Rajan Arora Director - Solution Architect/ Pre-Sales e-mail: rajanarora2003@gmail.com Cell:  +91 – 837 585 8153

Mailing Address:                               3/33 A Second Floor                               Double Story Vijay Nagar                               New Delhi 110009 India

 

SUMMARY

Pre-Sales Manager or Enterprise Solution Architect with 11+ years of rich and diversified experience in Program Management, Solution Planning and designing, Architecting, Transition & Transformation.

Implementation of operations focusing on Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Lync, End User Computing (Next-Generation Workplace Services), Enterprise Mobility (IOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry), Microsoft SharePoint, Salesforce, Windows Server, SCCM, VMware, Citrix, Storage, Cloud Computing Framework, Data Center Services & Unified Communications, ITIL & ITSM best practices (Incident & Change Requests)

Manage strategic alliances & launch joint Initiatives with partners & Strong ability to bridge gaps between technical & business requirements & Extensive background on IT infrastructure services domain in P&L management, Business development, Managing Strategic deals, Relationship management, Global delivery, IT Transformation & technology strategy areas.

 

SKILLS

Technical Specialties

Functional Portfolio

§        Microsoft Active Directory & Exchange Server 2013/ 2010 §        Microsoft Lync Server 2013/ 2010, OCS 2007 R2 §        Cloud Computing Solutions, MS Azure, Openstack Infrastructure,          Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco IoT (Internet of Things) §        Microsoft Office 365 & SharePoint 2013/ 2010 §        Enterprise Mobility: Blackberry, Android, IOS (iPhone & iPad), Windows Mobile & Mobile Device Management (MDM) & Mobile Application Management (MAM), Mobile Content Management §        Big Data Analytics / Hadoop & Salesforce §        MS Windows Server 2012/ 2008 R2 & UNIX §        VMWare & Citrix / VDI (XenApp, XenDesktop, AppSense) §        SCCM 2012 / 2007 & SCOM 2012 / 2007 R2 §        Storage: SAN/ NAS, iSCSI/ NetApp/ EMC, HP XP §        Networks and Security (Switching, Routing, & Firewalls) §        Database Mgmt. (Oracle 8i/9i/10G, SQL, DB2, RDBMS) §        Server Hardware configuration for IBM, DELL, HP §        Java/ J2EE, Web Services, SOAP, REST, SOA, MEAP: IBM Worklight, Adobe PhoneGap

§        Solution Planning, Design, Architecture, Sizing, Implementation         & Deployment, Due-Diligence, Pricing, Business Transformation,         Transition § Pre-Sales & Portfolio Offering Development § Program, Service Delivery, & Project Management § Bid or Pursuit Mgmt. (RFP, RFI, BOM, SOW’s, Proposal Text, POC) § Presentation to C-level Executives § Business Continuity and Business Process Improvement § Information Security Architecture and Design § Customer Relationship Management, Customer Communication & Engagement § Technical Leadership, contract negotiation, & budgeting § Software Development Lifecycle and IT Service operations § Quality Assurance & Qualitative Process Adherence § MS Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, MS Visio, MS Project) § Workforce Management/ Resource Utilization

 

EDUCATION

§                   Masters in Computer Applications (MCA) from Indira Gandhi University, Delhi in 2012

§                   Bachelors of Computer Applications (BCA) from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida/ Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

                (GGSIPU), Delhi in 2005

§                   XII Standard from St. Remal Public School, Delhi (CBSE) in 2002

§                   X Standard from Lilawati Vidya Mandir (LVM) Public School, Delhi (CBSE) in 2000

 

CERTIFICATIONS

§                   Pre-Sales Technical Specialist Assessment for Collaboration and Content (SharePoint 2013) by Microsoft Partner Network

§                   Project Management Professional (PMP)

§                   CLOUDU Certified by Rackspace, founder of OpenStack™, an open source Cloud Platform

§                   Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP in Windows Server 2008) & Exchange Server 2007

§                   Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) V3 Foundations

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

§                   Synergy Award – Award for the best team effort of the quarter (Pursuit Management) By Cognizant CIS PSG Vertical

