Vikash Tulsi Senior Sales Engineer, Commvault

Data protection and management software giant Commvault Systems, Inc. appointed Vikash Tulsi – a seasoned IT professional with more than 2 decades of experience in the industry – as its new senior sales engineer.

Its primary responsibility in his new role is to support sales efforts from a technical perspective in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. This includes helping to identify opportunities, positioning solutions to address the customer’s needs and validating the solutions through demonstrations, proof-of-concepts and technical deep-dive sessions.

“My objective is to get the customer’s technical sign-off, ensuring the solution is a suitable offering that addresses their requirements. This positions us to win the sales opportunity,” he explains.

He points out that he was motivated to take on the role as the company is going through a period of significant innovation and aggressive growth.

“From a technology perspective, Commvault is focused on the historical data protection space, which is an area I am well-versed in. Additionally, they have evolved into the cyber resilience space, with a “shift left” approach, addressing security-related offerings,” he says.

“This cyber resilience focus complements my background in security. The convergence of data protection and security into a new, evolutionary market offering is fundamentally unique, and this is what piqued my interest in the role at Commvault. The combination of their growth, innovation, and the merging of data protection and security is a compelling opportunity.”

The key factors that drove Tulsi to pursue the opportunity at Commvault included the company operating in a very competitive space, alongside their unique market positioning.

Prior to joining Commvault, Tulsi was technical pre-sales consultant at IBM and a technical account manager for large enterprise at Veritas Technologies. This was preceded by various senior roles at Symantec.

“I started in the IT industry many years ago, beginning as a desktop technician at Denel Kentron (now Denel Dynamics). I then progressed through various roles, including system administrator, networking and backup administration, and worked at a local distributor, channel data,” he says.

He obtained a National Diploma (Ndip) in Electronics from the Durban University of Technology in 1998 and completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of South Africa in 2015.

He adds that what set him apart as a leader in the field of sales engineering is his experience, network and ability to quickly assimilate new knowledge. Being effective and efficient is something he brings to the table.

“The key component of success is being self-taught and ingesting new knowledge quickly. I can then translate that knowledge and make it fruitful for customers and partners. If I can do this faster than our competitors, I can differentiate myself in the market. This is what Commvault does as a company, and I aim to embody that same approach on an individual basis,” he concludes.