Akbar User
@akbaruser
Strategic technology leader driving cloud, AI, and legacy modernization.
What I'm looking for
I am a strategic technology and transformation leader with 19+ years of international experience delivering cloud migrations, legacy system modernization, and AI-enabled solutions across healthcare, insurance, eLearning, and telecom.
I have led large cross-functional teams, managed multi-crore budgets, and executed enterprise-scale modernization programs that reduced costs and accelerated delivery—examples include COBOL-to-.NET migrations, Sybase-to-SQL Server data platform moves, and containerization on OpenShift and AKS.
I build practical AI solutions and governance: I led an internal RAG-based AI Knowledge Assistant (Python, ReactJS, ChromaDB), agentic AI for partner communications, and piloted GitHub Copilot rollouts with policy and usage patterns that drove measurable productivity savings.
I focus on people and outcomes—hiring and upskilling engineers, instituting Agile/SAFe practices, and implementing governance and observability to ensure predictable delivery, strong SLA performance, and measurable business impact.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Legacy Transformation Manager
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee
Jun 2022 - Present (3 years 4 months)
Led enterprise-scale health data platform migration and legacy modernization initiatives, built an internal RAG-based AI Knowledge Assistant, and reduced modernization costs while improving deployment speed and scalability.
Development Manager
SumTotal Systems
May 2019 - Jun 2022 (3 years 1 month)
Led delivery of three enterprise SaaS products and an 18-member cross-functional Agile team, modernized monoliths into real-time microservices, and increased sprint completion and engineering velocity through governance and CI/CD improvements.
Development Lead
SumTotal Systems
Mar 2016 - Apr 2019 (3 years 1 month)
Led migration of 300+ customers to cloud LMS with 99.5% migration success, authored deployment playbooks to reduce errors, and established 24/7 SWAT incident response to resolve high-severity escalations.
Data Warehouse & ETL Specialist
SumTotal Systems
Apr 2014 - Feb 2016 (1 year 10 months)
Developed report migration utilities and integrated SQL Server CDC/replication into ETL pipelines, reducing job failures and turnaround times while improving post-deployment validation and recovery processes.
Reporting Module Developer
SumTotal Systems
Feb 2013 - Mar 2014 (1 year 1 month)
Enhanced advanced reporting for LMS using Jaspersoft and SSRS, optimized replication and ETL processes, and reduced critical incidents while improving reporting accuracy and user self-service capabilities.
Software Engineer
SumTotal Systems
Jan 2010 - Sep 2012 (2 years 8 months)
Built and maintained the ReportManager reporting backbone, developed ETL pipelines using CDC/change tracking, and implemented a migration tool that halved server-to-server migration time.
Software Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services
Nov 2005 - Dec 2009 (4 years 1 month)
Delivered .NET and SQL applications across healthcare, travel, and telecom domains with full delivery adherence, performed onsite delivery in Canada, and improved report performance through query refactoring.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Sri Venkateswara University
Bachelor of Technology, Electronics & Communication Engineering
Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University.
Availability
Location
Authorized to work in
Job categories
Skills
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