Vishal Thakur
Mumbai
Summary
Presales Solutions Specialist with over 11 years of progressive experience at Brennan IT, spanning Managed Services (Levels 1–3), Technical Team Leadership, Consulting, and Presales Solution Architecture. Strong background in IT Operations, Infrastructure, Microsoft Cloud (Azure, M365, Intune), Managed Services and Security. Proven ability to bridge technical delivery and business outcomes through customer discovery, solution design, SOW creation, and executive-level engagement. Consistently translates complex multi-technology architectures into winning client proposals, closing $2M+ AUD in managed services, cloud and security contracts. Mumbai-based and eager to bring customer-first engineering and cloud adoption expertise.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Associate Presales Solution Specialist
Brennan
Mumbai
06.2025 - Current
- Own the end-to-end presales cycle for managed services portfolio including Azure Assessment & Migration, IAM/Infrastructure Modernisation, Workplace Modernisation, Data & AI, and Cybersecurity opportunities.
- Closed $2M+ AUD in managed services, Cloud and security contracts through compelling technical demos, proof-of-concept delivery, and consultative solution selling.
- Drove RFP responses and solution design for security services, including penetration testing and Essential Eight (E8) compliance frameworks, tailoring proposals for C-suite and technical stakeholders.
- Architect and present cloud modernisation roadmaps mapping client on-premises environments to Azure native services with methodologies.
- Collaborated cross-functionally with delivery, security, and cloud engineering teams to ensure technical feasibility and maintain margin integrity across proposed solutions.
- Designed and delivered enterprise network architecture solutions including SD-WAN, MPLS-to-cloud migration, and hybrid connectivity frameworks leveraging Azure ExpressRoute and VPN Gateway to meet client uptime and latency requirements.
- Led infrastructure discovery and assessment engagements across client environments, producing detailed current-state analysis covering compute, storage, networking, and virtualisation (VMware/Hyper-V), and translating findings into actionable transformation roadmaps.
- Architected high-availability and disaster recovery solutions using Azure Site Recovery, geo-redundant storage, and failover clustering, aligning RPO/RTO objectives with client business continuity requirements.
- Developed end-to-end identity and access management architectures incorporating Azure Active Directory (Entra ID), Conditional Access policies, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), and hybrid identity models using AD Connect.
- Designed scalable and secure landing zone architectures following Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) and Azure Well-Architected Framework (WAF) principles, including hub-and-spoke topology, policy governance, and tagging strategies.
- Produced detailed Bills of Materials (BoM), Statements of Work (SoW), and infrastructure sizing models to support accurate commercial scoping and reduce delivery risk during handover to engineering teams.
- Engaged with clients across regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, government) to map infrastructure designs to compliance requirements including ISO 27001 and ASD Essential Eight maturity levels.
Technical Leader — IT Infrastructure
Brennan
Mumbai
03.2023 - 05.2025
- Australia-based Managed Services
- Led and mentored a cross-functional team of 18 engineers across Windows & Application engineering, Virtualisation, Network Operations, and Database Administration delivering end-to-end managed service outcomes.
- Served as post-sales solution architect, led discovery and assessment workshops to translate business requirements into actionable infrastructure designs for enterprise clients.
- Oversaw private cloud administration practice for IaaS and BaaS (Backup-as-a-Service), ensured SLA adherence and maintained platform reliability for managed service clients.
- Collaborated with Transitions team to onboard new clients, developed repeatable runbooks, process documentation, and knowledge bases to enhance service delivery.
- Drove proactive projects and automation initiatives (PowerShell, scripting frameworks), reducing manual operational effort by ~30% and improving team capacity for strategic projects.
- Led Agile delivery of infrastructure refresh and cloud migration projects, coordinating across India and Australia time zones with consistent on-time, on-budget outcomes.
Consultant Level 3
Brennan
Mumbai
08.2021 - 03.2023
- Led deployment and configuration of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) environments for enterprise clients, enhancing user experience through optimized site design, StoreFront, Delivery Controllers, and MCS provisioning.
- Executed Azure cloud migration projects — lift-and-shift and re-platform — ensuring seamless transitions with thorough pre-migration assessments, network design, identity federation, and post-migration validation.
- Designed and delivered virtualisation solutions across VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V, including storage integration (SAN/NAS), HA clustering, and DRS configuration.
- Developed PowerShell automation scripts for provisioning, patching, and compliance reporting, significantly reducing repetitive engineering effort across client environments.
- Managed complex multi-stakeholder infrastructure projects from scoping through to handover, ensuring alignment and transparency through effective RAID log maintenance and stakeholder communications.
- Senior infrastructure consultant across virtualisation, cloud, and end-user computing.
