SDI Employee Spotlight – Brian Zeunert

Clouding the skies with expertise, meet Brian, the Tower lead for Cloud and Datacenter at SDI. With a keen eye on ensuring over 500 hosted client applications remain operational, Brian’s expertise and leadership are pivotal in maintaining seamless service delivery. Drawing from his extensive experience and passion for technology, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge in cloud computing—bolstered by his continuous pursuit of acquiring new skill sets. Let’s delve into his journey and his insights into the ever-evolving landscape of cloud technology. 

Brian, please tell us about your current role. 

My current role at SDI is the Tower lead for Cloud and Datacenter—providing managed IT infrastructure services for a large midwestern city. My team works closely with the other functional towers to ensure that over 500 hosted applications remain available and operational. 

Tell us about your career journey and how you came to be the Senior Cloud Manager at SDI. 

I started my IT career as a systems administrator for an IT firm. In my second year with the company, I was promoted to tech lead for my line of business, and I was constantly looking to acquire new skill sets. During my tenure at the firm, I gained experience supporting servers, storage, and high-performance compute infrastructure for Fortune 500 clients. After that I did similar work for a software company before pivoting to specialize in cloud computing. I earned certifications in Azure and AWS and was promoted to cloud operations engineer. During that time, I assisted on migrations and operations for multiple clients while continuing my certification paths. 

What motivates you to excel in your role as Senior Cloud Manager?  

I enjoy all things technology and architecting more efficient ways to do things. Plus, the city we work for, and its constituents rely on our services every day. That alone is sufficient motivation for me.   

What do you enjoy most about working at SDI?  

Prior to SDI, I’ve always worked for massive organizations, and it always felt like I never truly had agency in many aspects. At SDI I feel heard, and I feel like I have a real voice when it comes to decisions that impact both me and my team.  

How do you stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in cloud technology?  

I subscribe to various podcasts, blogs, and follow major conferences like Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference and North American Cloud & Collaboration Summit (NACS). Most importantly, though, I remain hands on with everything—making sure I keep my knowledge up to date and my skills sharp.  

What trends or innovations are you most excited about in cloud technology?  

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the obvious answer, and it’s going to permeate everything we do in the immediate future.  

Where do you see cloud technology in five years? 

Impossible to say for sure as the technology and trends change so quickly already, and the advancement of AI is only going to accelerate that. That’s what makes this job fun, it’s our job to be constantly evaluating these trends and deciphering which ones are going to have permanence versus which ones are industry fads. Some safe bets to stay and continue to grow – zero trust, infrastructure as code, and multi-cloud. 

What are some common misconceptions people have about the cloud? 

Under the hood it’s all the same—it’s still a Datacenter with compute, storage, and networking. Once I viewed it in that lens it helped demystify the cloud. Every offering on the hyperscalers is just a fancy wrapper underpinned with those same core concepts. This isn’t to say what they do is easy, it’s an engineering marvel of incredible complexity, but if you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals, that will take you a long way in managing cloud infrastructure and building solutions.  

Contact us today and embark on a seamless journey towards unlocking the full potential of cloud services with confidence, reliability, and security. 

We celebrate diversity; the views expressed above are those of the interviewed individual, not SDI.