Hi, I’m Arshad Ahmed
Welcome to Arshad Lab — a place where I document my journey of building, testing, and learning through practical IT experiments.
I am a Technical Team Lead with over 10 years of experience in IT operations, service delivery, Microsoft technologies, and enterprise support environments. Throughout my career, I have worked with global teams and supported organisations across different regions, helping deliver reliable IT services while mentoring engineers and improving operational processes.
My Journey into IT
My journey into IT started with curiosity and a willingness to learn and take ownership.
While still a student, I had my first opportunity to experience technology leadership by being involved in the re-launch of my school’s website. Working with a team to plan and deliver the project gave me early exposure to teamwork, problem-solving, and the responsibility involved in delivering technology solutions. Looking back, this experience became one of the first steps that shaped my pathway into IT.
In 2014, I started my professional IT career as an IT Assistant with Holcim (Readymix Qatar). This role gave me my foundation in enterprise IT operations, supporting users, systems, infrastructure, and day-to-day technology challenges in a business environment.
During this time, I gained practical experience in:
- End-user support
- Windows environments
- Networking fundamentals
- Hardware and software troubleshooting
- IT operations in a business environment
In 2019, I returned to Sri Lanka and joined a Managed Service Provider (MSP), where I focused on supporting global clients, primarily across Australia and the wider ANZ region.
Working in an MSP environment exposed me to supporting multiple customers, understanding different business requirements, managing priorities, and delivering consistent IT services across different organisations.
Over the years, my role evolved from hands-on technical support into leadership, where I now focus on mentoring engineers, improving service delivery, managing escalations, and helping teams grow while continuing to stay connected with technology.
Why Arshad Lab?
Arshad Lab started as a personal learning environment where I could experiment with technologies, recreate enterprise scenarios, and document what I learn.
Not every lab requires expensive hardware or a large data centre. Many of my experiments are built using practical setups — virtual machines, personal equipment, and whatever resources are available — because real learning comes from building, troubleshooting, and understanding how things work.
Through this website, I share:
- Hands-on lab guides
- Technical walkthroughs
- Troubleshooting experiences
- Microsoft 365 and security experiments
- Automation examples
- Lessons learned from working in enterprise IT environments
My Approach
I believe the best way to learn technology is by doing.
Reading documentation is important, but building a lab, breaking something, troubleshooting the issue, and understanding why it happened creates a much deeper understanding.
My goal with Arshad Lab is to create a practical knowledge base that can help IT professionals, students, and anyone interested in technology learn through real examples.
Professional Background
In my current role as a Technical Team Lead, I focus on:
- Leading and mentoring IT support engineers
- Improving service delivery and operational processes
- Managing escalations and major incidents
- Building knowledge-sharing practices
- Supporting continuous improvement initiatives
Alongside technical growth, I am passionate about developing people, sharing knowledge, and helping the next generation of IT professionals build practical skills.
Certifications & Learning
Some of my professional certifications and learning milestones include:
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert (MS-102)
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate (MD-102)
- Microsoft Security and Compliance focused certifications
- ITIL v4 Foundation
I continue to explore new areas across cloud, security, identity, automation, and AI-driven IT operations.
Beyond the Lab
Technology is constantly evolving, and so is my learning journey.
Whether it is building a new virtual lab, testing a Microsoft feature, automating a repetitive task, or exploring the future of AI in IT — Arshad Lab is where I document that journey.
Thanks for visiting, and I hope something here helps you learn, troubleshoot, or build something new.
Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep building.