~ 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 :(