- Australia-based Managed Services
Senior Consultant Level 2
Brennan
Mumbai
07.2020 - 08.2021
- Managed and maintained 2,000+ server estate across Windows Server, VMware, and Hyper-V hypervisors, ensuring optimal health, performance, and security compliance.
- Executed Azure migrations and multi-virtualisation projects, supporting client transitions from on premises to hybrid cloud infrastructure.
- Executed IT automation initiatives and infrastructure modernisation projects, applying scripting and tooling to streamline operations and enhance system reliability.
- Administered Citrix environments, PKI/Certificate Services, and Network Policy Servers (NPS/RADIUS), ensuring secure and reliable access for enterprise user bases.
- Led application deployment pipelines and network share infrastructure management; served as escalation point for junior engineers, conducting root-cause analysis on complex incidents to drive resolution.
- Senior escalation point and infrastructure lead across a 2,000+ server estate.
- Provided managed IT services in Australia, ensuring client needs were met.
Consultant Level 2
Brennan
Mumbai
09.2019 - 07.2020
- IT Operations | Infrastructure Projects | Security Remediation.
- Led vulnerability remediation projects and firewall rule-set reviews, reducing exposure across client environments in line with industry best practices.
- Managed VMware upgrades, switch infrastructure, and firewall configuration across multiple client environments, enhancing security posture and optimizing network performance.
- Coordinated Change and Problem Management processes, overseeing maintenance windows and leading post-incident reviews to improve IT operations.
- Executed server project work including builds, migrations, and decommissions while ensuring accuracy of asset and configuration records.
- Provided managed services to Australian clients, ensuring reliable IT support.
IT Infrastructure Engineer Level 1
Brennan
Mumbai
01.2018 - 08.2019
- Monitored, troubleshot, and provided operational support across infrastructure platforms to ensure optimal performance.
- Monitored and troubleshot VMware vSphere and Hyper-V hypervisor environments, resolving performance and availability issues across physical and virtual infrastructure.
- Administered Windows Server environments, conducting patching, application upgrades, Remote Desktop Services (RDS), and storage management to maintain system integrity.
- Provided remote infrastructure support to clients, maintaining SLA targets and escalating complex issues to senior engineers with detailed diagnostics.
- Delivered managed services in Australia to improve client infrastructure performance and reliability.
NOC Level 1 — Managed Services
Continuum Managed Services
09.2016 - 01.2018
- Monitored client IT environments 24x7 via NOC tooling, triaging and resolving alerts for servers, networks, and endpoint systems, maintaining operational integrity for managed services clients.
- Provided continuous monitoring and remote support at Network Operations Centre, ensuring system stability and optimizing performance.
- Administered Active Directory (AD DS, DNS, DHCP, GPO) and Microsoft Exchange/Office 365 environments, handling user lifecycle, mailbox management, and mail flow issues.
- Documented incidents, escalation paths, and resolutions in ticketing systems, enhancing knowledge base articles to streamline future incident resolution.
Service Desk Coordinator
Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services
12.2014 - 08.2016
- End-user support | Desktop & Application Support.
- Delivered Level 1 desktop support and user assistance for hardware, software, and connectivity issues, achieving high customer satisfaction.
- Coordinated service request intake, case logging, and ticket routing to ensure SLA compliance and maintain clear communication with end users.
Education
Diploma - Electronics and telecommunication
Maharashtra state board of technical education
Mumbai, India01-2012
Skills
- Solution Architecture
- Cloud Solution Design
- Microsoft Azure
- GCP
- Hybrid Cloud
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Azure AD Connect
- Intune MDM/MAM
- Conditional Access
- MFA
- Hybrid Identity
- Zero Trust
- SASE
- ZTNA
- CASB
- Technical Demos
- POC Delivery
- Proposal development
- Stakeholder Presentations
- Data Management
- Infrastructure Automation
- Configuration Management
- Deployment Scripting
- Network Architecture
- Network Optimization
- Incident Response
- Virtualization Solutions
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- Remote Work Solutions
- PowerShell
- Palo Alto NGFW
- Fortinet VPN
- Team Leadership
Personal Information
Title: Associate Presales Solution Specialist | Cloud, Infrastructure & Security Specialist
Timeline
Associate Presales Solution Specialist
Brennan
06.2025 - Current
Technical Leader — IT Infrastructure
Brennan
03.2023 - 05.2025
Consultant Level 3
Brennan
08.2021 - 03.2023
Senior Consultant Level 2
Brennan
07.2020 - 08.2021
Consultant Level 2
Brennan
09.2019 - 07.2020
IT Infrastructure Engineer Level 1
Brennan
01.2018 - 08.2019
NOC Level 1 — Managed Services
Continuum Managed Services
09.2016 - 01.2018
Service Desk Coordinator
Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services
12.2014 - 08.2016
Diploma - Electronics and telecommunication
Maharashtra state board of technical education