Ramanathan Chinnadurai

Functional Scope:

• Mapping requirements & providing them best solutions involving evaluation & definition of scope of project and finalization of project requirements
• Holding review meetings to monitor progress of project as per schedule / budgets, ensuring timely completion and delivery of project to client
• Managing process vision & design, enhancement strategy and transition strategy
• Handling resource allocations and setting up communication channels across various horizons of organization structure

Managerial Scope:

• Preparing proposals, business presentations to clients, resource planning, architecture evaluation, technical direction, effort estimation, tracking, audit, status reporting and mentoring
• Understanding and coordinating client’s needs, enhancements, customization of product and consulting with technical team to provide solutions as per delivery schedules
• Developing and sustaining effective relations with clients to ensure repeat / referral services
• Directing multiple projects for scope finalization with customer, testing and delivery to customer with quality.

Key Deliverables:

Project Management:

• Work as project manager and project leader to handle end to end delivery of WAN related projects and new infra/application implementation.
• On-board new projects in PMO portal and track project and ensure zero escalations and project health status as green
• Sharing weekly & milestone updates to Management for the ongoing projects.
• Highlighting and seeking help from management on timeline violation or extension.
• Also handle transition for new clients to Cognizant. Taking care of end to end requirements from clients and extend WAN connectivity for Cognizant offshore users.

Major Projects Handled:

• Designed and Implemented Cisco SD WAN controllers in on-prem datacenter's with redundancy and provisioned Hub networks to kick-off site migration.
• Designed, planned and migrated 60% of Cognizant offices across globe into Cisco SD WAN platform.
• Designed and Implemented Cisco SD WAN for DC - DR replications (Backup, VM etc.) via dedicated links and extended it to MPLS & Internet links in the DC during lean hours thus reducing overall replication timings and ensured multiple fallback options on network link failures.
• On facility vacations, migrated several WAN POP's - MPLS & Internet to another facility ensuring BCM & transport resiliency. This involves movement of hardware's and parallel link deliveries.
• Integrated Azure & Google cloud into Cognizant backbone via express route and partner connect.

IT Infrastructure Management:

• Managing network connectivity for 150+ Cognizant office across globe and 6 co-location datacenters.
• Managing 300+ client connectivity on MPLS, S2S VPN and via Co-location.
• Ensuring availability of WAN services Intranet, Internet and client connectivity's.
• Managing and administering day-to-day tasks with regard to WAN Service - Routing issues, new requirement, link stability issues etc.
• Responsible for solution design, procurement, implementation and life-cycle maintenance of WAN network infrastructure.
• As appropriate, provides escalated on-site support of hardware, software and network connectivity issues
• Planning, Designing, Implementation and project transition to operational support team.
• Responsible for Setting up IT Infrastructure for new facilities & offshore business model.
• Acts as primary point of communication between Technology and operating business and functional units for WAN requirements
• Performing periodic configurations audits on Primary & Secondary devices/paths and ensuring resiliency
• Responsible for the inventory maintenance & license management for WAN infrastructure devices.
• Weekly review with Vendor with SLA management
• Establish long-term vision and migration path for operations services for cost reduction and increase flexibility.

Customer Relationship Management:

• Proposing design solution for new client connectivity, re-architectures or expansion and addressing client IT team queries on design.
• Proactively engaging business teams and customer on link upgrades based on utilization trends and similarly, for downgrades as well to reduce link costs.
• Based on utilization trends, proactively engaging business & client IT teams either to link upgrade to avoid performance issues or to downgrade for cost savings.

Team Management:

• Handling team of 12 resources.
• Leading, training & monitoring the performance of team members to ensure efficiency in customer support operations.
• Performing half yearly performance review and provide appropriate feedbacks.
• Organizing training programs for newly recruited engineers
• Organizing skip level meetings to understand concerns of team members.
• Recognizing team members performance & achievements with awards.

Merger & Acquisition:

• Handled several M&A projects across globe
• Integrate and migrate M&A facilities with Cognizant backbone and extend Cognizant Infra access to M&A users. (servers, voice etc.).
• Post integration, perform network audits to identify & disconnect the links in M&A facilities for cost reductions.

Business Continuity Management:

• Ensuring DR or BCP is considered in solution for all requirements related to WAN backbone and Internet gateways.
• Design and implement overall IT strategy, vision, and goals for technology organization and ensure those goals are aligned to business goals.
• Responsible for ensuing WAN readiness for periodic BCP / DR drills at datacenters, co-locations and clouds.
• Preparing the new BCM documents & versioning them for WAN service.
• Handling BCM audit (External & Internal Audits)

Information Security Compliance Management

• Ensure security guidelines for any new project implementation and infrastructure implementation.
• Ensure remediation for WAN components within the agreed timeline based on the severity, by coordinating with vendor & corporate security.
• Remediate configuration issues and ensure all WAN components are compliant.
• Close all observations and findings on time and update management

• Prepared low level design and Implemented new customer’s connectivity and for new IT services roll outs like Skype, Cisco Contact center etc.
• Assigned of projects & activities to engineers and tracking it till closure
• Acted as escalation point of contact for WAN related incidents & outages.
• Handled problem management tickets and roll out of solutions across all WAN layers
• Performed proactive link bandwidth capacity planning and worked with BU & customers for upgrade or downgrade.
• Capacity planning for WAN hardware's like routers, switches, Riverbed & WAN circuits
• Performed EOL refresh and ensured all devices are compliant.
• Proactive hardware and link upgrades on growth projects.
• Ensured WAN readiness for BCP, DC-DR and client connectivity failover testing and documented the outcomes.
• Weekly connected with service providers to discuss service management and service improvement plans
• Directed and supervised team of 5 engaged in Infra and client requirements.
• Engaged in new product POC's.
• Coached team members in techniques necessary to complete job tasks
• Evaluated employee skills and knowledge regularly, training, and mentoring individuals with lagging skills
• Minimized resource and time losses by addressing employee or production issue directly and implementing timely solutions
• Managed schedules, accepted time off requests and arranged coverage for short shifts
• Nominated team members for Rewards & Recognitions for their achievements.
• Assisted in recruitment of new team members, hiring highest qualified to build team of top performers

• Sutherland had 50+ offices across globe and 2 co-location datacenters.
• Monitored WAN & LAN networks of all 50+ offices using various monitoring tools like HP NMS and Syslogs
• Troubleshoot of network issues up to L2 level and implemented remediation changes to restore connectivity and to improve network uptime.
• Monitored datacenter servers health status.
• Monitored Avaya gateways, servers and recording servers.
• Performed L1 operations in Avaya like extension number mappings to project users.
• Monitored Internet traffics using Snort IDS and engage or alert network management team on high threats.
• Maintained the circuits & devices inventory and Global architecture diagrams
• Maintained circuit & device outages and Cisco TAC case trackers.
• Performed and maintained router & switch configurations backups
• Configuring span ports for recording servers to configure trunks for call recordings.
• Implemented new facilities in Egypt, Manila, US and India. Configured Core switches, firewalls, WAN - Internet & P2P links & enabled EIGRP routing to integrate facility with Sutherland backbone.
• Performed network summarization in EIGRP for all locations to reduce the topology tale and for faster convergence to avoid call drops.