Wednesday, August 22, 2007

~ Quote for the week ~

'Experience is not what happens to a person; it is what a person does with what has happened to him/her'

Friday, August 10, 2007

Infosys:IT or Realty?

Yesterday evening me and my roomy where having a very casual debate over 'Is this India's best IT campus?' which appeared on Rediff.

The debate was over whether Infosys is right in constructing Multiplex, bowling alleys, etc; in their campus. They have been on buying large chunks of land @ subsidized prices in various parts of the country.

Roomy's view:
They shouldn't be constructing Multiplex, bowling alleys, etc; on the land which was obtained at subsidized prices for IT.

My view:
Every IT company in Karnataka had the same level playing field in getting the land @ subsidized prices. Once they have purchased the land, its upto the respecetive companies to utilize the land according to the vision & goal of the organisation.

Looking forward to know your perspective on this.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

~ FC Barcelona Vs Hearts FC ~

I got to watch my first live football match a fortnight ago, between FC Barcelona and Hearts FC. Even though it was as pre-season match for FCB, it still went into the record books for having the largest attendance for Hearts FC, at 57000. Having been a gunner fan for almost 7 years now, I got to watch my favorite footballer Theirry Henry in flesh and blood. I couldn't have asked for anything more, only disappointment was that he wasn't in Gunners colors, we will surely miss him at the club. But, I am happy to see him play for one of the competitive football clubs in Europe.

The atmosphere in the stadium came alive when the players of the home team made it to the field; it got better when the known faces of FCB - Ronaldinho, Deko, Eto, Zambrotta - made their way onto the field. Henry received a hearty welcome at the MurrayField stadium in his second appearance for Barca in the UK. Messi was one of the players from the barca squad who wasn't in the Scotland visit.

I felt first half of the match had more character to the match, when compare to the second half. Ronaldinho put Barca ahead with his penalty, this however was equalled by Hearts. Ronaldinho scored another goal for Barca before halftime, taking the lead to 2-1. In the second half, both teams made many changes; Deco & Henry were the key changes for Barca. Henry came very close to score a goal, which deflected the goal post. He did put up a good show, before barca managed to net another goal. Barca won the friendly effortlessly, not without filling the coffers of Hearts FC ;).

The joy of watching football live, like any other sport, is very unique. Here are few pics from the match.

Monday, August 06, 2007

~ Fantastic 4 ~

As of yesterday I completed 4 fantastic years after stepping into the IT profession. After graduating with a degree in Electronics & Communication, I landed a job in the vast software industry. Through these four years, there have been personal highs & lows. I consider myself to be lucky to have started my career with a small company, unlike the general trend of starting with a large MNCs. Had I joined any of those big MNCs, I would have missed out on - working on latest technologies; understanding the nitty- gritty details of operations; above all, some of my (eX)colleagues who have been the best buddies.

Having started my career as a trainee in ReadiMinds, a Web Services Product development company, to being a consultant/contractor for the Professional Services Group wing of Nous Infosystems, the journey has been a good learning process. I have had the chance to witness a lot of transformations in my thinking and approach to way the software is developed.

Spent most of my time working with product development companies - ReadiMinds, SourceN - RainingData collaboration - I am kinda biased over the services companies. The whole goal of developing a piece of software is to make our lives comfortable. You develop them so as to be used by someone. Even though I happened to be in product development working on some of the latest technologies, they never made it to the production stages & failed to reach the end user. So, I decided to take up the onsite oppurtunity, in the form of a consulting job with the Professional Services Group, Nous Infosystems & lead a life of nomad. This time I am working with the product & application development teams at MGt as consultant/contractor through Nous Infosystems, UK. Having been here for 6 months, I got the taste of production & the challenges which come along with it.

Following are few of my observations through the various phases of my career:

  1. Technology never drives the business, its the business which drives it. Technology is just a catalyst, never really get carried away by any particular technology.
  2. Time & Cost determine the life of the product development
  3. Making every member of the company understand the objective/goal of the company in the nascent stages is very crucial for both the individual & the company to accomplish their respective milestones.
  4. People, Patience & Perseverance are key for the growth of an organization.
  5. Be passionate about what you do for a living.
  6. Implementation of policies should be uniform, without any exceptions.
  7. Some of the brilliant ideas often don't get selected, if the management board doesn't gives a nod.
  8. Marketing & Development teams always seem to have differential views of the same thing.
  9. Sometimes businesses seem to adopt complex processes over the simple.
  10. Too much of red tape becomes an overkill.
  11. The success of a software doesn't rest upon the Architects & Architecture alone. Having the right Managers & Art of Managing resources also determine the success.
  12. Developing products around standards defined by the industry would provide an edge in maintenance & integration over home grown standards.
  13. Hiring the right people solves half the problems in a startup.
  14. Holistic approach should be adopted in design stage, which adds agility to your software.
  15. Being honest to your job, definitely adds value to ones credibility.
  16. Never get caught up with your designation, rather try to fit into different shoes, which gives you more growth.
  17. Keeping the work environment similar to that of a home, does reduce attrition levels.
  18. Social activities integrated with the regular work routines, help people de-stress.
  19. Never run a software company like Italian Mafia ;)
  20. Above all, try to follow this quote as a thumb rule 'Love Your Job, But Never Fall In Love With Your Company'. Coming from Narayan Murty, who has been successfull in putting Bangalore, India & IT on the global arena & been an inspiration to me as well.
By the way being a consultant/contractor has its own pros & cons (will save it for another post).

Adiós, amigos! weekend is almost coming to an end :(

Sunday, August 05, 2007

~ Happy Friendship Day ~


'Life is a journey; in this journey friends are the ones who stand by you for everything you are. Without them, circle of life would just be zero'