Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of cloud networking heroes who labor to keep networks secure, effective, and performant. We’re proud to highlight people who have taught themselves the necessary skills, designed and managed successful networks, and have the expertise to share.
Our next hero spotlight is on Maureen Chebet, Enterprise Cloud DevOps Specialist. See our previous hero spotlights here.
Background: Seizing an Unexpected Opportunity
Maureen grew up in a remote part of Kenya where men were often prioritized for education. Networking was not her original plan. “I wanted to be a flight attendant,” she said. “The closest I’ve come to that dream is being a passenger on a Boeing.”
Maureen never envisioned herself in tech. “I believed it was for men and my dreams were far removed from the world of networking, servers, and clouds,” she explained. Her networking career started with a first job and an unexpected opportunity. “[I was] a data entry operator and within a year, my then-employer partnered with AWS to offer training to underserved communities. This offered me a pioneering opportunity in cloud technology as one of the first certified cloud engineers in Kenya.”
Maureen has been in the networking and cloud space for over four years now, working across different projects to ensure optimized, secure, and scalable systems. She currently works at Safaricom PLC, a top telecommunications company in Africa.
“My role is focused on initiatives to modernize infrastructure, streamline deployments, and implement scalable solutions all while ensuring our systems run seamlessly and securely,” Maureen said. “I also mentor junior engineers and conduct training sessions for them to bring everyone up to speed with the tools, technologies, and platforms that we utilize. I’m expecting to graduate with a Master’s in Computing and Information Systems mid-2025.”
Maureen’s pride in her work comes from both problem-solving and achievement. “I love that my role allows me to provide solutions to difficult problems and create meaningful impact, both within my organization and in the communities I serve,” she said. “However, my work goes beyond technical achievements. One of my proudest accomplishments is being named among the Top 45 Most Influential Women in Digital Transformation in Africa.”
Maureen mentioned other achievements she’d proud of, including:
Winning The Dan Kohn Scholarship to attend KubeCon conference
Speaking at AWS reInvent
Co-founding Konectify Technologies. “We run an affiliate program, ‘Code Mtaani.’ It’s a 3-month training program where we train high school graduates with digital literacy and coding skills to boost their employability.”
Maureen named one of her biggest challenges, apart from working in a male-dominated field: “maintaining security and stability amidst fast-paced changes. To address this, I actively seek learning opportunities beyond traditional methods, such as pursuing hands-on cloud technology certifications and collaborating with peers to gain new perspectives and strategies.”
The Evolution of Networking: Automation that Won’t Replace People
When asked how she’s seen networking evolve and where she predicts it will grow, Maureen focused on IT and AI. “Networking is the building block of IT,” she said. “Networking has evolved from traditional, hardware-centered setups to highly flexible, software-defined networks driven by cloud innovations.”
While Maureen foresees change, she predicts certain constants. “Even with AI flooding the space, I still believe it will not replace network engineers and architects anytime soon. Networking is hard to automate but I see a number of solutions coming up in the next ten years with a focus on AI-driven automation, predictive analytics, and Zero Trust security frameworks to enhance efficiency and resilience.”
The Network is the Cloud: Connect and Collaborate from Anywhere
When asked what “the network is the cloud” means to her, Maureen explained that the concept has connectivity at its core. “The cloud is first and foremost all networking,” she said. “Today, connectivity is defined not by proximity but by accessibility, scalability, and agility, empowering users to connect and collaborate from anywhere.”
Outside of Work
Outside of work, Maureen enjoys a mix of activities to unwind, including hiking, board games with friends, traveling, attending concerts and festivals.
Curious about other cloud networking heroes like Maureen?
We’ll keep highlighting networking professionals on this blog.
Learn more about the Cloud Networking Heroes program and apply on The Cloud Network Community.
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