§                   HCL Comnet Xtra Mile Silver Champ Award

§                   Certificate of Appreciation towards going Xtra Mile towards Customer Excellence from the Client AIGGS/ HCL

§                   Certification for successfully completion of “Act for Impact” Personality Development Workshop conducted by Team Productivity

                Consultants Ltd. (TPCL)

Qualified Management and Leadership skills Professional:

 

Presentation Skills	Planning and Behavioral Management	Time Management	Problem Solving and Decision Making
Communication for Excellence	Effective Leadership skills	Quality Audit ISO 9001-2000	Positive Assertiveness
Team Management	Six Sigma Green Belt

 

PERSONAL DETAILS

Languages: English, Hindi, Spanish, Punjabi	Hobbies & Interests: Travelling, Music, & Football, Volunteering, Writing, poetry, Reading, Photography, Social Causes, Spirituality	Date of Birth: 22 August 1984	Nationality: Indian
Visa Details	United States of America (USA) Business Visa Holder	United Kingdom (UK) Business Visa Holder	Schengen Visa Holder
Passport Details	M0501473 (Passport No.)	31/07/2014 (Issued Date)	30/07/2024 (Expiry Date)

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Cognizant Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.                                                                                                                                     September 2014 – Present

Solution Director – Biz. Dev.

·               Excellent, in-depth understanding of overall IT Infrastructure across technology & service towers

·               Knowledge of technical tasks & activities constituting the deliverables, structuring them logically - planning, risk identification & mitigation, dependency analysis etc.

·               Accountable for end to end IT Infrastructure solution, working closely with Enterprise Architects Bid Lead & Design SMEs to build solution construct 

·               Coordinate with Pursuit Lead, Solution Manager, Bid Lead, Enterprise Architect & Design SMEs towards conceptualizing an integrated, end to end solution

·               Contribute to RFP response build/creation, ensuring end to end story-boarding of technical solution, providing multiple solution options as per client context/business drivers

·               Work with internal (Pursuit Group, Solutions Group, Commercials & Contracts Group, Transition & Transformation Group, SI & Managed Contract Services Group) & external (CIS - SBU, Enabler, Foundation, Vertical/Account, Horizontal, Corporate) teams for account penetration strategies by driving solution identification & development of selling strategies. Collaborate with Bid Lead, Business Analyst in response development & perform overall quality control of client deliverables

·               Leverage Transformation & Best-in-Class frameworks in developing a solution approach to meet client business objectives 

·               Leverage Cognizant capabilities, IP & Alliances as appropriate in the overall solution model

·               Articulate & defend solution components in internal & external forums (including client presentations)

·               Lead Due Diligence activities & participate in ISPA engagements, as applicable

·               Present high level ROI & TCO figures to client senior management during presentation & discussions

·               Drive & own solution discussions and presentations with internal & external teams - deal reviews, solution workshops & solution reviews

·               Drive & participate in solution discussions with partners (where applicable) - capability, technical solution & pricing

·               Support Product Management & Marketing Teams in developing productized solutions offerings & collaterals (where applicable)

·               Discuss & provide inputs to Pursuit Lead, Solution Manager, Enterprise Architect, Design SMEs, Bid Leads, Business Analysts, Financial Analysts towards conceptualizing & building Win Themes, SWOT, Win/Loss analysis etc.

 

CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation)                                                                                                                                                    July 2013 – September 2014

Senior Solution Architect/ Pre-Sales Manager

   As a Solutions Architect, responsible for technical account management, product demonstration, and possesses a high-level of professionalism as the technical point of contact with the customer. The Solutions Consultant also creates custom demos, develops and presents reporting to address each business requirement, and addresses all technical requests during the sales process. Solutions Consultant is required to assist in completing RFPs, proposals, create customized demos, and travel to meetings with potential clients.  

