Avichal Gopichand

As the IT lead for five operational sites, I drive strategic and operational alignment between technology and business functions. My role encompasses infrastructure oversight, cyber risk governance, digital enablement, and team leadership.

Operations Leadership
• I manage IT across manufacturing, warehousing, and office sites, guaranteeing maximum system uptime 24/7. This includes designing segmented networks, implementing server redundancy, and proactively monitoring systems to prevent disruptions. I develop multi-year technology roadmaps focused on system consolidation, cloud adoption, and automation, supporting business growth and regulatory compliance.

Governance & Compliance
• I maintain a unified IT governance framework covering change control, asset management, and policy documentation, which reduces incidents caused by unauthorized changes and improves audit readiness. I lead ISO 27001 and POPIA compliance by embedding controls such as tighter access management and enforcing documentation standards, ensuring regulatory requirements are met and risks minimized.

Team Development
• I run a structured IT staff program combining onboarding, skills training, and mentorship, shortening ramp-up time for junior staff and enhancing overall support quality.

Vendor & Budget Management
• I establish a vendor performance framework with clear KPIs and negotiate licensing and SLA terms to improve accountability and cost control. I manage a multimillion-rand budget, focusing on ROI and aligning spend with technology lifecycles.

Strategic Planning & Advisory
• Collaborating with executives, I assess IT risks, guide CAPEX planning, and align infrastructure goals with business strategy. This enables leadership to make informed decisions on cybersecurity, automation, and digital priorities.

Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
• I develop and test business continuity plans through quarterly disaster recovery drills, reducing recovery time objectives for critical systems and validating contingency plans to maintain operational resilience.

Conducted core infrastructure management across complex Windows Server environments and virtualization platforms, ensuring robust, secure, and high-availability systems supporting manufacturing and business operations.

• Managed over 60 Windows servers (2008–2019), including core services like Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and Certificate Services, maintaining consistent uptime above 99.9%.

• Provided second- and third-line technical support, resolving escalated infrastructure and operational issues across departments.

• Upgraded and maintained core infrastructure components, SAN arrays, network switches, application servers based on evolving business needs and performance metrics.

• Automated patching, backup routines, and routine system checks using PowerShell scripts, Veeam, and Zabbix, significantly reducing manual workloads and improving response times.

• Designed and maintained offsite/cloud-based disaster recovery environments, tested failover processes regularly, and reduced Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)

• Conducted system hardening for firewalls, servers, and endpoints, aligning with ISO 27001 standards.

• Implemented role-based access controls, group policies, and multi-factor authentication across critical systems to improve enterprise security posture.

• Worked closely with application, network, and database teams to support seamless performance of ERP (SYSPRO), SQL databases, and internal business apps.

Managed nationwide network and SQL infrastructure for 70+ retail stores running Sage Accpac as their POS and ERP backbone. Focused on performance, data integrity, and secure communication across the branch network.

• Tuned SQL queries and indexes to resolve slowdowns in inventory reporting, inter-branch transfers (IBTs), stock take processing, and store-level stock balances, reducing reconciliation errors and support tickets.

• Set up and supported network links using 3Com switches and fiber connections per branch: handled endpoint security and ensured stores stayed connected to head office systems.

• Rolled out centralized backups and system upgrades to improve reliability and reduce manual recovery work across all branches.

Delivered end-to-end IT support and infrastructure management across multiple regional offices. Balanced user support with technical administration, playing a central role in keeping systems reliable and secure.

• Deployed and maintained MPLS and DSL links across branches, configuring routers, switches and firewalls to support expanding network needs.

• Administered VMware virtual environments and managed server health, backups and restores to ensure business continuity.

• Oversaw Cisco Unified Communications Manager, maintaining a stable VoIP system and resolving call quality and routing issues.

• Handled user provisioning, access control, and email systems while enforcing basic security hygiene across the environment.

• Installed and supported servers, endpoint devices and network hardware, resolving issues efficiently to keep engineering teams productive.

• Monitored system and network performance, documented fixes and contributed to infrastructure planning as the company scaled.

• Held early-career roles across training and IT support, including voluntary stints at Panasonic and instruction in Microsoft Office at Bytes. Developed foundational expertise in cabling, user support and desktop deployment.