With over six years at Cloud Direct and more than a decade of industry experience, we shine the spotlight on Cuan to learn more about his role in Managed Services, his passion for technology, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
Tell us a bit about your role at Cloud Direct and what a usual day looks like
I currently work as a Cloud Platform Technical Lead in the Managed Services team and have been at Cloud Direct for just over six years.
My day-to-day can differ greatly depending on requirements, but some common tasks include research and development, mentoring, defining technical guidelines and solutions for support teams, customer onboarding projects, and occasionally more traditional support work.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I come from a very musical family. My late father was a music teacher, and my brother is currently a full-time musician. With that in mind, I really enjoy playing and performing music, with bass being my preferred instrument.
I also enjoy spending time with my fiancé and son. On the odd occasion, I might indulge in a video game or two as well.
What brought you to Cloud Direct and how did you get here?
I’ve been in the IT industry for just over 13 years, with most of that time spent working at MSPs. Before joining Cloud Direct, I worked in Internal IT within the manufacturing sector, which was very stressful so I was actively looking for something new.
I was approached by a recruitment firm that was working with Cloud Direct at the time and, thankfully, I also had previous colleagues and friends already working here. They were able to give me some insight into the culture and what to expect, which helped convince me to apply. The rest, as they say, is history.
What’s the best part of your job?
I really enjoy the technical nature of my role. I’m a techie through and through, so being able to work on environments of different shapes and sizes keeps me on my toes.
I also enjoy researching and developing new solutions to help either the team or our customers. That side of the role is particularly rewarding for me.
What’s the best thing about working at Cloud Direct?
The people that make up Cloud Direct are right at the top of the list for me. Across the company, from the very senior to the very junior, there’s an inherent respect for one another that’s ingrained in the culture.
When challenges arise, everyone steps in to help, no matter what. Equally, when there are things to celebrate, everyone comes together for that too.
What project are you most proud of?
Recently, I developed an internal tool to assist our Managed Services teams with supporting customer environments.
The tool is shaped specifically around the types of tasks Managed Services engineers are involved in. It’s been great to see others using it day to day and making suggestions that allow us to keep iterating and improving its functionality over time.
What advice would you give to someone looking to progress into a role like yours?
Something I often tell people is to start a home lab. You can begin very small, even with an old PC or a Raspberry Pi, and grow it from there.
I consider this one of the biggest reasons I’ve been able to progress in my role and successfully tackle challenging technical issues in the past. I still run a home lab today to keep up to speed with the latest technical solutions coming out in the industry.
What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
I failed my very first Microsoft exam, Windows 7 Configuration, by 40 points.
I remember being genuinely afraid of calling my father to tell him he’d need to shell out a decent amount of money for a rewrite, although thankfully he was very calm about it! I haven’t failed an exam since then, and hopefully that continues.
Interested in joining the team?
To see all our current open vacancies at Cloud Direct, please visit our Careers page.