§                   It’s a techno-commercial role addressing global (US, EMEA, APAC and ANZ ) IT outsourcing deals worth $100 Million and above & Managed multimillion dollar budgets while supporting sales efforts that have yielded billion-dollar outsourcing service contracts & Work with client, business development team, and delivery team to understand client requirements & Participate and lead due diligence exercises (where applicable) with clients

§                   Drive & own solution discussions with Internal Stakeholders (ITIS, Vertical and other BUs). This includes Solution Workshops, Solution Reviews Calls, Deal Review Calls and participate in Deliverability Assessment Calls

§                   Deliver solution Presentation to Customers. This includes Clarification Workshops, Solution Workshops and Solution Presentations, Drive / Participate in Solution discussions with Partners (where applicable).This includes: Capability, Technical Solution and Pricing & Collaborate with Business Analysts in response development & Support product management and marketing teams in developing productized solutions offerings and collateral (where applicable), Perform overall quality check on the client deliverables

§                   As a PoC for a P&L Unit: Work with account penetration strategies by driving solution identification & development of selling strategies: support target achievement & develop sales strategy for various offerings & for Services / Technology: Anchor bids specific to the service areas

§                   Create winning Solution and Cost for Workplace Domain (Infrastructure Services) – MS Exchange, MS Lync, SharePoint, Mobile Computing, Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Data Center, Server, Storage, Backup, Databases, Middleware, Applications and tools & Analyze RFP / RFI / bid documents to understand client requirements and propose best solutions using CSC Global Service Offerings 

§                   Managed Services, Staff Augmentation, Optimization Analysis & Assessment of IT Infrastructure, Transition & Transformation Services & Provide Strategy, Technical Solution and Cost for assigned domain & Prepare client presentations and final proposal text to be submitted to the client

§                   Assist sales team in all phases of bid cycle – Solution Development, Client workshops, Client Visits, BAFO & Due-Diligence & Ability of thinking out of the box, creative, persuasive & innovative in formulating, marketing strategies towards achieving & exceeding sales targets

§                   Comfortable in dealing with different levels of clients from project managers up through to senior executives at the level of CIO, CTO, COO, and CEO. Proven customer relationship skills with experience in interfacing with customers at Executive/ Director level in both business and technology on a regular basis

§                   Create and present product demonstrations via web conference and onsite at client offices & translate client reporting or analysis objectives into solutions based on implementation or configuration & Answer technical and logistical questions during the sales process through documentation, presentations, and demonstrations & Assist account executives in creating client presentations and solution strategy & Develop knowledge about competing products, and develop sales strategies to address

§                   Assist in proof of concepts by working with prospects to define deliverables and scope, coordinating with the Implementation team, and working with prospects to prove deliverables are complete & Participate in conferences, and other sales opportunities & Document other client product requests and requirements for product management and engineering departments

§                   Exceptional organizational, presentation, and communication skills & Sound Knowledge on awareness of ITIL processes & Create service model framework in line with RFP requirements & Ability to define, articulate, estimate and cost the complete End User Services solution covering People, Processes and tools, Understand the client’s business and technical requirements and translate them to the technology solution & Have clear perspective and approach for meeting business objectives with the use of technology solutions & Understanding and architectural knowledge of VDI Solutions, Microsoft Products (Lync, SharePoint, Exchange, SCCM, Virtualization)

§                   Design & Solution understanding for End User domain, using products from various vendors (Service Desk, Desktop Support Solution, MS Exchange, Lotus Notes, Antivirus, Blackberry, Asset Management, VDI including Electronic Desktop Management e.g. SMS, BMC Marimba, SCCM, Altiris, BMC toolset etc.), & Demonstrates Leadership and takes complete solution ownership for his domain for the RFP response & Our Customers span many various industries – Banking, Financial, Insurance, Telecom, Government, Healthcare, Academic, Travel, Transportation & Hospitality, Retail, Manufacturing and Information Services and many others

§                   Provide a populated cost model for LOS/ functional group (including hardware, software, technical and operational support) & Provide the technical solution for their LOS/ functional area as part of a bid or proposal & Provide support to the LOS/ functional group personnel working on bids and/or proposals & Assist in the development of functional group processes, activities and products that support bid activity, Apply commercial interpretation to the technical solution to create a proposal that is sales-oriented

