As a key advisor to the CEO and Director of Engineering, I oversee InfoSec initiatives and provide strategic directions to address security threats, incident remediation, system and network vulnerabilities, secure coding practices, and ensure the integrity of network and infrastructure. Developed and implemented comprehensive Security Policies, SOPs, DR & BCP plans for FinTech organizations, ensuring compliance with State Bank of Pakistan regulations and fostering a proactive approach to risk management and incident response.Achieved cost savings exceeding US$80,000 through proactive vendor negotiation and strategic equipment selection for production infrastructure, maintaining optimal security and performance standards.Successfully established and retained a highly skilled team comprising DevOps, System and Network Administrators, Information Security, and IT Support professionals, ensuring the continued effectiveness of the Information Technology Department within budgetary constraints.

Managing ISP's 40G/20G fiber network infrastructure offering services of L2/L3 VPN, Multicasting channels (GPON), internet, Co-locater DataCenter, Manage services and Datacenter Cloud services (IAAS & PAAS) on MPLS/BGP/eBGP/MP-BGP/OSPF span all over country.Managing team of 13 highly skilled Network Engineers in 24x7 environment.Managing configuration and service delivery automation through Cisco DNA & Cisco Works.Manage & configure Cisco NSO for CLI/Configuration templates for client provisioning and service automation.Managing & configuring python scripts for single device access and configuration.Managing department’s inventory over US$60,00,000 consisting of regular & projects equipment.Managing client connectivity over L2/L3 MPLS, L2L-IPSec, Remote Access VPNs.Managing Data Center Operations, Cloud computing and Co-Located client environment.Provide L2/L3 support, guidance to team members and clients.Manage client data center access through Remote Access VPNs, Identity Management & Secure tunnels.Managing enterprise’s and customer’s virtualize datacenter environment consist of more than 400 machines.Manage Centralized remote OS Deployment/ Monitoring/ Patch Management/Security Event Management through customized built portals.Schedule regular preventive maintenance operations for network deployed devices & servers.Plan, deploy and manage Network device monitoring on Solarwinds NMS, Opensource Cacti and Whats-UP-GoldPlan, deploy and manage DataCenter monitoring on ManageEngine Application Manager.

Got an additional responsibility of Wateen Telecom Data Center Operations along with IP Core Network Operations. Wateen Telecom has established Tier 4 Data Center for its internal & external customers. I am responsible for secure and continued Data Center Operations. My responsibilities includes; Managing Virtual & Physical Infrastructure located in multiple cities; Managing internal services on physical & virtual environment, and Managing co-located managed clients infrastructure.

Ensure that all networking implementations are secure, reliable, cost effective and fit for purposeDevelop and maintain a documented road map for Network Projects; ensuring that these plans are understood and followed bymembers of the teamLiaise with other IT Service managers in a highly technical and sensitive environment to gain buy in for proposed architectures and technologyinvestmentsWork closely with suppliers, and 3rd parties to ensure IT industry best practice is followed to deliver solutions efficiently and effectivelyWorking with design team resources to ensure that specific solution designs meet the requirements and best practice developed and applied by this roleManage network team staff to ensure coverage for in-hours and out-of hours support is maintainedResponsible for staff management matters, which will include responsibility for supporting appraisals, development of staff, recruitment and where necessary processes such as grievance and disciplinary mattersResponsible for an individual’s development on the job and management of their job performanceWork in conjunction with line managers and other job managers to assess and manage confidential information about an individual’s performance and capability developmentMaintain a proactive approach to after-incident reporting so that information of this type can easily and readily be fed in to service management reports and /or problem management reviews

