A purely technical foundation was not enough for Harald Reicher - he wanted to understand economic interrelationships, expand his sales expertise and open up new career opportunities. The solution? A part-time degree programme in Marketing & Sales at CAMPUS 02 UAS. What Harald didn't expect was how much the team spirit within the cohort contributed to his success. Today, as Territory Manager, he is responsible for an entire region and is actively involved in shaping the IT sector.

In our ‘Graduate of the Month’ interview series, he reveals how his studies have shaped his professional life and why continuous professional development is essential.

What made you decide to enrol in the Marketing & Sales degree programme at CAMPUS 02?

The only option for me was a part-time degree programme. I wanted to supplement my technical training at the HTL with business expertise. Looking back, I remember one thing in particular: the strong community within our year group. This bond was a real success factor and contributed significantly to mastering the demanding degree programme alongside a full-time job. Learning together, motivating and supporting each other - that's exactly what made my degree programme at CAMPUS 02 so special.

Which skills or knowledge that you gained during your studies have helped you the most in your career?

For me, it was not so much individual skills or knowledge, but rather the overall concept of the degree programme that helped me advance professionally. My wish was to complete a business degree after my purely technical training. The focus on sales, which has always interested me, was what motivated me to do so. The comprehensive training, from business fundamentals to legal aspects and specific sales topics, gave me a solid basis for my future activities. All in all, I see myself as a generalist. I am very happy to have first completed a technical and then a commercial apprenticeship - because today I can optimally combine both areas and use them successfully in my day-to-day work.

What did your career path look like after graduation? What stations did you go through?

During my studies, I gained my first experience in sales-related positions in the B2B environment of the telecommunications industry. Two years after graduating, I moved directly into key account management at A1, where I was responsible for four of the company's largest customers. After a further six years, I moved to NTS Netzwerk Telekom Service AG and thus into the IT sector.

What core products and services does the NTS portfolio include, and what responsibilities do you have as a Territory Manager in this context? What does a typical working week look like for you? What tasks do you focus on?

NTS deals with IT infrastructure exclusively in the B2B environment. We serve all sectors, from trade and industry to healthcare. The public sector is also becoming increasingly important to us. We are active in the areas of networks, IT security, data centres and communications. We offer comprehensive services for all areas. These range from consulting, planning and implementation of solutions through to complete operation, which we are taking over for more and more customers.

I am responsible for the entire area of Styria and Carinthia. A total of around 65 employees work directly for the region at the locations. The company's headquarters are also located in Graz. Around 300 employees currently work in Graz. The focus of my work is on achieving the sales targets set for the region. The teams have to be aligned and focussed in such a way that we achieve the constantly ambitious targets. The entire company has grown considerably in recent years. It has been and still is a matter of constantly reorganising the growing teams and, for example, assigning customers to new colleagues.

As a service provider, NTS does not manufacture its own hardware. Instead, we refine hardware and software solutions from well-known manufacturers such as CISCO, Dell, NetApp, Palo Alto and Fortinet. This means that, in addition to the intensive maintenance of customer relationships, ongoing coordination with our manufacturing partners is the order of the day. We are also developing more and more of our own products and solutions, and I am regularly involved in their development.

NTS AG cooperates with several Austrian universities, including through the Excellence Scholarship, to support the transfer of knowledge between theory and practice. What added value does the company derive from this close cooperation?

That's right - we co-operate with many technical colleges, universities of applied sciences and universities. This close co-operation offers us two major advantages: Firstly, we can always incorporate the latest scientific findings into our work, and secondly, we gain well-trained junior staff. Our co-operation with CAMPUS 02 University of Applied Sciences in particular has been very successful. In recent years, we have been able to train many trainees in our company as part of this programme and also learn a lot from them. We have managed to inspire and retain all trainees for our company. Many of them work in sales, but also in other departments of the company and have developed extremely well.

Are there specific trends or developments in the field of Marketing & Sales that students should keep an eye on?

The topic of artificial intelligence must be on our radar. AI not only plays a central role in the technical solutions we offer, but also in our sales methodology. AI tools can save an enormous amount of time, particularly in the area of customer analysis - whether it's in acquiring new customers or in strategic account planning. These tools can be used to gain in-depth information about the customer in a very short space of time, enabling the sales strategy to be adapted in a targeted manner.

How important do you think further education and lifelong learning are in this field?

In IT, you can never rest on your laurels. The opportunities and the industry itself are changing rapidly. Continuous training is therefore essential in order to work successfully.

I advise students...

...get into IT. The industry is very varied, highly interesting and constantly offers new opportunities.

A few words with Harald:

I still have from my time at university...

• ... all documents

Who has inspired you?

• Ernst Maierhofer - his B2B lectures

If I were to study again, I would...

• ...do it the same way again.

Mein Studium in 5 Worten…

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