About Ashraf Kotb
ASHRAF KOTB AHMED
Villa No. 64, Al-Suwair St, Duhail South, Doha, Qatar
Cell: +974 647 4673
Email: ashraf.kotb@live.com
Professional Profile
A resourceful, commercially astute and hardworking professional with a passion for Information Technology underpinned by outstanding technical skills, a proven track record in project management, and the development and motivation of cross-functional teams. Possesses an in-depth understanding of Middle East business culture, with strong communication and presentation skills, and can effectively engage and negotiate with clients and colleagues at all levels, combines a professional and confident approach with excellent analytical, problem-solving abilities, and the ability to prioritize. Is committed to ongoing professional development, and has a MSC in Information Technology Management in addition to a range of industry accreditations and a thorough knowledge of IT best practices and IT international regulations (ISO/IEC, and ITIL).
Key Skills
IT project management, system design, implementation & administration ♦ Effective management of diverse IT professionals ♦ Managing complex IT infrastructures with mixed operating systems, applications, and services ♦ Demonstrated skills architecting and deploying technology to solve business problems ♦ Deep understanding of customer and partner business and IT environment
Technical Skills include
o Microsoft 2000/2003/2008 Windows Server
o Microsoft Active Directory Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 / 2003 / 2007 /2010
o SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 o Microsoft SCOM and SCCM
o Microsoft ISA Server 2000/2004/2006
o Network Infrastructure Configuration and Administration o Microsoft Windows Services (DNS, DHCP, WINS, CA)
o Applications Infrastructure Configuration
o Security Applications and Technologies
Professional Development
• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)
• Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) for Windows Server 2003 and Messaging
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) for Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007
• ITIL Foundation Certified - IT Service Management
Education and Qualifications
2008 Masters of Science (MSC) - Information Technology Management
2000 Bachelor of Science
Career Summary
2008 - date TECHNICAL MANAGER, Integrated Information Systems - Qatar
• Successfully leading and delivering a range of business-critical projects, overseeing the seamless implementation of project roll outs, management systems and process enhancements while ensuring compliance with architectural/operational standards
• Coordinating laterally between diverse technical teams and vertically across management hierarchy, supporting clear channels of communication to ensure project success
• Planning, supervising and coordinating IT infrastructure availability, service continuity and disaster recovery plans for projects
• Undertaking internal/external audits for IT infrastructure, ensuring conformity with ITIL/international IT standards and recommending corrective measures where required
• Designing, implementing and upgrading capacity plans for project resources and applications to ascertain thorough understanding of services, applications and technologies used
• Preparing and delivering IT strategies, organizational policies and procedures and budgetary requirements, assessing project expenditure considering TCO, ROI and payback calculations
• Negotiating terms and conditions with vendors and prospective clients, and delivering cost-effective deals• Projects include:
o Al-Faisal Holding, Qatar: Design and Restructure of IT Infrastructure
o Leading the team in an infrastructure audit before completing a restructure based on Microsoft and CISCO technologies
o Migrating AD objects from cross-domains to new AD Forest, migrating Exchange objects and mailboxes to Exchange 2007, and publishing Exchange Services
o Assessing performance and delivering exceptional security enhancements via multiple software/hardware security layerso Al-Faisal Holding, Qatar: Design and rebuild of the Oracle Data Center
o Migrating and rebuilding servers datacenter to ensure high performance, availability and consistency of back-up, including implementation of a new SAN storage and tape library to support disaster recovery operationso Al-Faisal Holding, Qatar: Health check and auditing for the company's subsidiaries
o Completing health check and auditing of client's 45 subsidiary datacenters across Qatar and other ME countries, auditing IT systems and operations to ITIL standardso Al-Jazi Real Estate, Qatar: Network Infrastructure of the Golden Tower
o Designing and implementing the Tower's network infrastructure across all 33 floors, including passive and active components (wired/wireless)o Ebn-Sina Medical, Qatar: Design and implementation of the Network Infrastructure
o Designing and implementing network infrastructure including passive components and active devices (CISCO edge and core Switches, CISCO Call Manager and voice gateway, and CISCO Firewall ASA 5510)o Various Qatar and ME-based clients
o Designing and implementing IT infrastructure based on Microsoft technologies and infrastructure applications, tailoring solutions to client requirements
2007 - 2008 IT MANAGER, AECOC - KSA
• Identifying and assessing organizational needs to establish robust operating procedural standards, liaising with senior management in order to establish IT objectives in line with business needs, and provide cost/benefit analysis
• Recommending IT infrastructure requirements and upgrades to guarantee acceptable levels of security, disaster management and data recovery plans for the corporate computer network
• Leading the team in the development and delivery of IT strategies/solutions to align technology from project roll out to completion
• Communicating with other technical staff to provide "end-to-end" solutions to avoid conflicts between systems
• Keeping updated with IT best practice, international IT regulations and Middle East business culture to efficiently manage infrastructure complexity, including mixed operating systems, applications and services
• Managing the design and rebuild of the company's IT infrastructure, successfully upgrading from Windows 2000 to Windows 2003
2006 - 2007 ASSISTANT IT MANAGER, AAW Consulting Engineers - Egypt
• Developing and implementing new systems to ensure optimum availability of resources/computer systems throughout the organization
• Preparing budgetary and man-hour estimates before adapting methodology to suit cost constraints, as well as monitoring prospective business scenarios in order to carry out corrections and reengineer processes as required
• Ensuring accurate integration of operational processes into system functional specifications though effective communication with systems development and management colleagues
• Creating turnkey disaster recovery, business continuity and information lifecycle management solutions, as well as recommending enterprise solutions as appropriate• Liaising and negotiating with colleagues, vendors, suppliers and external outsourcing agents with respect to pricing, deadlines, maintenance and timely execution of day-to-day operations
• Managing software licenses, providing secure access to remote system users and supporting system users
• Designing and rebuilding the IT infrastructure, upgrading from Windows 2000 to Windows 2003
2002 - 2006 TECHNICAL MANAGER, SEKEM Group - Egypt
• Preparing project plans to support strategic program goals, including project assessment and task planning to identify milestones, resource needs, schedule, and budget recommendations
• Overseeing technical implementation as measured against project requirements, quality targets, budgetary constraints and timelines, ensuring consistent technical deliverables in line with overall organizational technical strategy
• Auditing logbooks, communicating possible anomalies/technical emergencies to immediate superiors and suggesting appropriate corrective measures• Projects include:
o SEKEM Group & subsidiaries, Egypt: Design, upgrade and rebuild of IT infrastructure
o Green Valley, Egypt: Design and implementation of wireless network
o AlShams Agro Group, Egypt: Design and implementation of IT infrastructure
o Salis IT Services, Egypt: Design and implementation of IT infrastructure2000 - 2002 SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR, Net.Com - Egypt
• Providing effective administration of the full spectrum of IT infrastructure as well as internet/email and web-hosting services
• Monitoring and maintaining hosting web servers, as well as providing technical support to clients relating to operation/software systems and upkeep of websites
• Managing the design and rebuild of the company's IT infrastructure, upgrading from Windows NT to Windows 2000
Personal Details
Languages: Fluent Arabic and English
Health: Excellent; non-smoker
Other: Driver; full clean license
REFERENCES ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
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