Alconza Lofton
Kinston,NC
Summary
Accomplished IT professional with a well-rounded background spanning multiple industries, including Telecommunications, Biotech, Automotive, Education, Manufacturing, and Finance sectors. Administrator with a robust expertise in Windows Systems, Office 365, and Cloud technologies. Offering over 25 years of hands-on enterprise-level technical support and consulting experience, specializing in a diverse array of technologies. Proven track record of resolving complex customer challenges, driving product advancements, and providing mentorship.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
2
2
year of post-secondary education
3
3
Certificates
Work History
Exchange Online Engineer
Microsoft
Kinston, NC
03.2022 - Current
- Responsible for delivering Microsoft Exchange support for Premier and Professional customers
- Investigated and solved complex customer technical issues and acted as an advisor to the customer, collaborating within and across teams and leveraging troubleshooting tools and practices
- Responsibilities includes knowledge of enterprise messaging administrative concepts (installation, disaster recovery, database utilities, public folder replication, OWA and Front End/Back End knowledge)
- Maintained a 20 case per month closure rate over a 6-month timeframe on multiple issues
- Utilized various in-house tools for ticketing and troubleshooting issues on a daily basis RAVE, DfM, ASC
- Engaged with Microsoft Engineering/ Supportability teams to investigate potential product defects and help develop automation techniques and diagnostic tools driving Microsoft product improvements
- Deepened my technical proficiency through ongoing training and readiness efforts, enhancing ability to tackle intricate customer issues.
Office 365 Administrator
St. Augustine’s University
05.2021 - 12.2021
- Continued Office 365 administration of all cloud aspects of the suite
- Created additional SharePoint site collections and team sites for various campus departments
- Conducted training classes for all staff and faculty for data transfer from local file servers to SharePoint team sites
- Created Office 365 user accounts for students, staff and faculty in the onboarding adding to the 2,500 plus profiles
- Power Automate utilized to create an MS Forms onboarding process for user accounts
- Augmented or created additional Email security policies in Exchange Online to thwart Phishing/Spam attempts
- Administration and creation of all requested 50 Microsoft Teams throughout campus
Windows Admin Support
Principle IT Services
Kinston, NC
05.2020 - 05.2021
- Principle IT Services
- Administration and troubleshooting of AD and Office 365 accounts
- Administration of Outlook 365 and Exchange Online
- Troubleshoot Meraki WiFi issues at all medical facilities
- Troubleshoot environment issues including AD Domain and Network using SolarWinds Orion
- Deployment of OS packages to desktops utilizing SCCM 2012
- Delivered Tier 2 and Tier 3 support for problem identification, diagnosis and issue resolution.
Office 365 Support Engineer
Microsoft
Kinston, NC
05.2018 - 05.2019
- Communicated with clients to verify roots and causes of computer problems.
- Researched and identified solutions to technical problems.
- · Experienced in administration of Microsoft Office 365 workloads (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business)
- · Knowledge and troubleshooting experience in supporting legacy Microsoft Office Suites (Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Visio, OneDrive for Business, etc.), as well as modern Office suites, including deployment and migration
- · Administration and troubleshooting in the following areas: Office 365 architecture, DNS Records use, and applicability for each Office 365 workload
- · Outlook, and other supported mail client configuration for Exchange Online
- · Office Suite planning, deployment and management in a small business or enterprise environment (including Project, Visio installation and Office for Mac)
- · OneDrive for Business synchronization and profile management
Systems/SharePoint Administrator
St Augustine’s University
Raleigh, NC
12.2015 - 02.2018
- OneDrive for Business synchronization and profile management, Two part project implementing Office 365 and SharePoint
- Provided system design, implementation and support
- Maintained all Cloud Services in Office365:Azure AD, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Skype, OneDrive for Business, Security and Compliance for over 2,500 accounts
- Implemented and maintained a campus wide Intranet along with departmental sites using SharePoint 2016
- Created and implemented a governance strategy for all users for guidance within the SharePoint ecosystem
- Implemented an internal and external solution for video and voice calling using Microsoft Teams
- Implemented and executed various Approval workflows for different forms within campus departments
- Created an Extranet for offsite access to be used when visitors arrived on campus to collaborate with staff and faculty
- Organized the migration of all SharePoint 2016 farm data and content to SharePoint Online with ShareGate
- Created multiple MS PowerApps applications from SharePoint lists for online services
- Utilized MS Flow to create workflows of multiple applications
- Created all department Teams sites throughout campus
- Created or modified PowerShell scripts to automate repetitive processes or diagnostics within Azure AD
- Maintained VSphere 5.5 virtual environment, including creating images for new virtual servers, snapshots, and optimizing resources for best performance and uptime
- Conducted training classes for all staff and faculty on intranet data management and migration
- Created, maintained and updated technical documentation and training for team members
- Set up and controlled user profiles and access levels for each database segment to protect important data.
