaders stay hands-on — whether it's racking servers, writing code, or soldering GPIO pins at 2am.
"If you can't explain it in the simplest form, you don't understand it."
Location
Gauteng, South Africa
Company
GZ Industries
Role
IT Manager (SA & Kenya)
Languages
English, Afrikaans
Education
N1/N2 Electronics (Politronix, Windhoek) • Senior Secondary Certificate (Cambridge/UCLES)
Microsoft
Azure Solutions Architect Expert • Azure Administrator Associate • MCTS Win Server 2008
Citrix
CCA XenApp • CCA XenDesktop • CCA XenServer • CCA-N Networking • CCP-M Mobility
CompTIA
A+ • Network+ • Security+
Family
Husband to 1, Father of 4
Interests
F1, Rugby, AI, Home Automation, Car Diagnostics, The Outdoors & Wildlife, IoT / Raspberry Pi, Media Servers
// Career
The Journey
Aug 2024 — Present
IT Manager — South Africa & Kenya
GZ Industries
Promoted to lead all IT operations across two countries. Managing 500+ users, 26+ Azure VMs, multi-site networking, cybersecurity, and building an enterprise MES/QMS platform from scratch. Driving AI integration into manufacturing operations.
Mar 2019 — Aug 2024
Senior IS&T Systems Engineer
GZ Industries
Built and managed the entire IT infrastructure for GZI's South African operations. Spearheaded cloud and on-premises hybrid initiatives, designed security architecture, performed vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, managed vendor/SLA relationships, and drove automation of factory operations. Achieved 40% cost reduction through M365 migration for 200+ users across SA and Kenya.
Nov 2017 — Mar 2019
Internal Technical Systems Support
Dimension Data (now NTT)
Designed, built, and supported IT infrastructure for the Middle East and Africa region. Managed cloud-based and virtualisation systems including Active Directory, Exchange, Office 365, and Azure. Implemented Citrix App/Desktop virtualisation and VMware solutions. Hands-on with architectural designs and deployments of systems across the MEA region.
Feb 2014 — Nov 2017
Microsoft Consultant (Level 3-4 Support)
Dimension Data (now NTT)
Provided high-level support for virtualisation technologies — Citrix XenDesktop/XenApp, XenServer, XenMobile, and NetScaler. Designed and deployed virtualisation solutions for multiple Dimension Data clients across the region. Supported Microsoft RDS, Hyper-V, and SCVMM environments.
Sep 2006 — Feb 2014
IT Consultant
Open Architecture Systems & Gadget Computers
Built and supported client base for small and large enterprises. Comprehensive IT support including PC repair, network maintenance, and server management. Earned triple Citrix certification (CCA XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer), CCA-N networking, and CompTIA A+/Network+/Security+. Designed and deployed virtualisation solutions for enterprise clients. Specialised in Microsoft, Active Directory, Citrix, and SAP support.
2002 — 2006
IT Generalist & IT Consultant
IT Everything & Onate PC-Tech — Northern Cape, South Africa
General IT support covering everything — hardware, networking, desktop support, and infrastructure for local businesses. The hands-on years where you learn by fixing anything that's put in front of you. The name said it all: IT Everything.
1998 — 2002
IT Consultant & Technician
Angola & Namibia (Rundo Sales & Services, Schools, Government)
IT consulting and technical support across Angola and Namibia. Worked at Rundo Sales and Services (German, Namibia), assisted schools and government entities. Building, maintaining, and troubleshooting systems in environments with limited resources — where you learn to make things work no matter what.
1997 — 1998
Bartender & Assistant Game Ranger
Intu Afrika Kalahari Lodge — Namibia
Before IT, there was the Kalahari. Bartending and assisting game rangers at a luxury lodge in the Namibian desert. A different kind of problem-solving — but the same resourcefulness that would define a career in technology.
