Senior Product Manager – Cloud Orchestration, Networking & Telemetry
I turn complex networking and cloud infrastructure into scalable B2B products. From telemetry-driven upsell engines to AI-optimized network management, I ship platforms that engineering teams trust and customers adopt.
I started in the trenches of enterprise networking—banking infrastructure, security operations, and high-stakes IT management—where downtime meant real consequences. That operational depth taught me root-cause thinking and the value of telemetry before it became a product buzzword.
After roles at A10 and Barracuda, I moved into product management at Cisco, where I've spent five years shipping cloud orchestration SaaS, subscription licensing pivots, and AI-assisted network features for global service providers and enterprises.
I bridge engineering, operations, and business by translating protocol-level complexity into customer outcomes. My process starts with telemetry and data—what are users actually doing, where are they stuck, what's costing us money—then I build narratives that align cross-functional teams around a shared roadmap.
I collaborate daily with engineers on technical gaps, work with finance on pricing models, and represent products to press and executives. My MBA sharpened my business lens, but my network engineering background keeps me credible in technical rooms.
Customers relied on manual hand-off service for cloud operations, generating high TAC case volume and slow provisioning cycles. Engineering had built orchestration capabilities but lacked a self-service interface.
Synthesized market requirements into a detailed MRD for a self-service portal. Collaborated daily with engineering to prioritize API enhancements, UI workflows, and telemetry hooks.
Led cross-functional team through design, beta, and GA launch. Worked with marketing on messaging and trained TAC on new support model. Monitored adoption telemetry to iterate on onboarding flows.
Self-service doesn't mean zero touch—early adopters needed guided onboarding. Telemetry was critical to identify where users got stuck and iterate quickly.
Sales and customer success teams lacked visibility into actual product consumption. Upsell and cross-sell opportunities were guesswork, and product development prioritized features without usage data.
Defined requirements for a telemetry platform that aggregated usage data, identified consumption patterns, and flagged upsell triggers. Worked with engineering to instrument key features.
Launched platform in phases—first internal dashboards, then customer-facing reports, finally automated alerts for sales. Collaborated with finance to tie telemetry to pricing models.
Telemetry is only valuable if it drives decisions. We had to train sales and CS teams to interpret data and act on it, not just admire dashboards.
Hosting costs for cloud services were rising faster than revenue, squeezing margins. Existing architecture was over-provisioned and lacked cost optimization.
Directed creation of a new cloud service offer that consolidated workloads, optimized resource allocation, and introduced tiered service levels.
Led architecture redesign, customer migration plan, and pricing adjustments. Monitored telemetry to validate performance and cost targets.
Cost optimization is a product feature, not just an ops initiative. Framing it as customer value made the transition smooth.
Cisco's licensing model was perpetual Right-to-Use, which created lumpy revenue and made it hard to track engagement. Customers expected flexible pricing.
Led product strategy for subscription licensing, defining tiers, usage metrics, and migration paths. Collaborated with finance on revenue recognition.
Launched in phases—new customers first, then migration offers. Built telemetry to track adoption and identify friction points.
Licensing changes are as much about change management as product features. We underestimated the training needed for sales teams.
Enhanced platform APIs to support service provider workflows, enabling programmatic orchestration and integration with OSS/BSS systems. Increased product adoption by 20%.
Worked on multiple AI initiatives for both AI-optimized network infrastructure and AI-assisted network management. Validated performance via telemetry.
Designed and deployed network solutions for 15+ enterprise customers. Engaged in early-stage product launches to fix issues and enhance user experience.
Reduced incident response time by 20% for banking infrastructure supporting 60% of Iran's electronic transactions through systematic RCA.
Implemented ITIL and ISO 27001 in Command Center. Managed monthly disaster recovery maneuvers for critical financial infrastructure.
Transformed paperwork-based system to software, reducing consultation time by two-thirds. Launched website with 20,000+ medicine records.
Beyond my product work at Cisco, I run experiments at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, AI operations, and product development. These prototypes explore emerging problems in observability, incident management, and AI inference optimization—areas where I see gaps between what enterprises need and what current tools provide.
A SaaS and Kubernetes agent that maps inference request routing, costs, and performance across AI serving platforms, then uses AI to propose and test resource allocation changes.
Learning: Adoption requires integration with existing observability stacks like Datadog.
A structured monthly engagement that analyzes high-impact, repeat-prone incidents and converts them into standardized visual playboards combining architecture views and decision flows.
Learning: Teams struggled to carve out time; considering an on-demand model triggered by severity.
A recurring micro-accelerator where participants take a provocative product idea from concept to rough prototype and customer narrative in 48 hours.
Learning: Pilot sessions were successful; exploring sponsorship model to scale.
I write and speak about cloud orchestration, networking, and product strategy. My work has been featured in Cisco blogs and industry publications.
Explained how Cisco's SD-WAN platform enables zero-touch provisioning for enterprise customers, reducing deployment time and operational overhead.
Detailed Cisco's shift to smart licensing for SD-WAN products, covering the business rationale, technical implementation, and customer migration strategy.
Showcased how Cisco's SD-WAN API enables service providers and enterprises to build custom orchestration workflows and integrate with OSS/BSS systems.
Cisco
Focus: Cloud orchestration SaaS, telemetry platforms, subscription licensing, AI-optimized networking
A10 Networks
Focus: Product launch support, network solution design, customer success
Barracuda Networks
Informatics Services Co.
Colorado State University
Ranked No. 51 in Best Online MBA Programs
Iran Azad University
Open to product leadership roles at B2B SaaS, cloud infrastructure, and networking companies.
m.ketabforoosh@gmail.com
(408) 636-3621
linkedin.com/in/mike-ketabforoosh
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