Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of secure 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 Clarence Tinotenda Chipiro, L2 Network and DNS Administrator. See our previous hero spotlights here.
Background: Transferring Skills to the Cloud
Clarence got started as an L1 Network Technical Support in 2021, for the leading African ISP (internet service provider), Liquid Intelligent Technologies Zimbabwe. He quickly moved up within the same organization to support DNS administration for clients, leading to his current position as L2 Network and DNS Administrator.
“Outside of my full-time role, I have done a lot of freelance network engineering jobs with ITARMI,” he said. “I have upgraded data center infrastructure in local banks for prominent global organizations like VISA, Vodafone, Orange, Verizon, NCR, and EFT.”
Clarence’s favorite part of his role is that his skills are transferable to the cloud. “What I do on-premises, I can do the same on the cloud, which is the future,” he explained. “My top accomplishments are the certifications I earned with Aviatrix Certified Engineer (Multicloud Network Professional, Operations Specialty, Security Specialty, Backbone and Hybrid Connectivity), Cisco CCNA, AWS Cloud Practitioner, Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator Associate, and Azure Associate.”
Since he began, Clarence has seen massive changes in the networking industry. “The digital future is cloud, so networking has evolved with an appreciation of the cloud and migrating the traditional technologies, network operations, and infrastructure from on-premises to cloud,” he said. “Aviatrix has been the best multicloud platform I have come across as it can orchestrate multiple cloud platforms, i.e. AWS, Azure, Oracle, Google, etc.
Cost Management: Evaluate, Plan, Review, Train
Clarence shared some advice for fellow network professionals who face a common challenge, managing cloud costs:
Evaluate and plan: “Assess workloads and right-size resources to avoid over-provisioning.”
Hybrid cloud solutions: “Balance on-premises and cloud resources to optimize costs.”
Optimize connectivity: “Use direct connectivity services like Liquid Intelligent Technologies’ Cloud Connect for better efficiency.”
Choose the right model: “Select between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS-based on needs and cost.”
Use cost management tools: “Utilize provider tools (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management) and third-party solutions like Aviatrix CostIQ.”
Optimize resource usage: “Implement auto-scaling and consider reserved instances for predictable workloads.”
Governance and policies: “Set budgets, configure spending alerts, and tag resources for cost tracking.”
Regular reviews: “Regularly review and optimize cloud usage and remove unused resources.”
Training: “Educate your team on cloud cost management.”
The Network is the Cloud
“The Network is the Cloud means that for the cloud to exist, there has to be a network.”
For Clarence, the concept of “the network is the cloud” underscores the fundamental connection between the cloud and the connectivity of global networks. “The Network is the Cloud means that for the cloud to exist, there has to be a network,” he said.
Outside of Work
Outside of business hours, you can find Clarence playing piano and guitars, working out with his wife, and exploring nature with his camera.
Curious about other cloud networking heroes like Clarence?
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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