Microsoft SCCM 2012 Analyst
CSC
Durham, NC
08.2015 - 11.2015
- Short contract to provide consultation for systems migration from IBM BigFix (Endpoint Manager) to System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2012
- Participate as a Desktop Applications engineer dealing with design, testing, implementation, maintenance, modification, evaluation, and support of various enterprise application infrastructures
- Installed and configured a SCCM 2012 hierarchy with Windows Server 2012 for 25,000 devices
- Assessed the current environment for placement of SCCM Primary servers throughout the United States as Distribution Points
- Created Collections for SCCM client software and patch distribution with the use of queries
Server Engineer
First Citizens Bank
Raleigh, NC
04.2014 - 10.2014
- Responsibilities include installing, maintaining, tuning, debugging, and performing the daily administration to keep the First Citizens Bank systems running smoothly
- Utilized VSphere 6.0 Virtual Center to deploy Window 2008and 2012 servers by way of created templates and to troubleshoot any issues in a virtualized environment
- Created SCCM 2012 packages to update various software and firmware on Windows Servers
- Utilize SCOM 2012 to monitor and troubleshoot Windows Servers to ensure maximum uptime
- Configure and install CommVault agents on all Windows and Linux servers
- Implemented technical solutions to solve customer issues and increase satisfaction.
Systems/Network Administrator
St Augustine’s University
Raleigh, NC
08.2012 - 04.2014
- Hired as an MS Exchange Administrator for a large migration project from Exchange 2010 to 2013
- Was promoted after 3 months to Network Administrator and continued to serve in a dual Sr
- System/ Network Administrator role
- Daily routine of troubleshooting various network problems in a LAN/WAN environment within a Enterasys switched network
- Configured and assigned VLANs on switches and routers for various network equipment
- Implemented campus wide Enterasys WiFi AP’s for access to the network
- Configured various layer 2 and layer 3 Enterasys switches for the campus network
- Utilized a Barracuda v400 firewall to ensure all Exchange e-mail flowed internally and externally campus wide
- Implemented new 32T HP Storage SAN using a 4 ESXi blade HP Enclosure for a new virtualized environment
- Utilized VSphere 5.5 Virtual Center to deploy servers by way of created templates and to troubleshoot any issues in a virtualized environment
- Installed, configured, and implemented a SharePoint 2013 environment for various campus departments for collaboration of MS Office documents
- Created load-balancing environment with Windows Server 2012 for increased website traffic
- Installed, configured and implemented MS SCCM 2012 for OS, MS Office, and MS EndPoint Protection deployments along with PC/Server Asset management, and Remote troubleshooting
- Configured and implemented SCOM to troubleshoot the Windows 2003/2008/2012 network
- Migration of MS Exchange 2007 to MS Exchange 2010 of a 2,500-mailbox campus environment
Systems Administrator II
CARQUEST Technologies
Raleigh, NC
03.2006 - 06.2012
- Provided Windows Administration with various projects covering updates, migrations, and SharePoint administration
- (Promoted)
- Daily routine of troubleshooting various network problems in a LAN/WAN environment
- Utilized network utility tools such as a Wireshark, CatTools, Fluke, Solarwinds NPM
- Configured and implemented Riverbed and Cisco WAAS technologies for WAN compression throughout 10 US locations
- Utilized VSphere 4.0 Virtual Center to deploy servers by way of created templates and to troubleshoot any issues in a virtualized environment
- Utilized Citrix ZenApp and Zen Desktop to publish various applications and VDI
- Utilized Citrix NetScaler for load-balancing published application throughout the network
- Migrated from a Windows Server 2003 domain to a Windows Server 2008 domain
- Utilized Active Directory for computer and user authentication onto the Windows domain
- Installed, configured, and implemented a SharePoint 2010 environment for document management solution for entire campus consisting of 30 Team sites
Analyst
Microsoft SCCM
01.2012 - 04.2012
- Performed system analysis, documentation, testing, implementation, and user support for platform transitions.
