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My Story

The path wasn't always clear, but it was mine to shape.

  1. 1992–2009

    Roots in Limpopo

    Born on 4 July 1992 at Tshilidzini Hospital in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, I was the second-youngest of seven children. My early years were shaped by curiosity, resilience, and a strong sense of community. My schooling took me from Tshedza Comprehensive School through Lukunde and Tshiluvhi Primary Schools to Thohoyandou Technical High School, where I matriculated in 2009.

  2. 2010–2011

    First steps into technology

    After improving my physical science marks at Tshwane South College, I began studying Computer Systems Engineering at the Vaal University of Technology. When I noticed poor Wi-Fi at my student accommodation, I offered to help fix it. That initiative grew into my first IT internship in 2011 and brought reliable connectivity to more than 500 students.

  3. 2012–2019

    Learning the craft

    I built my foundations at Afrihost in client services, then moved into field engineering at Baseline IT before joining ISS Africa as an IT Officer. There, I led a migration to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 that saved ZAR 1.2 million annually — an experience that shaped my thinking on resilience, governance, and security.

  4. 2019–2025

    Engineering at enterprise scale

    At Digiata, I implemented ISO 27001 and led migrations to Microsoft 365 and Entra ID. At ABSA, I led the migration of more than 8,000 Windows servers to Azure Arc, served on the Patching Council, lifted patch compliance from 69% to 95%, and presented quarterly to 800+ stakeholders — from engineers to CIOs. That work earned ABSA's 2022 Grand-Prize Kudos Award.

  5. 2026–

    Automating security at national scale

    I began 2026 as a Cloud Operations Engineer at AnywhereNow, supporting ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance and building a cloud-native CMDB on Azure. Since March, I've been a Cyber Security Specialist at the South African Reserve Bank, leading security automation transformation across SailPoint, Entra ID, Silverfort, and BeyondTrust PAM. Alongside that, I'm researching explainable AI for enterprise cyber risk through a Master of Computing — work I'm commercialising as Clarus. From Wi-Fi in student housing to national-scale security automation, the journey reflects a commitment to learning, growth, and impactful solutions.

About My Name

My name, Murendeni, is a Tshivenda name meaning "Praise Him" or "Praise God."

Origin
Tshivenda (South Africa)
Literal Meaning
"Praise Him" or "Worship God"