§                   Assist with the transformation requirements to the point of demonstrating CSC’s ability to change the current state of operation to a more appropriate and standard environment & Understand the Functional Area and know how to apply standards, Extensive experience in HLD and LLD for Microsoft Exchange, Lync, SharePoint, Mobility Environments & Influence and execute the product strategy and roadmap for CSC client's core services

§                   Coach/Mentor the ‘temporary’ Domain Experts called in from the Functional Area, Perform internal presentations (primarily to the Domain Manager/Solution Manager) relating to their technical solution contributions & Act as a Technical Consultant during the contract negotiation & Provide input into the Statement of Work & Understand the relationship between Cost and SLA/SOW/Due Diligence, and communicate this to New Business Solutions

 

NaviSite – A Time Warner Cable Company                                                                                                                                                  July 2011 – July 2013

   Solutions Consultant - Microsoft Infrastructure Product Segment

   Project – Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) Premium and Enterprise Business Class customers using Parallels (Hosted Exchange 2010) as a Front End Application & Hosted Exchange Environment (or Multi-Tenant Environment) using ENSIM as a Front End Application.

Customer’s named as a few: Legg Mason, Biogen Idec, HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), HBO, Harvard University, Church Pension Group, Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford, Interstate Hotels, Krispy Kreme, Cabot, Omgeo, Academy of Arts, Stamford Hospital, IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances), Zero Chaos, Genesys Labs, Pomeroy, Clarion Partners, Carrier Enterprises, St. Francis Hospital, Hill-Rom, AAA Western, Quintessentially, Animal Medical Center

Supported dedicated and hosted customers exchange & managed cloud services environment by providing support on skills like Exchange 2003/ 2007/ 2010,  Active Directory, Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.5/ 5.0, SharePoint 2007/ 2010, Lync Server 2010, Office 365, Responsible to provide complete Messaging solutions/ recommendations including application services (Viz. Microsoft Outlook)

§                   Senior executive with strong operational background and proven record of accomplishment of delivering strong top and bottom line results in the Cloud, Internet, IT Services, and Managed Services space, & Build, implement, and manage products/solutions for Client's Hosted and Remotely Managed Microsoft Exchange Business

§                   Managed “best of breed” third party tools and system enhancements such as MimeCast, Google Postini (or Excel Micro), Blackberry (RIM), Message Labs, DELL AppAssure, ScanMail Trend Micro, McAfee, HP Data Protector, Auditing etc.

§                   Level 2^nd/ 3^rd of escalation for all Microsoft Exchange, Blackberry, SharePoint Server and OCS 2007 R2 / Lync 2010 issues, Symantec Enterprise Vault Issues (Email Archiving or eDiscovery), Message hygiene using Windows and MAC OS and Mobility – Blackberry, GoodLink, iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, Windows Mobile, MS ISA server, Forefront TMG Servers, MS SQL Server

§                   Coordinate with other Operations/App. Services team members regarding deployment and ongoing maintenance of new systems and solutions Knowledge of products like Cisco Call Manager, Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unity connection Manager & Automation tasks using Windows PowerShell and Exchange Shell Scripting includes VBScript

§                   Develop and sustain relationship with customers on internal, regional, and/or global shared/ funded IT Infrastructure Management Services Projects & Extensive experience working in an onsite / offshore model & Experience in managing Large and Complex Projects and manage delivery of multiple projects meeting key performance objectives

§                   Strong Service Management knowledge and ability to lead virtual / cross-functional teams & Manage Project Team, define scope, develop and manage project plans and project budgets, Provide input to unit cost and KPI metrics where required & Direct activities, project objectives, risk management, change control processes, project communications and ensure project compliance with the Project Management Methodology (PMM), direct cross-organizational coordination as required

§                   Exchange Health performance monitoring using MOM and SCOM alarming & Attend Customer meetings as required i.e. CAB, operational review meetings & Exposure to ITIL best practices in an enterprise environment & Responsible for preparing the proposals for the Sales and preparing in RFPs, RFQs and RFIs & Demonstrate POC (Proof of Concept), write technical responses & formal documentation in written & graphic formats based on customer requests (RFQ) and workflow process to customer

