Christian Reiser

Hi Christian, thanks for taking the time! With your background as a former System Administrator, Requirements Engineer and Program / Product Manager you joined the Team in October 2022 as our Product Manager for the new Cloud Product and now Head of Product for the Cloud Edition, Growth, and Monetization.

What made you decide to join Checkmk? How did you come to Checkmk?

Checkmk is a hidden champion. We have an amazing product that our users absolutely love. Outside of our target audience Checkmk is less well known. That’s why to be honest I didn’t know much about Checkmk until Martin approached me and asked me if I was interested in joining the team to create a new cloud-based offering for Checkmk.

During the interview process I got to know other colleagues from the product team. Everyone was really passionate about the product and their work. The role promised to be an opportunity to truly make a difference. I never regretted starting at Checkmk for one second.

What does your working day look like? How do you work with your team?

At Checkmk we work remotely from home. I’m working out of a small town in the Stuttgart region. My product team and the development teams we closely collaborate with are spread all over Europe. Despite working from different locations we are working together very effectively. We achieve that by following the agile approach that processes should serve us and not the other way around.

Therefore, we try to keep them as lean as possible and consistently refine and improve them when we see the need. We base most of our decisions on user feedback, product data, or competitive research we do, that's why product discovery in all its facets is an important part of our work.

What fascinates you most about your job at Checkmk and what are your tasks?

The diversity of the topics my team and I are working on. From small details on individual checks or configurations that make a big difference to users to the roadmap for big product initiatives and product editions. Figuring out if requests are important, prioritizing, optimizing time spent for our teams. But also diving deep into individual topics, e.g. improving and simplifying licensing at Checkmk.

What tools/technologies do you work with in your team?

As a team we are very hands-on. Hence, we are very picky in terms of tools and technologies and only use ones which really provide a benefit to us. Obviously, we are moving into a new age of AI. So we are using Claude and Gemini and also use AI to build tools ourselves.

Additionally, we use Slack for asynchronous communication, Google Meet for meetings and calls, we use Jira for sprint and roadmap planning. I use FigJam for visualizing flowcharts and other concepts.

What is most important to you in your work life?

It's all about creating products that genuinely address real-world challenges, making everyday tasks a breeze for our customers. And the cherry on top? Collaborating with brilliant minds who share the same passion for crafting outstanding solutions.

Describe in your words the relationship between Checkmk and customers? What makes up this relationship?

I have never worked in a company before in which the relationship between customers and the company has been that important. We talk to and closely collaborate with customers and partners at every level. Sometimes we make decisions that not everyone agrees with but overall it creates a very strong bond. Just one example: at the recent conference, I had dinner with two customers/partners, and they told me they love open source, they love Linux, and they love Checkmk and stand completely behind it. What more can you say?!

What role do customer feedback and market research play in your work?

Being in Product that’s basically the bread and butter. The good thing about working at Checkmk is that there are so many customers and partners that are more than willing to spend time helping you to get a good idea about what their problems are, what works well in the product and what doesn’t. Also within the company there is really an open and collaborative climate.

Everyone is open to answer questions and exchange knowledge and ideas.