DevCentral's Featured Member for August - Tofunmi Olorunju

Our Featured Member series is a way for us to show appreciation and highlight active contributors in our community. Communities thrive on interaction and our Featured Series gives you some insight on some of our most engaged folks. DevCentral Member Tofunmi Olorunju is our Featured Member for August! He's been helping many other members with some great tips so let's catch up with Tofunmi!

DevCentral: First, please explain to the DC community a little about yourself, what you do and why it is important.

Tofunmi: I am a Network Security Engineer with Tigerlogic Solutions Ltd., one of Africa's fastest-growing cybersecurity and service assurance companies. I currently deploy and support F5 Solutions for clients in the banking, telecommunications, energy, and insurance sectors in Africa. I love solving problems and building the network foundation that many organizations don’t think about but rely on daily. I also create and implement strategic cybersecurity roadmaps deploying security and compliance requirements. Network security is the bedrock of any organization. Apart from being a requirement to fulfill compliance, it also helps enhance business continuity. A few minutes of downtime or a security breach can cost an organization millions of dollars. I am glad preventing stuff like that is what I do daily.

Finally, in my free time, I code. I can’t fully explain how, but it helps me relax. Oh, and I love to try out new coffee recipes. 🙂 I am also currently working with a few iOS developers to build one of the best travel apps the UK has ever seen.

DevCentral: You’ve been an active contributor in the DevCentral community.  What keeps you involved?

Tofunmi: I joined the DevCentral community some years ago when I was new to F5, I needed solutions to some of the issues I had come across whilst trying to deploy the LTM module in a bank. Since then, it has become more than a work tool for me but a good community to keep up with techies like myself. It is, in my opinion, one of the most active vendor communities available. My desire to learn more has always been fueled by my desire to assist others in the Devcentral community in finding solutions to their issues. The DevCentral Github repository is a gold mine; I think everyone has to check it out. I also enjoy solving the daily wordles with members of the devcentral community.

DevCentral: Tell us a little about the technical expertise you have.

Tofunmi: I am a subject matter expert in the deployment and management of networking and cybersecurity tools such as Firewalls (FortiGate, Sophos, PaloAlto), Cisco Switches and Routers, Network Access Control solutions (Forescout NAC, Cisco ISE), Network Monitoring Solutions (IXIA, Solarwinds), DDOS Solutions (ArborDDOS, Imperva) on both on-prem and cloud infrastructure. Specific to F5, I have used technologies like BIG-IP LTM, BIG-IP DNS, ASM, AFM, APM and VCMP to enhance the stability, agility, and security of enterprise infrastructure. I have also dabbled in software development; I am great with Swift, Python, and Firebase.

DevCentral: You are a Network Security Engineer at Tigerlogic Solutions Ltd. Can you describe your typical workday, how you manage work/life balance and the strong support of F5 solutions? How has the  pandemic impacted your work?

Tofunmi: My typical workday is determined mainly by customer needs or ongoing projects. If there are no customer support calls for troubleshooting or inquiries, I collaborate with OEMs to deliver presentations to prospective or existing clients on F5 technologies and products. I participate in defining and capturing requirements, proposing technical solutions, and overseeing the selection of technologies/products (Firewalls, Network Access Control, DDoS Protection, Bot Protection, Application Security, API Security, Cloud Security Monitoring, etc.), scoping and estimating resources and effort needed to deliver business value solutions to the customer successfully and achieving a high level of customer satisfaction. After the deals are won, I am tasked with the responsibility of making sure that the solutions are deployed according to best practices and that the customer gets the expected value from the solution. Finally, I finish my day with a solid 4 km run on most days.

DevCentral: Do you have any F5 Certifications? If so, why are these important to you and how have they helped with your career?

Tofunmi: I am currently 201 Certified; I intend to take the 303 BIG-IP ASM certification in the coming weeks. Certifications are like most things in life: the more you put into them, the more you will get out. While the real reward is the knowledge you gain along the way, certifications show employers and clients that you take your job seriously and are knowledgeable in the relevant technology. When preparing for exams, I always create labs to test things out because hands-on experience improves your chances on the exams. The F5 certifications have helped me learn technical strategies that have become a guide for project execution, allowing me to manage all aspects of my work more effectively.

DevCentral: Describe one of your biggest Customer challenges and how the community helped in that situation.

Tofunmi: I have encountered some really complex customer challenges, especially regarding scripting iRules for some problematic applications that require traffic manipulations. The resources on AskF5 and Devcentral have been very helpful.

DevCentral: Lastly, if you weren’t doing what you’re doing, what would be your dream career? Or better, when you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

Tofunmi: Growing up, I was always fascinated by crime investigation movies; I wanted to become a crime investigator. Lol, that hasn’t changed, by the way.

---Thanks Tofunmi! The DevCentral Community really appreciate your willingness to share with our Members. Stay connected with Sebastián on social media:

• Tofunmi on LinkedIn
• Tofunmi on Twitter
• TigerLogic on LinkedIn
• TigerLogic on the Web