Prakash Rao

2023-01 - Current

IT|Cloud Infrastructure Lead

Dairy Australia

• As the IT|Cloud Infrastructure Lead at Dairy Australia, I manage and oversee a team of managed services providers for the administration of Cloud and IT Infrastructure. My roles and responsibilities include:
• Financial Operations: Managing budgeting for IT software and Infrastructure for the financial year, handling regular payments to vendors as part of Opex maintenance, and managing finances on the Medius software.
• Issue Escalation: Serving as the escalation point for regular process and technology-related issues within the team.
• Compliance and Security: Ensuring the infrastructure is compliant and secure according to cyber security standards such as Essential 8. Extensively using CrowdStrike for internal vulnerabilities, exposure management, and cloud security, Microsoft Defender for M365 & Cloud.
• System Performance: Ensuring optimal performance of critical systems by regularly updating and patching Cloud infrastructure.
• Microsoft Technologies: Working on Microsoft 365 technologies, including Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Defender for M365, SharePoint-related tasks, and managing Salesforce integration with M365.
• Data Management: Implementing Azure Analysis Services to provide enterprise-grade data models in the cloud, and migrating data from file servers to Microsoft Teams as part of standardization efforts.
• Cloud security: Regular reviews of Azure Cloud environment including Firewall exposures/remediation, addressing non-standards, Migration of workloads to the upgraded environments, Addressing Windows related security vulnerabilities.
• Projects: Implementation of Azure PIM (Privileged Identity Management), Azure Bastion for Azure VMs for enhanced security, Intune implementation.
• Tools and Platforms: Utilizing JIRA and Confluence for BAU and projects, and implementing SCIM and SSO solutions.
• Through these responsibilities, I ensure that Dairy Australia's IT and Cloud Infrastructure is robust, secure, and aligned with industry standards and business objectives.
• Azure DevOps: Azure DevOps for managing development and deployment processes in the cloud environment.
• Regular meetings with vendors to review the ongoing issues/escalations, cost efficiency measures, Performance reviews etc.
• Sitecore migration: Playing a key role in RFP, Infrastructure migration, Azure DevOps implementation as part of CMS migration to Sitecore XM Cloud version.
• Reduced downtime by proactively identifying and resolving potential issues in the IT infrastructure.

• Spearheaded and managed a dynamic Infrastructure team, demonstrating effective leadership in achieving team objectives
• Successfully executed high-impact projects focused on Azure migration, load balancing, and security, showcasing proficiency in cutting-edge technologies
• Played a pivotal role in Management and implementation of Platform Refresh project, overseeing end-to-end implementation of critical initiatives valued at over 10 million dollars
• Led migration efforts for data storage and networking components, ensuring seamless transition from legacy technologies to modern solutions
• Managed financial aspects, encompassing comprehensive CapEx and OpEx planning
• Served as the primary escalation point for routine BAU infrastructure issues and incidents, showcasing expertise in prompt issue resolution and effective troubleshooting
• Conducted regular meetings with vendors, facilitating open communication for addressing BAU challenges, budget discussions, and project initiation, fostering strong partnerships
• Achieved OpEx savings exceeding 150,000 A$ by collaborating with vendors to optimize maintenance charges and curtail unnecessary expenditures
• As a Change Manager, initiating and leading bridge calls, steering effective communication, and coordinating teams to uphold infrastructure uptime in alignment with service level agreements.
• Developed comprehensive documentation to facilitate knowledge sharing among team members and support long-term maintenance efforts.

• Managed a 12-member deployment team responsible for the seamless implementation of Storage and Backup solutions
• Collaborated with industry giants like Dell EMC, VMware, HDS, HP, NetApp, IBM, CISCO, Brocade, Veritas, and Oracle, ensuring Business as Usual (BAU) operations were executed with precision and timeliness
• Led a team overseeing 24/7 operations of the bank's infrastructure, specifically focusing on servers and storage
• Achieved a 95% refresh of non-compliant infrastructure within eight months and completed 100% within a year, proactively resolving critical issues to minimize transition-related outages
• Implemented strategic measures that reduced major incidents from 400 to under 20 annually, fostering a more stable operational environment
• Optimized workflow efficiency by automating change approvers' notifications, resulting in a weekly time saving of 40 hours
• Effectively addressed chronic and high-priority complex issues, ensuring full compliance and timely resolutions
• Regularly provided executive updates on critical issues, maintaining transparent communication channels
• Served as an escalation point of contact, offering technical and process-related support to engineers, contributing to efficient problem resolution
• Coordinated with internal business units and problem management teams, driving Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implementing preventive measures to forestall issue recurrence
• Delivered prompt responses to internal clients regarding storage provisioning, decommissions, troubleshooting, and zoning-related tasks
• Spearheaded a significant cleanup project, resulting in substantial cost savings for the firm through effective capacity management
• Applied expertise in release management and service management frameworks, including ITIL, to enhance operational efficiency
• Authored comprehensive documents outlining Standard Operating Procedures, internal processes, and technical troubleshooting protocols
• Pioneered the transformation of the team into a dedicated engineering unit, a trailblazing initiative within the industry, with engineers seamlessly balancing primary and secondary roles.

• Managed a dynamic team of 14 professionals in the Infrastructure Deployment department
• Earned recognition with a Platinum Award from DellEMC
• Spearheaded critical responsibilities in Infrastructure/Storage Administration and Virtualization operations
• Effectively managed and resolved chronic and high-priority complex issues
• Regularly communicated updates on ongoing issues to senior management
• Served as a crucial escalation point for engineers
• Collaborated closely with internal customers and problem management teams
• Played a pivotal role in various high-impact projects.

• Managing Storage Infrastructure, Switches on different zones like Production, Development, and Testing
• Responsible for handling day-to-day operations of client's infrastructure as a Storage Systems Administrator
• Report and manage any technical issues within the server and storage area network infrastructure
• Providing SAN administration and design services to the client
• Implemented Disaster recovery solutions and control operations on EMC technologies
• End-to-End design, implementation and installation of customer solution designs and projects
• Managing RCA and documentation of problem analysis for future references
• Successful planning and executed complete DC relocation with minimal downtime.

• Assisting clients globally to resolve the issues on Storage and Server Infrastructure
• Provide technical inputs to various projects dealing with troubleshooting of EMC Storage Infrastructure
• Establishing and maintaining contact with vendors for support and problem resolution
• Taken care of multiple tasks on Storage Area Network infrastructure such as Migrations, Implementation and Management
• Monitoring and reporting on agreed SLA's on the infrastructure layer
• Research and recommend innovative ideas and wherever possible to automate sys admin tasks
• No schedule deviation beyond norms in configuration management, inputs & status reports to the clients.