Chris Lamont-Smith, managing director at Zimbani, emphasizes the importance of diagramming in consulting, particularly using Lucidchart for creating clear visual representations of client architectures and AWS infrastructures. Lucidchart's templates and AWS shape library streamline the diagramming process, enabling his team to quickly create network diagrams with accurate, updated components. This efficiency allows for real-time collaboration and effective communication with clients, enhancing the quality of their consulting services.

1. Mapping Client
Solutions with
Lucidchart’s AWS Tools
Chris Lamont-Smith, Managing
Director at Zimbani, works with
clients everyday to develop solutions
that will allow them to better reach
their business objectives. He has
found diagramming to be crucial
in determining how to best meet
a client’s needs, and he has found
Lucidchart to be just the right tool
for doing so.

2. The Need to Diagram
As a consultant for some of Australia’s largest orga-
nizations specializing in cloud security, technology
consulting, and security solutions, Chris Lamont-Smith,
Managing Director at Zimbani, deals with diagramming
regularly. He needs a clear understanding of a client’s
current systems in order to propose improvements, and
a diagram is worth a thousand words in every step of
that process.
When Chris goes into an organization, one of his first
tasks is to map out the current environment. With nearly
all of his clients, Chris finds it necessary to diagram their
existing architecture in order to get a complete picture
of what is going on. He often switches from a conceptual
idea to a deep-structured view, and he needs to quickly
create flowcharts, data flow diagrams, or mind maps
as visuals. He also needs to create network diagrams
when consulting clients on their Amazon Web Services
(AWS) infrastructure. Once Chris has a complete view
of existing systems, he can then go in and visualize the
future state and offer strategic improvements.
Chris must first
diagram a client’s
existing architecture
to understand the
big picture of the
current environment.
Chris Lamont-Smith
Managing Director at Zimbani


3. The Ideal Diagramming Solution
Lucidchart is a go-to for Chris throughout this entire
process. “Lucidchart has been instrumental in creating
and delivering designs for clients and then being able to
communicate about them effectively,” he says.
Before he discovered Lucidchart, Chris used an Amazon
workspace purely to run Windows Visio to build these
diagrams. Each time, he would have to search Google
for all the visual assets he needed to piece together a
flowchart—and every asset would be a different resolu-
tion and format. It was a cumbersome and time-consum-
ing process.
With Lucidchart, Chris’s diagrams stay consistent.
Lucidchart’s templates give Chris all the right assets out
on the page when he’s diagramming, and those assets
are all premade.
“Lucidchart has
been instrumental
in creating and
delivering designs
for clients and
then being able to
communicate about
them effectively.”
SHAPE DATA
Label
Type
Name
ID
VPC ID
IP Address
Security Groups
Subnet
InstanceType
Launch Time
Availability Zone
Tags
Value
_ ×
EC2 Instance
couchbase.lucidchart.com
i-181fb0ce
vpc-5f019b34
10.0.206.90
sg-76676213,sg-52aa5c3d
subnet-d95435b2
r3.xlarge
2016-10-27T13:21:43.956479+00:00
us-east-1e
chart-production-cache,producti…
New+
sales@lucidchart.com | 650-733-6172

4. Time-saving AWS Tools
For example, he can open the AWS library to quickly
and easily find every component he needs to map out
existing architecture. If he can’t find a shape, he can use
Lucidchart’s search feature to find any icon he needs.
Then he can simply drag and drop those shapes onto
the canvas.
“The biggest benefit of the AWS shape library is its ease
of use. I can find a particular asset quickly, and I know
that even though Amazon is releasing new things all the
time, everything will be updated in Lucidchart for me. I
can whip up a diagram in no time.”
Chris and his colleagues utilize the AWS import feature
Lucidchart offers, a powerful tool allowing anyone to
create a network diagram within minutes, even if they
know absolutely nothing about the environment. Instead
of wasting precious time going back and forth between
AWS and their own diagram, team members can import
a client’s AWS architecture directly into Lucidchart. A
shape library populates, and they can drag and drop any
piece from the imported list. Each piece dropped onto
the Lucidchart canvas includes its name and its relation-
ship to other components. By simply clicking a node, the
team can view all of its connections. The tool even pulls
in metadata, providing valuable information such as IP
address, port information, instance ID, availability zone,
and launch time. The simplicity of the process reduces
the likelihood of human error.
Chris and his
team can create a
network diagram
within minutes,
regardless of what
they previously
know about the
environment.

5. sales@lucidchart.com | 650-733-6172
Collaboration & Compatibility
Chris can make his diagrams twice as fast in Lucidchart.
And he can see those diagrams anytime, anywhere. “Not
only can I access all existing designs I’ve done, but I can
access them from different devices,” Chris says. He never
has to worry about compatibility, as Lucidchart works
across any platform.
When Chris finishes a proposal, he can share the
Lucidchart diagram with a client to allow for real-time
collaboration. Or, he can easily export his diagram as a
PDF or put it in Google Slides to send out to clients for
feedback. Both allow for a collaborative experience that
Chris calls “exceptionally easy.”
Chris now relies solely on Lucidchart for his diagram-
ming needs. Utilizing the intuitive interface, drag-and-
drop functionality, and professional templates, he can
build the visuals he needs to provide his clients with the
solutions they’re seeking.
“I can make
my diagrams
twice as fast in
Lucidchart, and I
can access them
from anywhere.”
Back
People Resolve
@jshumway Do we have approval
to move forward with this yet?
I’m sharing it with @brian today to
get his feedback.
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with others
Reply
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RL

6. About
Zimbani are trusted advisors to some of Australia’s
largest organizations specialising in Information Security,
Technology Consulting, Security Solutions, Mobility,
Cloud, IT Resource Augmentation and Training. They
help clients mobilise large strategic transformation
programs, critical BAU functions, or even small uplift
projects. Advisors build partnerships with stakeholders
to ensure customers’ strategic visions are maintained.
From concept to execution, Zimbani helps organi-
zations ensure that the right outcomes are achieved
and that they align with the business, security, and
technology objectives.
Delivering expert
services & solutions

7. sales@lucidchart.com | 650-733-6172
About
Lucid Software is a leading provider of cloud-based
visual productivity applications. Lucidchart, a diagram-
ming application, and Lucidpress, a design solution,
are utilized in more than 175 countries by more than 8
million users, including Comcast, NASA, Netflix, Target
and Xerox. Since the Utah-based company’s founding
in 2010, Lucid Software has grown in revenue by more
than 100 percent each year and has received numerous
awards for its business and workplace culture. For more
information about Lucid Software, visit golucid.co.
Diagrams done right
Our Customers

8. “The biggest benefit of the AWS shape
library is its ease of use. I can find a
particular asset quickly, and I know
that even though Amazon is releasing
new things all the time, everything will
be updated in Lucidchart for me. I can
whip up a diagram in no time.”
Chris Lamont-Smith, Managing Director, Zimbani
sales@lucidchart.com | 650-733-6172