Work & achievements
IT Infrastructure & Operations Leader · CCIE Data Center · Cybersecurity, SAP ERP & Enterprise Transformation
I lead enterprise IT strategy, operational resilience and security governance, and deliver large technology programs in industrial and government environments. This page is the evidence: what I built, what I owned, and what it achieved.
Milestone: 10 years as a CCIE
In October 2025, Cisco marked ten years since I earned my CCIE in Data Center, the company's expert-level certification, first achieved in July 2015. It requires passing both a written exam and a hands-on lab exam, and I've kept it current ever since.
Cisco's note on the plaque: "Cisco salutes your dedication to excellence in the implementation and maintenance of the world's most sophisticated networks."
Featured projects
SAP ERP digital transformation
- Scope
- Infrastructure foundation and full deployment lifecycle for SAP ERP at a large industrial company.
- My role
- Owned network readiness, server provisioning, storage design and cloud connectivity integration.
- Result
- Delivered within scope and timeline.
IT and cyber security governance program
- Scope
- A company-wide IT and cyber security policy framework, written from scratch.
- My role
- Designed and enforced the framework against ISO 27001 and NCA mandates: access control, next-generation firewall segmentation, quarterly risk assessments and security procedures covering enterprise and industrial control systems.
- Result
- Introduced a SharePoint-based e-signature approval system that modernised corporate approvals.
Disaster recovery and business continuity
- Scope
- DR and BCP for critical ERP and industrial production workloads.
- My role
- Designed, implemented and validated the plans, with defined recovery time and recovery point targets.
- Result
- Continuity of critical workloads proven under tested failover scenarios.
Infrastructure modernisation
- Scope
- A multi-phase, multi-year upgrade of corporate IT infrastructure.
- My role
- Led network re-architecture, security hardening, storage modernisation, server virtualisation and a nationwide fiber cabling upgrade.
- Result
- Improved system availability and reduced capital expenditure through consolidation and standardisation.
Multi-agency government data center
- Scope
- The complete data center for multiple Punjab government agencies, in production and DR.
- My role
- Designed the topology and implemented the Nexus 7K/5K/2K fabric, ASA 5585 firewall clusters, ACE load balancers, UCS compute, CUCM voice, WLAN and a network management overlay.
- Result
- Zero-downtime migration of live database servers from legacy Catalyst 6500 to the Nexus platform.
Carrier and health-sector data centers
- Scope
- A national carrier data center, and the datacenter behind a public Health Management Information System.
- My role
- Designed and executed the 10G top-of-rack infrastructure with routing, switching, IP voice and video, and firewall and VPN security; established the HMIS datacenter.
- Result
- High-availability infrastructure for a critical public health platform.
Career
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IT Infrastructure and Operations Manager
City Cement Company, Riyadh · May 2025 – present
Accountable for IT strategy, operations and governance across a large industrial enterprise: ISO 27001 aligned security, tested disaster recovery, vendor and cost governance, and direct reporting to the C-suite.
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Senior Network Specialist
Smith & Associates Europe BV, Netherlands · Jan 2025 – Apr 2025
Designed and deployed layered security controls and network architecture for a global enterprise, with documentation and disaster recovery validation.
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IT Infrastructure Manager
City Cement Company, Riyadh · Jan 2017 – Dec 2024
Built the IT and cyber security policy framework from the ground up, delivered the SAP ERP program, led infrastructure modernisation and established disaster recovery.
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Network Consulting Engineer
Cisco Systems, Dubai · Jul 2016 – Jan 2017
Designed ISP gateway networks and DNS and URL-filtering platforms for regional enterprise and telecom clients.
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Manager Core Network (Data Center)
Punjab Information Technology Board, Lahore · Oct 2014 – Jun 2016
Designed and ran the data center for multiple provincial government agencies, including a zero-downtime migration of live production systems.
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Senior Network Engineer
Getronics Pakistan; ADGLDI (Pvt) Ltd · 2009 – 2014
Pre-sales design and delivery of enterprise network, security and unified communications projects, then enterprise voice and data networks.
Conferences & community
I make a point of attending the industry's main events in person. It keeps what I write grounded in how the technology is actually used today, and I bring the lessons back to this blog.
SecTor
Three things stuck with me: real exploitability matters more than a CVE's severity score; AI agents with access to systems should be secured like any user identity; and AI is replacing slow, manual workflows, not teams.
Cisco Live USA
Back at the main Cisco event, this time wearing the CCIE Ten Years ribbon.
Cisco Live Melbourne
Connecting with the Cisco community in the Asia-Pacific region. As a CCIE with ten years of certification, I was recognised on the main screen at the event.
SecTor
Three days at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with around 5,000 in-person attendees and 140+ security vendors. Keynotes came from Leigh Honeywell and Omkhar Arasaratnam, and the programme included the first AI Summit at SecTor alongside the Cloud Security and Executive summits.
Cisco Live USA
Nine sessions across AI readiness, security operations with Cisco XDR and Splunk, Meraki Wi-Fi troubleshooting, zero-trust training and the Networking Innovation Summit, plus time at the Technical Assistance Center.
Cisco Live Melbourne 2025 in photos
Certifications and education
Cisco
- CCIE Data Center
- CCNP Enterprise
- CCNP Security
- CCNA
- Specialist badges: Data Center Core, Enterprise Core, Enterprise Advanced Infrastructure, Security Core, Network Security Firewalls
Juniper
- JNCIP-ENT
- JNCIS-ER
- JNCIA-ER
Cloud
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
Project and service management
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- ITIL Foundation V3
- SAP Certified Associate – SAP Activate Project Manager
Application delivery
- F5 Application Delivery Fundamentals
Education
- MBA, University of the Punjab
- MSc Telecommunication, GC University Lahore