// Skills & Expertise
What I Work With
Cloud & Infrastructure
26+ Azure VMs, hybrid cloud/on-prem architectures, $15K-50K/month cloud spend management
Azure (IaaS/PaaS)
AWS
Azure AD / Entra ID
Hyper-V
VMware ESXi
Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop
Docker
Active Directory
Windows Server
Ubuntu/AlmaLinux
Intune MDM
VDI
Group Policy
DNS/DHCP
macOS / Apple
Zammad (IT Helpdesk)
CCTV (150+ cameras)
Access Control
ITIL / Agile
IT Security & Cybersecurity
Designed and deployed full security operations stack from scratch — SIEM, XDR, vulnerability management, firewall defence-in-depth, and endpoint protection across 3 countries
Wazuh SIEM/XDR (36+ agents)
Greenbone/OpenVAS
Kali Linux Pentesting
FortiGate (4 firewalls)
OPNsense
Sophos XDR (500 endpoints)
CrowdSec (Threat Intel)
MS Defender for Endpoint
MS Defender for Office 365
Conditional Access / MFA
DLP / Purview Compliance
Vaultwarden (Secrets Mgmt)
Zabbix 7.x Monitoring
Grafana SOC Dashboards
Uptime Kuma
Tactical RMM
SSL/TLS Management
Incident Response
Full-Stack Development
Built a 416-page enterprise platform from scratch — frontend, backend, APIs, database, auth, and deployment
Next.js 14+
React
TypeScript
Node.js
Prisma ORM
Python
PowerShell
REST APIs
TanStack Table
Recharts
Tailwind CSS
HTML/CSS/JS
Git / GitHub
Nginx
PBKDF2 Auth
Manufacturing & OT
Bridging IT and OT — real-time production data from PLCs to executive dashboards
Ignition SCADA v8.x
SAP Business One
OPC-UA
PLCs (Siemens/AB)
MES/QMS Design
OEE Calculations
SPC (Control Charts)
NCR Management
5S Audits
RCSA/Risk
Calibration Tracking
BBBEE Reporting
Databases & Data
302 Prisma models, complex data pipelines, graph databases for AI knowledge systems
SQL Server
PostgreSQL
MySQL
MariaDB
Oracle
SQLite
Redis
FalkorDB (Graph)
Qdrant (Vector)
ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
Prisma Migrations
Data Import Pipelines
Networking
Three-tier Cisco architecture, 13 VLANs, 8 VPN tunnels, 50+ APs across multiple sites
Cisco (2960X/SG350X)
VLANs / Trunking
IPsec/SSL VPN
NetBird (35+ peers)
Ruckus SmartZone
Meraki
Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch
Spanning Tree
SNMP Monitoring
Site-to-Site VPN
NetBox (IPAM/DCIM)
AI & Automation
Building and managing AI agents, offline local models, knowledge graphs with 9,000+ memories, and MCP server integrations
Claude Code / API
OpenClaw (AI Agent)
Ollama (Local LLMs)
OpenRouter
Offline Model Deployment
Model Fine-tuning
MCP Servers
Knowledge Graphs
Vector Search (Qdrant)
FalkorDB (Graph DB)
RAG Pipelines
Obsidian Vaults
Python Automation
MS Graph API
SharePoint Sync
Cron / Task Scheduler
Webhook Pipelines
Prompt Engineering
IoT, Home Lab & Media
Hands-on with Raspberry Pi projects, IoT sensors, vehicle diagnostics, and self-hosted media infrastructure
Raspberry Pi (3/4/5)
Arduino / ESP32
IoT Sensors & GPIO
OBD-II / Car Diagnostics
ECU Tuning & Customisation
Plex Media Server
Jellyfin
Home Assistant
MQTT / Zigbee
Pi-hole (DNS Filtering)
OPNsense (Home Firewall)
Self-Hosted Services
Linux ARM / Headless
Microsoft 365 & Enterprise
Full Microsoft stack admin — M365 migration for 200+ users across SA & Kenya, 40% cost reduction, Intune MDM for 400+ devices
Azure AD / Entra ID
Intune MDM/MAM
Autopilot
Conditional Access
SharePoint Online
Microsoft Teams
Exchange Online
OneDrive / Backup
Power Automate
Power Apps
Power BI
MS Planner
Defender for Endpoint
Defender for Office 365
Compliance Center
DLP Policies
Purview
MS Graph API
Azure DevOps
// Projects
What I've Built
Commercial SaaS Product
GearAssembly
A complete manufacturing operations platform built from scratch in Next.js/TypeScript/Prisma. Covers every department: production tracking, quality (NCR/SCAR/SPC/5S), maintenance (work orders, spare parts, PM schedules), HR (training, skills matrix, BBBEE), finance, legal (contract management with PDF generation), procurement, warehouse, energy, facilities, executive command center. Multi-database support (SQL Server/PostgreSQL/MySQL/SQLite), multi-auth (local/Azure AD/Google/LDAP), role-based access, notification system, and real-time dashboards with Recharts.
58
Modules
416
Pages
414
API Routes
302
DB Models
Enterprise Infrastructure
Multi-Country IT Operations
Designed and manage the complete IT infrastructure for GZ Industries across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. 26+ Azure VMs running SAP ERP landscape, 4 FortiGate firewalls with 8 VPN tunnels, three-tier Cisco switching with 13 production VLANs, 150+ CCTV/access control devices, 50+ Ruckus/Meraki APs, and Hyper-V on-premises virtualisation. Migrated 200+ users to M365 achieving 40% cost reduction.
