Meet the Team: Kashif Nazir
We thought it would be interesting to run some blogs about the super people at Cloudhouse. We’re speaking to people across all our teams to find out a bit more about them, what their role is and what makes them tick. We also ask them to spill the beans on their worst IT fail… because it happens to the best of us!
Meet… Kashif Nazir, Technical Manager
When did you join Cloudhouse?
March 2019, in a professional services role.
Tell us a little about your career up to this point:
I didn’t start out in IT. Most of my early career roles were in sales and customer service. I was working at the charity St Johns Ambulance when my manager asked me “Why are you doing this (job)? You should be in IT, we never call them, you fix it all!” When an IT role came up within St John’s Ambulance, I went for it and got it. I requested training to develop my skills and I moved up pretty quickly until I was responsible for a Windows 10 migration.
Having really enjoyed that, I was keen to get more experience in a different sector, and I moved on to a finance company. It was a much larger organisation, and again I worked on a Windows 10 migration. I ended up travelling to Europe and the US, and was put in charge of some big systems, which meant I could pick up a wide range of skills. I began to focus on looking at where I wanted to specialise.
When I found out about the role at Cloudhouse I really wanted it. Despite not having a formal education in packaging, I was able to demonstrate my understanding at interview and the rest is history!
When I joined Cloudhouse, it was my first dedicated role in packaging, which was a purely technical role. The management team recognised I had potential in management, and within the year I was promoted to a more senior role.
What do you do at Cloudhouse?
My team is professional services, we assess what clients need and create bespoke solutions. My role has evolved and is now pretty varied. For example, I’ve created a lot of the documentation and training within the company. I also work with customers directly in the presale process, as a technical consultant. When needed, I act as a point of contact between my team and escalation.
I had a lot of support from other members of the team when I became a manager, passing on advice and techniques. They helped me find my feet and steered me in the right direction.
One thing I really appreciate is that I was asked where I wanted to focus as my role evolved. This meant I could make sure I could still play a big role in creating solutions, which is an element I find particularly rewarding.
What’s the best thing about working at Cloudhouse?
The biggest difference for me is you are not just a number. At Cloudhouse you feel seen. For example, during lockdown we had ‘stand-up’ meetings every day, where each person talks for a minute about what they’re up to today. These were so valuable. In the office we were already doing this twice a week but doing it daily during lockdown was really useful. It helped to make you know you were still part of a team. If someone was having a problem, they could just ask, and nine times out of 10 someone could help you out straight away, or at least point you in the right direction.
There is also a really good social side to Cloudhouse. The regular events have been a great way to get to know everyone well. I quickly got to know who to approach if I had a problem, and it they got to know me too.
What has been your most embarrassing IT moment?
In a previous role, I was asked to push out a Windows update for the entire estate. After I had done so, I got a message from the network team to ask if there were any planned deployments, as there was a spike in the network traffic. Unfortunately, I had not yet learned how to schedule updates and so the entire UK network was slowed…
I was extremely lucky that, unlike most Windows updates it didn’t require a restart, and I did it in the morning in the UK so our global counterparts were not affected!
Since then, the first thing I do when looking at a deployment software is the scheduling settings!
Favourite sandwich filling:
Fish fingers and cheese with mayo!
How do you take your tea?
White with no sugar, not too strong, please. I gave up sugar a long time ago.
Cats or dogs?
I’m always torn! I’ve always wanted a cat, but they’re on their own timeline and do everything on their own terms! So I actually think I’ll choose a dog.
Dream holiday destination:
I was booked to go on a trip to Japan in March 2020 for the Cherry Blossom season… just after the pandemic hit. So of course, it was cancelled. I’m just waiting now until I can re-book. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go. The original plan was to go to Tokyo, then travel around the country taking in a few places, including a spa hotel and Kyoto, before coming back to Tokyo for a stay then heading home. So that’s the first destination on my wish list!
