Turning Azure Complexity into Competitive Advantage

I bridge the gap between complex technical strategy and business value—delivering scalable Azure solutions, AI innovation, and operational excellence.

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FinOps & Cost Strategy
Zero-Downtime Migrations
Well-Architected Security
Enterprise Leadership
Upendra Kumar - Azure Solutions Architect

Executive Summary

I am a Strategic Delivery Architect and TOGAF 10 Practitioner with 20 years of experience bridging the gap between business strategy and technical execution. I specialize in designing secure, scalable Azure Landing Zones that serve as the foundation for enterprise innovation.

Beyond infrastructure, I lead complex cloud migrations and modernization programs for regulated industries. My focus is on Zero Trust security, governance-at-scale, and cost-efficient architecture. I don't just deliver platforms; I enable organizations to adopt GenAI and Cloud-Native solutions safely and sustainably.

Technical Strategy

Defining roadmaps for Landing Zones and Hybrid Connectivity.

Operational Excellence

Automating governance with Policy-as-Code and FinOps.

Team Enablement

Mentoring engineers on Azure best practices and CAF alignment.

What I Lead

  • Enterprise Azure Landing Zones

    Scope: Governance & Security — Enforcing Zero Trust baselines and 100% policy compliance across distributed environments.

  • Multi-Cloud Migration Programs

    Scope: Delivery & Risk — Orchestrating zero-downtime cutovers for mission-critical workloads.

  • Cloud Financial Strategy (FinOps)

    • Delivered $55K+ annual savings through Well-Architected reviews
    • Achieved 78% ROI via infrastructure automation
    • Reduced cloud waste by 30% with auto-lifecycle policies
  • Technical Team Enablement

    Scope: Culture & Quality — Mentoring engineering squads on CAF standards to elevate delivery quality.

Strategic Focus: Deep Dive

Enterprise-grade cloud foundation demonstrating architecture leadership and strategic thinking

Azure Landing Zones Architecture

Enterprise Azure Landing Zones

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Led the architecture and implementation of a production-ready Azure foundation. Transformed organizational cloud capabilities through strategic planning and technical leadership.

Business Outcomes

  • Velocity: Reduced deployment time by 40%
  • Efficiency: Saved $15k/month in opex via FinOps
  • Compliance: 100% policy enforcement via PaC

Leadership Actions

  • Architected solution for FinServ & Healthcare
  • Authoritative governance frameworks
  • Created comprehensive enablement docs
Azure Terraform GitHub Actions FinOps
Data Center Migration Schematic

Data Center Migration

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Orchestrated the end-to-end migration of mission-critical on-premise workloads to Azure. Utilized Azure Migrate and ExpressRoute to ensure seamless data replication and cutover.

Business Outcomes

  • Reliability: Zero business downtime during cutover
  • Savings: 30% TCO reduction via Hybrid Benefit
  • Scale: Migrated 50+ VMs and 20TB+ storage

Leadership Actions

  • Led cross-functional teams (NetOps, SecOps)
  • Designed DR strategy with ASR
  • Negotiated Enterprise Agreement terms
Azure Migrate ExpressRoute Hyper-V ASR
AI Analytics Platform Schematic

AI Analytics Platform

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Built a unified data mesh architecture to democratize data access. Integrated Azure Synapse Analytics and Machine Learning to drive predictive insights and revenue growth.

Business Outcomes

  • Growth: 15% Revenue lift via cross-sell models
  • Performance: 10x faster query speed with Synapse
  • Adoption: 100+ business users onboarded

Leadership Actions

  • Defined Organization Data Governance
  • Briefed C-level execs on AI Stratnegy
  • Managed vendor relationships (Snowflake/Databricks)
Synapse Azure ML Data Factory Power BI
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Core Capabilities

Platform

Azure Landing Zones Hub-Spoke Networking Identity & RBAC Azure Policy Hybrid Connectivity

Migrations

Portfolio Assessment Migration Waves Zero-Downtime Cutover Disaster Recovery (ASR) App Modernization

Security & Compliance

Zero Trust Architecture Compliance Guardrails Network Segmentation Secret Management Threat Protection

Cost & Operations

FinOps Strategy Infrastructure as Code CI/CD Pipelines Automated Tagging Operational Runbooks

Professional Credentials

TOGAF® 10 Certified (Foundation + Practitioner)

Credly Badges

Verified professional certifications demonstrating technical expertise

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Microsoft Learn

Continuous learning and Microsoft technology achievements

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Professional Network

Connect and explore my professional journey

Connect on LinkedIn

Education

  • B.E. (Electronics & Communication Engineering)
  • PGDM (Operations)

Let's Discuss Leadership Opportunities

Open to leadership roles in cloud architecture, digital transformation, and technical management

Role Interests

Cloud Architecture Lead, Solutions Architect Manager, Director of Cloud Engineering

Location

Open to remote and hybrid opportunities