26+
Azure VMs
500+
Users
8
VPN Tunnels
3
Countries
Cybersecurity & SOC
Security Operations Center
Designed and built the entire security operations stack from the ground up. Deployed Wazuh SIEM/XDR with 36+ agents across SA, Kenya, and Azure, integrated with Greenbone vulnerability scanning on a dedicated Kali Linux VM. Built 5 Grafana dashboards (SOC, Infrastructure, Network, Endpoint, Executive) with 61 panels connected to Zabbix 7.x. Layered defence: FortiGate firewalls (4 units, 8 VPN tunnels), Sophos XDR on 500+ endpoints, CrowdSec threat intelligence, MS Defender for Endpoint & Office 365, Conditional Access with MFA enforcement, DLP policies via Purview. Incident response procedures and custom Wazuh suppression rules for operational noise reduction.
36+
SIEM Agents
500+
Endpoints
5
SOC Dashboards
4
Firewalls
Automation & AI
AI-Powered IT Operations
Integrated AI agents (Claude Code, OpenClaw) into daily IT operations. Built a personal knowledge graph with 9,000+ memories using FalkorDB + Qdrant vector database. Created 15+ Python automation scripts interfacing with Zabbix, Wazuh, Docker, Uptime Kuma, and MS Graph APIs. Built a custom MCP server for SharePoint integration. Automated SharePoint-to-MSSQL sync for 15 lists across 2 sites.
9K+
AI Memories
15+
API Scripts
50+
AI Skills
Data Pipeline
SCADA → Dashboard Pipeline
Built a complete data pipeline from physical gauges through PLCs to Ignition SCADA, into MariaDB, and ultimately rendered as real-time OEE dashboards in the Shopfloor platform. Includes automatic SPC control chart analysis with NCR auto-generation when out-of-spec conditions are detected.
36
OPC Devices
21
Departments
864
NCRs Tracked
Legal & Contracts
Contract Management System
Built a complete legal contract management system. Synced 269 contracts from MS Planner into a structured database. Contract detail pages with inline editing, PDF viewer, and timeline. Server-side PDF generation for Service Agreements and NDAs using react-pdf. Automated renewal tracking with 30/60/90-day expiry alerts by department.
269
Contracts
17
Categories
14
Departments
DevOps & Containers
Docker Tool Deployments
Deployed 8 Docker containerised tools across GZI infrastructure: Healthchecks (cron monitoring), Uptime Kuma (HTTP/TCP monitoring), Dozzle (log viewer), Watchtower (update alerts), docker-volume-backup (automated backups), CrowdSec (threat intelligence), Vaultwarden (password vault), and Oxidized (network config backup for switches and firewalls).
8
Docker Tools
2
Servers
4
Phases
SharePoint Integration
SP → SQL Sync Service
Built an incremental sync service pulling data from 15 SharePoint lists across 2 sites (Nigeria Maintenance + SA Job Cards) into SQL Server for the GearAssembly platform. Uses CDC watermarks for efficient delta sync, custom field mappers for each list, and runs on Windows Task Scheduler with 15 scheduled jobs. Reduced API load from 300-800ms per page to 5ms database queries.
15
SP Lists
3,939
Work Orders
5ms
Query Time
Digital Products
Factory Operations Templates
Professional Excel templates and guides for manufacturing operations — spare parts inventory tracking, maintenance work orders & PM scheduling, IT asset registers, and a comprehensive Factory IT Survival Kit. Built from 25+ years of hands-on factory floor experience across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Multi-site, multi-currency (SADC + global), formula-driven dashboards. Ready to use out of the box.
4
Products
25
Sites/Currencies
414
Formulas
28
Servers Managed
50
Wi-Fi APs
150
Security Devices
920+
Total Pages Built
473
Total API Routes
302
DB Models
// Writing
Thoughts & Insights
March 2026
How I Built 10 Enterprise Products in One Weekend
From a single manufacturing platform to a full product suite — GearAssembly, SignGear, ComplyGear, and more. The architecture decisions, the automation, and the AI agents that made it possible.
Coming soonFebruary 2026
Why African Businesses Need African Software
Enterprise software built in San Francisco doesn't understand load-shedding, multi-currency across NGN/ZAR/KES, or BBBEE compliance. Why I'm building for the continent I work in.
Coming soonJanuary 2026
The Gears That Interlink Companies and Data
How GrimmGear's product suite connects procurement, quality, maintenance, finance, and compliance into a single interlocking system — like gears in a machine.
Coming soon// Contact
Let's Build Something
Whether it's infrastructure architecture, full-stack development, manufacturing IT, or cybersecurity — I'm always open to conversations about interesting challenges.
Open to consulting, speaking engagements, and interesting technical challenges.