§                   Ensure all staff is familiar with the contracted Service Levels and Service obligations for supported accounts & Engage Engineers to perform work that achieves KPI and SLA & Insightful knowledge of business process analysis and design, benchmarking, re-engineering, performance measurement & quality

§                   Participate in monthly review of SLA Performance and Implement improvements where necessary & Provide input to monthly customer reports where required & Interface with Information Security, Network Engineering, Internet Engg., Helpdesk, Business Partners, & Functional Groups & Remain up to date on current and emerging trends in Email/ Messaging Technology & Worked with clients or customers across different time zones or Geographies (EMEA, NA and APAC)

 

Zensar Technologies                                                                                                                                                                                     May 2010 – July 2011

Lead Messaging Consultant - Value Retail Account
A Messaging Services Architect demonstrates ability to participate in development of innovative and cost effective solutions to customer problems, using integrated data processing and communication solutions. Successfully performed research and feasibility studies, tradeoff analyses, operation studies, design reviews, and technical briefings with Clients. Successfully answers customer inquiries regarding technical issues and demonstrates ability to provide training and assistance to less experienced staff.

§                   A progressive experience in Messaging , Active Directory, Storage, VMWare, Cloud Offerings: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS in an IT Infrastructure space

§                   Build, implement, and manage Blackberry Enterprise Server solutions for hosted and remotely managed Messaging Environments, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003/2007/2010 migration, implementation and support & Capable of maintaining a BES/Messaging infrastructure according to company SLAs

§                   Test, configure and deploy operating system/software including Service Packs, upgrades, hot fixes, etc. & Monitor the Exchange environment, run various checkouts and prepare reports & Create change management requests for various issues in Exchange environment and work on it until fix is implemented & Prepare, measure and analyze Exchange server availability and performance report

§                   Monitor backup jobs and times and remediate as required to avoid any potential issue & Work on the Special Mailbox & Restricted distribution List creation/modification requests & Prepare ongoing process documents related to Exchange Server & Provide options to optimize e-mail server performance and also perform proactive fault detection & diagnostic procedures & Adhere to change control guidelines

§                   BES 5.0 software configuration & Exhibit familiarity with monitoring tools, anti-virus/anti-spam/content filtering solutions & Strong knowledge with the integration of Messaging with wireless technologies (ActiveSync, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, & GoodLink Messaging)

§                   Create and maintain operations documentation & Monitor results of Messaging application backup and recovery and the ability to troubleshoot related issues, Analyze and improve efficient Messaging delivery strategies & Procures Messaging Server hardware & software

§                   Design and implement Messaging-related tasks such as load balancing, performance / load testing, anti-virus/anti-spam defense, authentication protocols and disaster recovery scenarios & Ability to apply wide application of theories, concepts, & principles in identifying customer needs & Experience performing complex issue analysis, Ability to successfully utilize technical expertise in client support

§                   Group Policy design and administration with multiple OU’s & Enterprise Level Active Directory Design, implementation, & support & Configuration, troubleshooting, supporting, installing servers & Worked on Bluecoat (Web Proxy Issues) and QlikView Application Servers

§                   Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) 2007, Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) patch management, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Microsoft System Management Sever (SMS), Symantec Backup Exec backup solutions and Antivirus management using Symantec Endpoint Protection

 

HCL Technologies                                                                                                                                                                                      February 2008 – May 2010

Consultant - Exchange/ AD/ Wintel Support - American International General (AIG) Account

§                   Active Directory administration and support & Set up new users by adding to Active Directory. Troubleshooting Active Directory Issues and Maintaining user accounts in applications e.g. Active Directory. Granting user with access rights and moving user’s OU as requested on Active Directory on Win Server 2003/2008

§                   Microsoft Exchange Server 2003/2007/2010 administration and support,  documented, performed and validated test cases based on customer requirements & Troubleshooting issues of Enterprise level Blackberry Exchange Severs and Blackberry’s password resets and configuration of emails, Troubleshooting issues of Lotus Notes ( or Domino) Application, Troubleshooting, configuring issues of LAN/Network, Multifunction Shared Printers & Handled escalations, problem tickets and give floor support as well & Install, configure and troubleshoot hardware and software by supporting users on internal applications

