Software People Stories

In this episode, Gayatri is in conversation with Kartic Vaidyanathan, Founder of Play 2 Learn and visiting faculty at IIT Madras shared his journey Talks about accidentally becoming part of the technology journey due to the sheer popularity of studying in a premier institute Kartic shares the story of becoming a visiting faculty teaching life and coping skills in IIT MadrasKartic shares the need for EQ and life skills are needed to build better adults and he also credits for the visionaries in the college to encourage non-engineering coursesKartic also talks about the need for one to be having directional awareness of oneselfKartic talks about the evolution of quality engineering through his journey in the product and services sectorKartic narrates his start up journey being highly energetic and ‘Being an average of the people around you’ Decisions around why he shifted from a product org to a services sector and staying out of your comfort zone and being in the learning zoneNeutral way of looking at the code was the need that exploded testing and validation services Spent about 15 years in software delivery before chancing upon gamified learning, which he has been practicing for the last 12 years. ( last 4 years full time ). Learning has shifted just like the evolution of testingGames provide a fail safe environment and makes a smaller area of learning from each other and creating games to the level of the learner within the same batchLearning in a classroom also moving from a command control to a democratic view of the worldKartic advocates, everyone to identify their passions and cultivate curiosity and quotes Thomas Friedmans' advice passion Quotient(PQ) + Curiosity Quotient (CQ) > Intelligence Quotient( IQ)Kartic also talks about the 4 pillars one should always focus on lifelong and cherish - fitness, relationships, learning+Skill and spiritual growth Kartic as Consultant: As a part of LetsPlayToLearn, we help clients from corporates and educational institutions enable joyful learning through the power of play/games. This provides a fail-safe environment, encourages a growth mindset, and provides motivational elements especially when topics are monotonous or difficult. Depending on the problem, situation, and domain, we have help with a variety of solutions that include simulation games, game platforms, board/card games, activity games, and many more. We also have tie-ups with a lot of industry-leading channel partners in this space.Kartic in Teaching: Co-facilitates sessions on LifeSkills, HHS (Habits, Happiness, and Success) at IIT Madras students. These are much-needed skills that most individuals of our generation learnt the hard way navigating life but are now made available (at least some exposure) to UG students at the start of their careers.The conversation with Dr. Ramya that is referred in this podcast can be accessed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDwrzD-sux4 Refernce to Tom Friedman’s advice https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-21/tom-friedman-interview-jobs-learning-future-of-work.htmlKartic can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karticv/ 

In this episode, Gayatri is in conversation with Prakash Bulusu, Vice President Customer Behavior Analytics at Amazon Inc. Prakash works with Peta bytes of data on a regular basis to identify and predict what consumers would like to useHis early memory of computers started with using AC while playing Nintendo games and amazed at the computer networks in his alumni NIT TrichyShares an interesting story on why he took up his MS after 3.5 years of undergrad. His fascination in e-commerce and US education system that grounded towards curiosityUnderstanding that the future is in e-commerce and large data processing was a big step from his internship in ISRODecision to shift from sunny Florida to a green Seattle knowing Amazon and the possibilities of e-commerce Drivers for moving into search and data based modeling for Microsoft and looking at early DevOps modelTalks about moving away from compile satisfaction[code named as compile sook] to Release satisfactionBeing a first time manager encouraging the team and mentoring in a subtle wayInterdisciplinary thinking together processes aided by the three page narrative - stepping away from command-control ppt to a democratic narrative Strengthening one’s communication skills using the clarity of thought was the biggest leap that Prakash took the longestUnderstanding the changes in the data sciences is like knowing the sinusoidal wave - sometimes its asynchronous and sometimes its in sync. Prakash talks about decision making in the customer behavior analytics - machines taking more decisions objectively and humans weighing in where ambiguity plays a partPrakash shares how future would be in the convergence of Quantum computing, Data sciences and 5G with ethics being the foundationOne wisdom Prakash wants to share is that Technology is rapidly changing and each of us have to adapt quickly with thatPrakash Bulusu, Senior leader with a proven track record across Software, Analytics and Consumer Business in E-Commerce, Search, Marketing and Online applications.Specialties: Large scale distributed and data intensive Software Engineering, Data Analytics, Machine Learning Applications, Data Platform, Computational Marketing, Understanding Customer behavior, Data Science, Email Marketing automation, Product Search relevance and Data quality, e-commerce, Experimentation (A/B testing) and Experimentation Platform, Software test design and automation.Prakash Bulusu can be contacted at https://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashb/

