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
Microsoft
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