IT. Manager
Kudu Corporation
Total years of experience :14 years, 11 Months
Recruited to revitalize an under-performing department. Took full-circle approach of improving team morale, standardizing delivery of IT services, and improving both customer and inter-departmental relationships. Built the highest performing team of IT Specialists in the region among FMCG business competitors as evidenced by continuously exceeding Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Responsibilities:
Managed a team that provided production and project support for desktops, networks, telecommunications, and applications.
Prepared departmental budget for IT service management Included variables and complexities such as operational changes, organizational changes, facilities changes, and proposed projects to build realistic budgets with attention to financial constraints.
Co-developed root cause analysis process to get beyond symptoms of mission critical service interruptions. Identified underlying source of problems, and recommended solutions that were approved by CEO, successfully implemented, and highly effective.
Conceived and established asset management practices and processes to track all assets from purchase to disposal.
Ø Managed inventory tracking by establishing tight asset control standards region-wide.
Ø Merged database into incident tracking system. hence provided ability to monitor support trends. Identified root causes of suspicious issues and implemented resolutions that increased efficiency and customer satisfaction and lowered overall support costs.
Active member of Enterprise Change Advisory Board that established and implemented structured change review process for all technology and application changes affecting production systems. For added efficiency, process standardization was dovetailed with initiative to develop SOPs
Key Achievements:
n Lead the IT team that implemented Aloha POS application in the front end in over 200 outlets in GCC.
n Managed a successful ERP implementation of Oracle e-business Suite as a back office application.
n Implemented Balanced Scorecards solution which to develop the organization strategic objectives, and continuously optimize the decision processes.
n Administer a wide area network that had 23 major sites like regional offices, warehouses, meat factory, and Bakery plant, in addition to more than 200 branches in a highly secured VPN network.
n Maintained a hybrid deployment of UNIX/Linux and Windows servers in our datacenter, also using Vmware and Citrix servers.
n Established a customer service center to handle customer orders, complains, and general inquiries using state-of-the-art VOIP technology from AVAYA and customized CRM applications.
n Introduced Digital Menu-boards as the first chain in Saudi Arabia to effectively communicate effective visual marketing messages to our customers.
Watania is one of Shiekh Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Alrajhi's companies that implemented an ERP system called SAGE line500. The system contains Finance, and Distribution modules such as General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets, Cash Management, Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing, Receipts, Inventory Control, and Payroll.
Our platform had Windows2000 Advanced Server, and SQL2000, We adopted the concept of Terminal Services in running the ERP solution for the whole group.
As an IT Manager of the company, I'm responsible of the following duties:
1- Infra-structure Project Manager:
Designing, planning, and executing LAN/WAN requirements to meet the data and VoIP needs. We use licensed and public wireless networking, VSAT, ADSL, and Frame Relay to connect our remote sites. Our network has HP-Compaq servers, Netscreen firewalls, Cisco router, 3com switches, Orinoco, AirPro, Patton, and Corecess DSLAMs.
2- ERP Project Coordinator:
Assigning, following up, and supervising the execution of technical tasks by the IT department, including building reports using Crystal Report Writer, writing APIs, and data migration from legacy systems.
Handling communication between team members to ensure proper execution of the project's plan.
Ensuring the the project's deliverables are met as planned, and tasks are achieved by the vendor accordingly.
Monitoring any change control, and raise it to the proper party within the team.
3- Steering Committee Member:
Documenting, and reporting the project status to the stakeholders.
Castle was an IT services provider, and had couple of other businesses, I was on contract basis to providing project management, and technical consultation for the company's IT projects. among these projects was providing internet services through satellite to our customers, and connecting their sites using wireless networking equipment.
The biggest project was for the Ministry of Hajj, where we built many LANs and connected their sites through point-to-point VSAT.
GACO is one of the largest shareholding firms in Agriculture field in Saudi Arabia, with capital of 500, 000, 000 SR.
The company had 2 plants producing dates, and dairy products; Saudia Dates Factory, and Qssim Dairy Plant. It also had a large farm where they grow commodities, and vegetables.
When the company decided to atomize it's internal processes, my duty was to build the entire infrastructure (LAN/WAN), and to implement the ERP solution which was called HPF, developed locally in Saudi by HASIB (Applied Computer Services).
Our platform was WindowsNT4.0 domain, and Oracle 8i database, we had about 85 users in 3 remote sites plus the Head Office as well. My team contained 2 network Administrators, 1 VB6.0 SQL programmer, and 1 system analyst.
It took us about seven months to implement the ERP solution and cover the company’s internal processes in GL, AP, AR, FA, INV, and PR.
The key for that successful implementation was the deep understanding, and good analysis of the company's needs that helps management to take right decisions on time.