Establish scope of work, schedule and budget expectations with clientManage schedule, budget, and contractual performance on projectsDesign & Development of SOW (Statement of Work) document and plan to present to clientProvide status reports to clients. Obtain client approval for scope, schedule and budget variancesSupervise the safe installation of the project as specified, liaise with on-offshore operations daily to ensure continuity of work and to report on progressOversee the production process, drawing up a production scheduleEnsure production is cost effectiveTake lead responsibility of client projects from scoping till delivery of projectCoordinate and plans the human and material resources neededManage project design & engineering requirementsRecognize and develop new business opportunities, without expending considerable resources in the process. Communicate to other managers with Internal CRM applicationIdentify weaknesses and potential threats to existing information security toolsetsPerform continual testing on current systems to determine potential problems or security threatsPrepare reports for internal and external clients detailing the security issues, making recommendations and identifying solutionsConduct cloud security reviews and network security assessmentsProvide advice on hacking tools and techniques including advanced malware detectionFormulate an IT security incident response strategy and implement a method of notifying partiesKeep up to date with the latest thinking on secure coding and cyber-security issuesSupport the business with a range of compliance requirements

Redesign & establish organization’s IT infrastructure after separation from sister-concern group. Planning and Implementation of multi areas OSPF base Enterprise Data Network.Design and Implementation of IT Data Center.Migration of 50 sites nationwide from Warid Telecom Data network to Wateen Data Network.Implemented centralized wireless solution using Cisco Aironet 1130 and WLC 4400s at corporate office as well as on remote sites.Implementation and Management of Bluecoat SG-810 for proxy/web cache appliance for more than 2500 users nationwide. Operation and Maintenance of IT Data Centers for different corporate services.Monitoring and maintaining network links to ensure uptime as per SLA and high availability of network resources.Implemented Cisco NAC (OOB) to secure the LAN/WLAN segment from unauthorized access and to avoid security risk from end user prospect. Planning, designing and Implementation of AD, exchange 2007 and Black Berry (BES) for Abu Dhabi Group head office (Abu Dhabi).Managing Domain/Email/SharePoint/ERP/MS SQL and Development infrastructure.Managing 3rd level support for enterprise data network, audio/video conferencing and unified communications.Plan, deploy & manage expansion of EDN over 32 cities providing domain, email and Voice over IP infrastructure.Manage team of highly skilled Network Engineers, System Admins, Database & Backup Admins & IT Support gurus in 24x7 environment.Plan, deploy & manage Security Operations Center (SOC) for SIEM, Patch Management, Vulnerability Scanning, Network Penetration Testing & Anti-Virus IPS/IDS operations.Compliance of IT processes and procedures according to Organization’s IT Security Policy.Managing weekly network and systems availability report for executive management.Manage On-Site/Off-Site backups and disaster recovery planning.

Provide regular insight consultancy for modernize client’s Information Technology implementation journeyAssist customers’ technical requests and take care of any technical issuesBuild strong customer relationships, especially with key customer stakeholders and sponsorsAlways strive to provide exceptional customer experienceManage customer expectation and lead them to customer satisfactionMake sure all deliverable arrive in good order, on time, and fulfill customers’ requirementsKeep track of key account metricsActively participate in creation and management of organizations's multi-million Information Technology BudgetCommunicate the progress to both internal and external stakeholdersTake initiatives in identifying growth opportunitiesCollaborate with our team to achieve sustainable growthLead and Guide IT Support team for smooth IT operations of organizationProvide 3rd Level of support and guidance for complex IT issues & troubleshootingProvide consultancy for implementation of Online Point-of-Sale system (Microsoft Dynamics Point Of Sale System)Plan & Implement data backup policies according to needs of the organizationCreate and deliver monthly activity reports to clients that include a road-map and best practice recommendations

Designed & implemented Windows 2003 based LAN infrastructure for various locations with multi parent-child domain modelDeployment of Exchange 2003 in active/passive clustered model solutionHands-on working Experience of radio links & VSAT Technology deployment and troubleshootingRouting & Switching, critical monitoring and trend analysis forecasting expertiseFirewall and link provisioning experienceGood experience of different voice protocols and technologiesSuccessfully designed and upgraded company wide email system in US from an unmanaged and outsourced service to in-house, new Windows 2003 platform preventing the loss of even a single email that also minimized per mailbox cost from $20 to $8 and saved $18K annuallyLiaised with the IT Managers in other Int’l hubs and US to ensure strategic IT policy alignment, standardizing and trouble shooting