Martin Stühmer

Who I Am

I’m Martin, CTO at Integrated Worlds GmbH in the Stuttgart region. I’ve been building .NET systems for nearly 20 years—since Framework 2.0 when SOAP was cutting-edge and ORMs were controversial.

Today I lead technology strategy for cloud-native solutions on Azure. Before this, I was Director Consulting Services at CGI, working with enterprise teams on architecture and transformation. I’m a Microsoft Certified Trainer and IHK-certified instructor, and I maintain several open-source NuGet packages.

What I Do

As CTO, I don’t just make decisions from a distance. I write code, review PRs, debug production issues, and mentor teams. Technology leadership means staying hands-on and feeling the consequences of your choices.

As a trainer and mentor, I focus on fundamentals that outlast framework hype. Static analyzers, testing strategies, performance patterns, maintainable architecture—the stuff that actually prevents production fires.

As an open-source maintainer, I publish packages that solve problems I’ve hit repeatedly in real systems. When strangers depend on your code, you write better tests and clearer docs.

What I’ve Learned

Almost two decades means I’ve made every mistake: over-engineered systems, bet on Silverlight and WCF (oops), built “flexible” architectures that were just complicated, shipped code I’m not proud of.

Here’s what stuck:

  • Quality isn’t optional – Analyzers catch bugs in milliseconds, tests prevent regressions, and both are faster than firefighting
  • Fundamentals outlast frameworks – Patterns and principles survive; specific tools don’t always
  • Context beats dogma – “Best practices” depend on your team, domain, and constraints
  • Evidence beats opinion – Measure, benchmark, validate before deciding
  • Pragmatism wins – Good-enough architecture that ships beats perfect architecture that doesn’t

What I Write About

I share perspectives from production systems and real teams. I’m skeptical of buzzword-driven development and allergic to cargo-cult practices. If a trend lacks substance or a pattern doesn’t hold up under pressure, I’ll say so.

This blog is for developers, solution architects and operators who maintain production systems and care about quality, not just shipping fast.

Published blogs

Manage NuGet Packages Centrally

Manage NuGet Packages Centrally

For over 12 years, NuGet package management has been part of the .NET ecosystem with direct integrations to various IDEs, CLIs and build systems. But a feature took 12 years before it appeared and certainly needs some more maintenance until it is mature!

Illuminate Technical Debt

Illuminate Technical Debt

Whatever our role, be it developer, IT professional or architect, we try to avoid technical debt. If this is not possible from the outset, or if we decide to accept this technical debt for a limited period of time, we usually lack the tools to do so. This is where this article may help.

When Can I Finally Renew My Microsoft Certification

When Can I Finally Renew My Microsoft Certification

When can I finally renew my Microsoft certification? - I’m certainly not alone with this or similar questions and the associated uncertainty. Okay, a certain impatience certainly resonates as well. After all, I would also like to schedule it into my daily routine. But how?

How to Prepare for Microsoft Certification

How to Prepare for Microsoft Certification

How do I best prepare for a Microsoft certification? - this or a similar question is asked by everyone who wants to deal with the topics Microsoft, Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform or Dynamics 365. In this article, I would like to go into the possibilities that Microsoft offers us for preparation.