My role as an IT Specialist at Mphasis marked my entry into enterprise-scale technology operations. I was responsible for backup and restore operations for over 100 global clients, which taught me about mission-critical systems where reliability isn't just important - it's absolutely essential for business continuity.
Mphasis provided IT services to large corporations worldwide, and I was part of the team managing HP Storage Services Management System (SSMS). This system handled backup and restore operations for major clients across different continents and time zones. My daily responsibilities included monitoring backup jobs, ensuring data integrity, and immediately responding to any failures that could impact client operations.
I worked extensively with cross-platform Unix systems - Linux, Solaris, and HP-UX servers. This wasn't just basic administration; I performed OS hardening to ensure security compliance, performance tuning to optimize backup speeds, and configured complex security settings including Access Control Lists and file-level permissions. Each client had different security requirements and compliance needs, so I had to understand and implement diverse security frameworks.
I also developed database solutions using SQL Server 2005 and PL/SQL for business intelligence reporting. These weren't just technical exercises - the reports I created directly impacted how clients were billed for services and how our management understood service performance. The accuracy of these reports affected revenue and client relationships.
Additionally, I worked extensively with EMC Data Protection Advisor, upgrading collector agents across different Unix variants and ensuring connectivity between client servers and our monitoring infrastructure. When network or firewall issues arose, I diagnosed and resolved them quickly because any downtime could shut down client operations.
This role gave me deep expertise in enterprise system administration across multiple Unix platforms. I learned to work with complex storage systems, understand database performance optimization, and develop scripts for automation and monitoring. I became proficient in network troubleshooting and learned to work with enterprise-grade monitoring tools like Ganglia and Nagios.
The database work taught me SQL optimization, report development, and how to translate business requirements into technical solutions. Working with EMC systems gave me experience with enterprise storage technologies and distributed system management.
More importantly, this role taught me to think about technology from a business perspective. I learned that uptime isn't just a technical metric - it directly impacts client revenue and business operations. I developed skills in incident management, understanding how to prioritize issues based on business impact rather than just technical complexity.
Working with global clients taught me about different regulatory environments, compliance requirements, and cultural considerations in technology deployment. I learned to communicate technical issues to non-technical stakeholders and translate business requirements into technical solutions.
One of the biggest challenges was managing the complexity of supporting diverse client environments. Each client had different hardware, operating systems, network configurations, and security requirements. I had to develop systematic approaches to troubleshooting that could work across this diversity while maintaining the speed required for enterprise support.
I also learned to work under pressure in environments where system failures had immediate business consequences. This taught me to remain calm during critical incidents, follow systematic troubleshooting procedures, and communicate clearly with stakeholders during stressful situations.
This enterprise experience proved invaluable in my later healthcare AI work. The reliability and compliance mindset I developed here became essential when deploying AI systems in clinical environments where patient safety is paramount. The experience with global, distributed systems helped me understand the operational challenges of scaling AI solutions across multiple institutions. Most importantly, learning to balance technical excellence with business needs became crucial when translating research innovations into practical clinical applications.