Zscaler Member Spotlight: Meet Ramesh Mani
Ramesh Mani, Security Solution Architect steps into the Zenith Community spotlight for March and we are excited to share his story!
Ramesh Mani has been leveraging Zscaler since 2013 and has been active on the Zenith Community since 2019. Ramesh Mani is currently working as a Security Solution Architect, helping customers to adopt zero trust journeys.
Read more about Ramesh’ experiences in the cyber security space as well as his passion for community and helping others!
Q. How did you start using Zscaler?
Being a cyber security professional constantly explores products that solve complex cyber security issues. During my career with a leading MSSP supporting global customers - we were evaluating products that are cloud ready to secure users’ internet traffic. I started using Zscaler which has unique value propositions and is aligned with the client’s business imperatives.
Q. Tell us about your family.
We are four members residing in the city of Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal in southeastern India. My wife Priya was in nursing professional promoting health and preventing illness for individuals in need. We tied the wedding knot in 2011 and were blessed with two amazing daughters Bertina and Bershina.
Q. What are some life achievements that you are proud of?
Being the first graduate in the family, holding an engineering degree and a management degree made me feel proud. I am thankful to my parents, mentor, and the community that motivates this great accomplishment.
Contributing back to society with social responsibility in some form will make us feel like we are achieving great things. I have volunteered to collect funds to provide books and study materials for the deserved families through likely-minded individuals and NGOs.
Q. Tell us about how your organization uses Zscaler
We are strategic partners with Zscaler and have a long relationship built over trust. We serve global customers in securing their business, enhancing their security maturity, increase employee experience and productivity. Zscaler solutions are one among them.
Our customers have Zscaler internet access to secure their workforce from threats, Zscaler private access for securely accessing their corporate application from outside, and Zscaler digital experience to monitor the end-to-end to identify where the problem is, which helps customers to reduce the IT tickets,
Also, our customers have Zscaler workload segmentation, cloud connector/branch connector, and Zscaler cloud-native application protection platforms to keep our cloud workloads secure, communicate securely, identify misconfigurations, and security posture of the cloud.
Q. What is a typical day in your life?
Every day is satisfying, as the nature of work is to help solve customers’ cyber security issues. I interact with vertical pursuit teams in discovering and understanding their client’s stated cyber security requirements and our needs to fulfill IT security strategy. I interact with client stakeholders to ensure the requirements are well understood so that it helps me to construct security solutions. My solution proposal response will help customers to take informed business decisions at optimal cost and to get unique value propositions. I will work with service delivery teams and competency groups- letting them know, about evolving client requirements, market expectations, and required capabilities to fulfill. We, collectively, constantly innovate to deliver solutions to our customer’s minds to make them referenceable clients.
Q. How did you grow your career and what advice would you give to people looking to forge ahead on the same path? What are essential skills to develop?
After graduation, I enjoyed exploring computer system fundamentals, hardware, and software. A got an opportunity to work in a leading telecom company where I was inspired by the network and security solutions. I chose cyber security as my career from there. I was a SOC engineer, and professional services engineer and now helping our business team to develop solutions for customers. Always have short-term and long-term goals and enthusiasm to achieve those goals at the right time.
Should have short-term and long-term goals in every profession. Learn technologies, get certified, and develop the capability in problem-solving. Also develop nontechnical skills but essential skills like project management, and presentation skills to grow faster.
Q. Why do you feel the Zenith Community is important for not only customers, but for other Zscaler employees?
Zenith community is the place where a lot of likely-minded people, lend helping hands. Community helps to build good people relationships which make our life easier as the ideas, thoughts, and experiences are shared within the community. My problem, in turn, becomes a community problem and multiple hands and eyes will indirectly help in finding solutions.
Definitely, the videos, Cloud First Architecture documents, and posts are good sources with a lot of technical potentials.
Q. What is/are your favorite hobby(ies)
Traveling by car is fun and a great experience, I enjoyed exploring places with my family and friends.
Q. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Absolutely Biriyani 
Biriyani is a popular south Asian dish that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is a flavorful rice-based dish made with spices and meats,