Field Briefing · Available for new engagements
Punith Kumar

Punith Kumar

Senior Pre-Sales Engineer (Acting Team Lead — Pre-Sales) — 12+ years architecting and winning complex enterprise & government cybersecurity deals across the Middle East, Turkey & Africa.

12+ yrs · presales & solution engineering META · region coverage Enterprise + Government · accounts
01

About

I lead technical discovery, PoV/PoC programs and RFP/RFI responses that displace legacy network and web security architectures in favor of modern, prevention-first designs. Over 12+ years across the region, I've worked with CISOs and C-level stakeholders to translate complex security architecture into ROI, risk reduction and compliance value — and helped channel partners and distributors scale technical wins independently across enterprise and public-sector accounts. I manage the full opportunity lifecycle in Salesforce CRM and partner with renewals teams on account health checks that surface upsell and cross-sell opportunities across the existing base.

Based in
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Focus
Enterprise & government cybersecurity pre-sales
Region
Middle East · Turkey · Africa
Works with
CISOs, IT leaders, channel partners & GSIs
Languages
English, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi
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Capability areas

DISCOVERY

Technical Pre-Sales & Solution Architecture

Scoping customer environments and mapping the right architecture to real business requirements.

VALIDATION

PoV / PoC Design & Delivery

Running structured proof-of-value programs that prove impact fast and de-risk the decision.

PROCUREMENT

RFP/RFI/RFQ & Competitive Displacement

Leading technical response strategy and displacing legacy vendors in enterprise & government tenders.

NETWORK & WEB

Firewall & Secure Web Gateway Architecture

Firewall, proxy (PAC / explicit / transparent) and SSL/TLS inspection architecture for enterprise networks.

ISOLATION & CROSS-DOMAIN

Secure Remote Browsing & Hardware-Enforced Access

Everfox (cross-domain, browser isolation) and Garrison (hardware-enforced secure access) as part of high-assurance architecture for regulated and government accounts.

DATA SECURITY

Data Loss Prevention & Posture Management

Designing controls that discover, classify and protect sensitive data across cloud, endpoint and network.

IDENTITY & ACCESS

Zero Trust & Identity Architecture

SAML/OIDC authentication and zero trust network access design for modern, hybrid environments.

ENDPOINT & VDI

Virtual Desktop & Unified Endpoint Management

Architecting secure virtual desktop and endpoint management environments for distributed workforces.

CLOUD

Cloud Security (Azure & AWS)

Extending security architecture and identity fundamentals into cloud-native environments.

ENDPOINT SECURITY

Microsoft Security (Defender, EDR)

Extending technical evaluation and RFP scope into Microsoft Defender and EDR alongside existing endpoint architectures.

ENABLEMENT

Stakeholder & Channel Enablement

Bringing CISOs, technical teams and channel/GSI partners to a shared, confident decision.

PIPELINE

CRM & Renewals Collaboration

Managing opportunity pipeline, PoC/demo tracking and KPI reporting in Salesforce, partnering with renewals on account health and upsell/cross-sell.

03

Experience

2019 — Present · Dubai, UAE

Senior Pre-Sales Engineer (Acting Team Lead — Pre-Sales)

Mindware Technology Trading LLC
  • Own the technical win for enterprise & government accounts across the META region — leading discovery, solution architecture, competitive positioning and PoV/PoC delivery for multi-vendor cybersecurity opportunities.
  • Serve as SME for the Forcepoint portfolio (NGFW, Web Security, Email Security, DLP, DSPM, CASB, ONE), owning solution architecture, market positioning and competitive differentiation against legacy SWG, firewall and DLP vendors.
  • Design and troubleshoot proxy architectures (PAC files, explicit/transparent), SSL/TLS decryption and inspection, and SAML/OIDC authentication integrations as part of Forcepoint Web Security and NGFW PoCs and production rollouts.
  • Extended technical evaluation and RFP scope beyond Forcepoint to Citrix (ADC/NetScaler, Virtual Apps & Desktops), Ivanti (UEM, Neurons), Proofpoint (Email Security, TAP) and Microsoft Security (Defender, EDR) for regional enterprise & government accounts.
  • Manage the full opportunity pipeline, PoC and demo activity, and KPI reporting in Salesforce CRM.
  • Partner with the renewals team on customer health checks across the existing account base, identifying upsell and cross-sell opportunities to support account growth and retention.
  • Translate complex security architecture into business value — ROI, risk reduction, compliance alignment — for stakeholders from technical administrators to C-level executives.
  • Deliver end-to-end professional services: solution design, implementation, optimization and post-deployment support, while mentoring junior technical team members.
Mar 2017 — Aug 2019 · UAE