§                   Managed internal applications like Remote Access (VPN) using RADIUS - creating accounts and providing the access rights and troubleshooting the connectivity issues, SafeBoot and Mainframe applications like Rumba and other client specific applications based on insurance modules, SAP R/3 Modules, Private Client Group (PCG), Peregrine (or Service Center), HP PPM (Project Portfolio Management), Blade PC’s Support and Microsoft Outlook Issues

§                   Used BMC Remedy and Service Now (ITSM), HP Service Manager to log an user’s incident and Change Requests, Master Tickets, Problem tickets and Project tickets & Worked on CMDB/ Asset Management System, BMC Dashboards and Crystal Reports (BO) & Dealt with Hardware vendors like IBM / HP / Dell & Following up with Vendors for hardware & software issues whenever required & resolve issues by minimizing downtimes and Responsible for Root cause analysis

§                   Maintained Service Level Agreement (SLA) for all the tickets raised, follow up from team members on aging tickets & Responsible for regular or weekly conference meetings with the clients regarding the status, problems and about the current & pending issues & Well versed with Microsoft Office Package (Word/ Excel/ PowerPoint/ Visio), Well versed with MS Project Pro/ Server 2010

§                   Patch and Service Pack Installation and management & Mail quota, delegation, rights management and individual mail restore, OWA Access issues, On-phone support for VIP (Tier-1,2,3) Users & Mailbox permission delegation, DL creation and modification depend upon user’s requirement

§                   Create, Modify & Maintenance of public folder for Enterprise FAX Routings & Backup and restoration of all servers using Symantec Backup Exec 12.5, DHCP, DNS and WINS related problem troubleshooting & Implementing System Policies & Profile’s according to client requirement & Handling Password reset issues for project’s internal applications

 

IBM INDIA                                                                                                                                                                                                            July 2007 – January 2008

Technical Support Engineer – Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services            

Supported the corporate users over phone and email regarding technical issues with the HP (Hewlett Packard) products and the products supported are workstations, thin clients, desktops, laptops, Blade PC’s and Servers

§                   Provided resolutions to all the desktop related queries and issues reported by HP users through remote control and phone & Maintained SLA for all the tickets raised, follow up from team members on aging tickets & Escalation and coordination with vendors, if required & provided process trainings to the new joiners in the team & provided weekly reports to supervisor, act as backup supervisor in his absence

§                   Configured and troubleshoot “Net gear” Wired and Wireless networking devices like Routers, Access Points, Hubs, Switches, Adapters, and VPN etc. Online & Configured wired and wireless networks and Enabling WEP, WPA_PSK security and Port triggering, Port forwarding & Configuration of access points using repeating and bridging & Installation of wired and wireless adapters & Installation and setup of Print Servers

 

Aar Kay Steels                                                                                                                                                                              July’2005 – July’2007

Business Analyst

 

§                    Working with users to formulate and document business requirements

§                    Identifying, investigating, and analyzing business processes, procedures and work practices

§                    Identifying and evaluating inefficiencies and recommending optimal business practices, and system functionality and behavior 

§                    Using project management methodologies, principles and techniques to develop project plans and to cost, resource and manage projects

§                Taking responsibility for deploying functional solutions, such as creating, adopting and implementing system test plans, which ensure 

                acceptable quality and integrity of the system

§                    Creating user and training documentation, and conducting formal training classes

§                    Developing functional specifications for use by system developers

§                    Using data and process modeling techniques to create clear system specifications for the design and development of system software

 

ORACLE APPS 11i Technical Module Trained

§                             Involved in customization and development of custom reports as per requirement & Developments and Registration of Concurrent Programs, Creation of new users and assigning responsibilities to them & Involved in defining new menus and assigning them to responsibilities & Involved in customization New Forms as per requirement

§                             Developed triggers using PL/SQL to handle various events & Analyzed and designed the various stored procedures for the application & Developed SQL queries, according to the client requirement & Customization of DFF Structure as per Requirement

 

 

[Rajan Arora]