// IT MANAGER & IT STRATEGIST · CATANIA, SICILY
I turn IT infrastructure into a competitive advantage.
I'm Luciano Blancato, an IT Manager and IT strategist based in Catania, Sicily (Italy), with over 15 years of experience running multi-site enterprise infrastructure (200+ clients and servers), and also a developer. I work on IT strategy, cybersecurity and NIS2 compliance paths, infrastructure, backup and disaster recovery, on-site in the Catania area and remotely. My job is often to be the bridge between systems that don't talk to each other, finding the most solid way to make them communicate. I build infrastructure that holds up under pressure, and teams that don't freeze when an incident hits.
15+
Years in the field
200+
Clients/servers managed
99.9%
Uptime target
ISO/NIS2
Compliance ready
// Areas of expertise
Where I bring real value,
not just slides.
IT Strategy & Planning
Technology roadmaps aligned with the business: clear priorities, budget under control, decisions you can defend in the boardroom.
Cybersecurity & Compliance
Vulnerability assessment, hardening, and ISO 27001 / NIS2 compliance paths without bringing operations to a halt.
Infrastructure & Cloud
Design and management of hybrid environments, cloud migrations, and high-availability mission-critical databases.
Virtualization, Backup & Networking
VMware environments, backup and disaster recovery with Veeam, NAS storage, Fortinet firewalls, even complex LANs and domains.
System Integration & Bridge Solutions
I get independent systems that were never meant to talk to each other communicating, choosing the most solid integration approach for each specific case.
Software Development
Not just strategy — I write code too. From targeted scripts to small applications, on whatever stack the job actually calls for.
Digital Transformation
IT process automation, technical debt reduction, and adopting tools the team actually uses.
Data & Business Continuity
Disaster recovery and business continuity plans that are actually tested, not just written into a document nobody opens.
Team Leadership
Building and mentoring technical teams: sysadmins, DBAs and developers who grow and stay.
// Tech stack
Under the hood, this is what I use.
Infrastructure & Network
Languages & Development
Database
Management & Business
// Quick diagnostic
How ready is your infrastructure?
4 questions, 30 seconds. Get an indicative score and the first area to work on.
// Certifications
Certified skills, not just claimed.
Click a certificate to open the original PDF.
// Journey
Where I come from, how I got here.
2011 — Today · 15 years
IT Manager · VIRAUTO S.p.A.
Ford dealership in Catania since 1961. Managed enterprise infrastructure (200+ clients/servers across multiple sites), networking and firewalling (Fortigate), VMware virtualization, backup and DR with Veeam, database administration (SQL Server, Informix, MySQL), in-house software development (VB.NET, Python, PHP), ITSM governance, IT budget and digital transformation.
2011 — 2023
Multi-dealership IT Manager
Alongside the main role, IT Manager for other automotive groups in the Catania area — Automax, CISAUTO, Dynamik, Golden Car, Gest Vir, Ponteggi Tubolari — multi-site networks, DMS (Drakkar, Infinity, Autoline), SQL Server/Sybase/MySQL databases, VB/C#/ASP/VBA development.
2005 — 2007
IT Manager · Centro Ulisse (CT)
Shopping center in Catania with 2 retail locations: management of Unix and AS/400 systems, Informix database. The step before entering the automotive world.
2002 — 2004
Programmer Analyst · Temporary S.p.A., Milan
Built an ASP + SQL Server 7.0 + VBA application for managing contracts and timesheets across 500+ branches in Italy: legacy system integration, statistical reporting, VBScript modules.
Fun fact: I've been a Microsoft beta tester since 1995 — Windows Vista, Longhorn Server, Visual Studio .NET, Windows Live and dozens of other products tested ahead of release. Over 30 years of technical curiosity that never stopped.
// Voices
Don't just take my word for it.
"The first IT manager who talked to us about risk in business terms, not just servers. He made security a priority shared by the whole company."
CFO · Retail Group
"Under his guidance the technical team went from reactive to proactive. Critical incidents dropped drastically within a year."
HR Director · Finance
// Off the clock
When I switch off, I travel.
Outside the data center my map is the travel kind: different cultures, logistics to sort out, curveballs to handle on the spot. Not that far, in the end, from my day job.
0
Continents
0
Countries
0
Cities
0
Km traveled
Data loaded from travel-data.js — update that file to add new places.
// FAQ
The questions I get asked most.
I work both on-site and remotely, depending on the project. For physical infrastructure work or audits, I evaluate on-site presence.
SMEs and enterprises with business-critical IT infrastructure, that need to secure existing systems or plan a digital transformation without halting operations.
Both: focused assessments (the IT Health Check above is a good first step) and more structured engagements, depending on what's actually needed.
It depends on how complex the infrastructure is. After the first call I'll give you a realistic estimate of timing and scope, no surprises.
The fastest way is the form below or LinkedIn: I reply personally within 48 business hours.