Information System Consultant

Emaar Technologies (GBM Payroll)
  • Proposed and designed technical solutions and PoC prototypes addressing customer business and security requirements.
  • Delivered product demonstrations and technical presentations for prospective customers via virtual and on-site engagements.
  • Subject-matter expert in technical solution design across firewall, data loss prevention and security analytics evaluations.
  • Participated in RFI/RFP responses, bid coordination, prospect qualification and technical discovery.
Oct 2015 — Feb 2017 · India

Pre-Sales Security Consultant

Inflow Technologies Pvt Ltd
  • Led design and presentation of end-to-end cybersecurity solutions — architectures, PoCs and prototypes aligned to business, security and compliance needs.
  • Owned the full pre-sales lifecycle: opportunity qualification, technical discovery, solution positioning, proposals and RFI/RFP/RFQ responses.
  • Subject-matter expert in solution architecture and pre-sales across next-generation firewall, intrusion prevention and network security evaluations.
Jul 2014 — Sep 2015 · India

Technical Presales Engineer

Foresight Software Solutions

Drove pre-sales activities and opportunity progression alongside the Business Development Manager, aligning proposed security solutions to customer requirements and supporting deal registration through to closure.

Jun 2013 — Jun 2014 · India

Information Technology Support Engineer

PowerTech LLC

Delivered implementation, migration, support and troubleshooting across firewalls, proxy, endpoint, VPN, cloud apps and data loss prevention tooling, including vulnerability scanning and compliance-aligned risk assessments.

04

Region coverage

UAE Saudi Arabia Bahrain Oman Pakistan Qatar Kuwait India
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Selected engagements

Enterprise & government organizations I've delivered technical wins for

Government & Public Sector
Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Private Office UAE Amiri Diwan UAE Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority UAE UAE Accountability Authority UAE Taif Municipality KSA Dubai Sports Council UAE KATIM UAE
Financial Services
APNA Bank Pakistan Oman Arab Bank Oman RAKEZ UAE
Enterprise
Gulf Air Bahrain Emirates Flight Catering UAE Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group Bahrain / UAE Shoba Realty UAE

Specific deal sizes and win-rate metrics available for discussion at interview.

06

Education & credentials

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Computer Applications

Sathya Jyothi College, Periyar Maniammai University, India · 2009 – 2012

SECURITY CERTIFICATIONS

Ethical Hacking & Network Security

  • Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v9)
  • Forcepoint Certified Maverick SE (NGFW, DLP, Web)
  • Certified Forcepoint DLP Administrator, Web Security Administrator, ONE Administrator, NGFW Administrator & Engineer
  • Accredited Services Partner (ASP) Program Certified for NGFW
  • Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA) & Security Engineer (CCSE)
DATA & CLOUD SECURITY

Data Security & Cloud Platforms

  • Forcepoint DSPM Deploy and Professional
  • AWS Solutions Architect – Associate
  • AZ-500 Security Engineer; Microsoft Security, Compliance & Identity Fundamentals
APPLICATION & SALES

Application Delivery & Cloud Sales

  • Barracuda Load Balancer/ADC, Email Gateway, WAF & Web Security Gateway
  • Google Workspace and Cloud Sales Credentials
TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT
Forcepoint (NGFW, DLP, ONE, DSPM, CASB, Data Classification, Email Security) Check Point Palo Alto Microsoft Security (Defender, EDR) Everfox Garrison Citrix ADC/NetScaler & VDI Ivanti (UEM, Neurons) Proofpoint (TAP, Email Protection) Barracuda Mimecast ZTNA Azure & AWS Salesforce Splunk
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Contact

Let's talk about your next security architecture decision.

Open to new opportunities and conversations across the region. Reach out directly or connect on LinkedIn.