- Validated results and performed quality assurance to assess accuracy of data.
- Installed system updates to address vulnerabilities and reduce security issues.
- Researched and adopted new technologies to add value to existing offerings.
Network Engineer
Sprint
Raleigh, NC
11.2004 - 08.2005
- Configured, implemented, and monitored 70 Cisco Switches and 16 routers for Vance County School LAN/WAN network
- Utilized Cisco Network Assistant to troubleshoot and monitor switches/routers on the WAN to ensure network connectivity between multiple schools
- Monitored and maintained Hospitality VLANs to ensure customer access to their broadband network
- Utilized Cisco’s Building Broadband Service Manager and Cisco Network Assistant to analyze and trouble shoot network connectivity
- Network Administration of Windows 2000 and 2003 Server DHCP and DNS services for DSL customers
- Monitored network capacity and performance to diagnose and resolve complex network problems.
Education
Associates - Electricity & Electronics Program
Naval Training Center
San Diego, CA 09.1984 - 03.1985
Associates - Interior Communications
School
Naval Training Center
Great Lakes, ILAssociates - Interior Communications
C” School
03.1985 - 05.1985
Skills
MicrosoftExperienced in administration of Microsoft Office 365 workloads (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business)Knowledge and troubleshooting experience in supporting legacy Microsoft Office Suites (Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Visio, OneDrive for Business, etc), as well as modern Office suites, including deployment and migrationAdministration and troubleshooting in the following areas: Office 365 architecture, DNS Records use, and applicability for each Office 365 workloadOutlook, and other supported mail client configuration for Exchange OnlineOffice Suite planning, deployment and management in a small business or enterprise environment (including Project, Visio installation and Office for Mac)
Certification
Microsoft 365 Messaging Administrator Associate
Timeline
Exchange Online Engineer
Microsoft
03.2022 - Current
Microsoft 365 Messaging Administrator Associate
02-2022
Office 365 Administrator
St. Augustine’s University
05.2021 - 12.2021
Windows Admin Support
Principle IT Services
05.2020 - 05.2021
Office 365 Support Engineer
Microsoft
05.2018 - 05.2019
Systems/SharePoint Administrator
St Augustine’s University
12.2015 - 02.2018
Microsoft SCCM 2012 Analyst
CSC
08.2015 - 11.2015
Server Engineer
First Citizens Bank
04.2014 - 10.2014
Systems/Network Administrator
St Augustine’s University
08.2012 - 04.2014
Analyst
Microsoft SCCM
01.2012 - 04.2012
Systems Administrator II
CARQUEST Technologies
03.2006 - 06.2012
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), expired
07-2005
Network Engineer
Sprint
11.2004 - 08.2005
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
06-1999
Associates - Interior Communications
C” School
03.1985 - 05.1985
Associates - Electricity & Electronics Program
Naval Training Center
09.1984 - 03.1985
Associates - Interior Communications
School
Naval Training Center