Inspiring Conversations with Ziv Levy of Cloudsulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ziv Levy

Hi Ziv, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began my technical career as a field tech assisting businesses with their day-to-day technical challenges. I then transitioned to ISP technical support and quickly advanced to the special support team, eventually becoming the call center manager.

Following this, I joined Israeli Aerospace Industries as a support engineer and within a year, I was working on projects and was promoted to system administrator. After managing the infrastructure in one of the IAI divisions for a few years, I decided it was time for a change.

I then took on the role of system engineer at a local Israeli hosting company and was later promoted to NOC team manager and Windows system team manager.

After a few intense years, I decided to focus on the emerging AWS technology. I joined Clicksoftware as a cloud specialist, where I helped develop their cloud offering on AWS and built the NOC team during the first two years. Clicksoftware later acquired a small US-based company and I was asked to relocate to the US to oversee their operations while supporting our current US-based customers. Over time, I took on more responsibilities and eventually led the global team responsible for the production stack of Clicksoftware on AWS, covering the US, India, and Australia.

In 2019, Salesforce began the acquisition process of Clicksoftware and I was involved in the due diligence process from an early stage, working tirelessly for 10 months to prepare my product lines and meet Salesforce’s standards. The acquisition was completed in October 2019. During my time at Salesforce, I assumed more responsibilities, took over the Clicksoftware NOC team and initiated a project to convert it to an SRE team. This project took a year to complete and was very successful.

However, in early 2023, Salesforce initiated a massive layoff process, and most of my team, including myself, were laid off. The remaining team members were re-assigned to other departments. This was a tough time for me. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I knew I had to fight it. Within six months, I was able to reduce my A1C levels by over 50% and I continue to prioritize my health to this day.

Currently, I am working as an independent consultant in my own company, “Cloudsulting”. My goal is to assist companies struggling with digital transformation and legacy applications.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was never easy. I had to fight every step of the way and earn my progress through hard work and an unstoppable drive to succeed.

I attempted to obtain a bachelor’s degree through a manager’s program at one of the leading business schools in Israel. However, during the second year, I realized it was not the right path for me and decided to quit. The absence of an academic degree continues to hinder my job prospects, as I am not considered a top candidate for the various positions I apply for.

I have worked for various individuals as a manager. Some have taught me a great deal, from technical and business aspects to navigating corporate politics. Others were more restrictive and did not allow me to implement my vision within my roles.

Transitioning from a mid-size company to an enterprise was an incredible challenge. Managing a vast network of contacts for various issues, navigating within a large corporation, and adapting to the annual dramatic changes that shift the focus of thousands of employees was an immense adjustment.

Midlife crisis while discovering I have type 2 diabetes. That was a very difficult time for me.

Finally, the shift from working for a company to starting my own business involved wearing multiple hats, experiencing several failures, and constantly battling the voice that urged me to give up.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Cloudsulting?
Cloudsulting provides clarity and strategy to clients within a disruptive and rapidly changing industry. Whether clients adapt to the disruption or seize the opportunity to become disruptors themselves, Cloudsulting helps them achieve the agility necessary to meet their goals.

I am consulting in the following areas:
Cloud solutions
Microsoft workloads
Disaster Recovery solutions
M & A – Prep, Due Diligence, and post-acquisition
Startup case study
Business Coach

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I am still looking for my next mentor, and I do not have any good advice for finding one at the moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cloudsultingllc.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cloudsultingllc