In this episode, Gayatri is in conversation with Pallav Prakash Indian Navy veteran and program manager at ZumTalks about starting in technology in early 1980s by way of merit and got passionate about computersHe talks about implementing high critical projects in submarines and speaks about them as ‘point of no return’ Talks about the pride of careering a Indian passport stemming from the Indian software people across the globe with special mention towards womenTalks about the pride moment of digitisation of files and decision making system across multiple years in NavyShares about the stories of maintenance of the hardware and the missile guidance was architected and built self reliantlyHe shares with pride that Inventory management is one of the largest across the globe with first being Air force and second as Indian navy Talks about the software that has been indigenously developed and given confidence at the heart of every frontline person that warfare is top notchHis journey to move to US to understand different culture and taking an internship program with schoolHe has been an india head for AnitaB and his views on equitable data and the level of impact software could makeNow Pallav is working for zum to solve the school bus transportation in a carbon neutral model and how one has to be inside the problem to solve it and not on top of itHow can software communities come together to improve society as a whole is a question Pallav leaves with all listenersShares the story of the girl who pursued computers to get the comfort of AC to changing the landscape and provide an environment for othersPallav brings over 20 years of leadership experience in diverse business and technology. He has successfully managed large cross-functional, multi-national teams deploying strategies to take operations, programs and products on a high growth path. Pallav is a career program manager implementing high stake programs for the Indian Navy. He has done full time MBA from The Johns Hopkins University and a Management program alumnus (with specialization in Marketing) from Indian Institute of Management Lucknow. He has worked in Indian navy in executing several high tech projects as well as being chief of staff in Indian Navy in executing some of their HR programs.Pallav is a proven leader in managing offshore multisite programs and projects with client interface with passion towards furthering the mission of Women in Technology Pallav can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pallav-prakash/

In this episode, Shiv is in conversation with Nani Narayanan Srinivasan, who is the leader, Data Sciences at HomeUnion and has been in the IT industry for over four decades.In this conversation, Nani talks about:Studying metallurgy and getting exposed to programming to design a blast furnace.Wanting to be in the systems software, Telecom and R&D side of computing.Opportunity to work on a project which was more of R&D, to implement a hot standby and takeover algorithm for mainframes.Realizing the need to understand a client’s business side, learning banking as a domain.How the thinking process is similar across solving business problems or systems software solutions.The need to understand why something needs to be done to be able to think strategically and understand the business.Handling time constraints for a consultant, who is expected to solve problems in a short time.Prioritize what is to be done, before jumping into how it is to be done.A ‘horror story’ when a design worked in principle and in the test environment, but resulted in a ‘race’ condition that led to the system being unusable in a production environment, and how this problem was resolved.Considerations of teams to be scalable: how this may be different based on the size of the company.How to bring efficiency with remote teams, or even when the team members are not of a homogeneous background.The need to understand various members, backgrounds and the business context to build high performance teams.The Prostyle model explained in the book Producing results with others.Career tips: for new entrants to the field : a combination of data science, bio-studies, to get into analytics or data science careers; or security for those looking at software application solutions.Data science as a technique will get embedded in everything we do, like internet has now become a basic component in most solutions.Learning Python, Kotlin, R etc for those interested in programming.For the mid-career professionals, understand the business side and go with the flow of business; in whatever you do, contribute to the revenue side of business, for an assured career.Many technologies are coming back - like old wine in new bottles.Entrepreneur and seasoned technology professional with senior leadership roles in Financial Services (Real Estate Investment, Banking/ Mortgage), High Tech R&D, Telecommunications and SI Consulting. Led successful delivery of large and complex engagements in product development, data sciences and modeling, CRM, online banking, web applications, and mortgage servicing – many with original contributions to Intellectual Property. Guided teams implementing over 200+ industrial strength websites. A strategic thinker, designer and architect of key products with hands on practical delivery approach.You can reach him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanin/

Wishing you all a very happy new year 2022!!In this episode, Gayatri is in conversation with Sriram Rangarajan, Accomplished Data Analytics Leader at IBM shared his data journey His role as an enterprise data architect and what lenses he has to wearWays to get started collecting, analysing and gaining insights from dataHow can young engineers joining the data ecosystem look at dataData to be viewed through the business process and lifecycle Ways of managing complexities across organization and system boundaries Onboarding application teams right at the start instead of making it an after thoughtHow can you manage data errors and keep the sanctity of data cleanChallenges that are encountered while handling master data, data definition and gaps in data setupWorking with regulatory bodies and keeping the right level of data without infringing into compliancePerspective of work has changed across three decades from task centric, business centric and what-if possibilitiesEnsuring that foundations are clearly understood on data prior to diving deeper into technologySriram started his career with TCS after his graduation from JNU. Sriram has worked in IBM, NetApp Inc, and Informatica, demonstrating in-depth knowledge of Data Governance, Data Integration, Master Data Management, Data protection, privacy, and data lifecycle management. Sriram is a data analytics and strategist at heart with robust experience acquired over the years in delivering optimal results in high-growth environments. He excels at cultivating collaborative professional relationships and delivering data-driven and business-centric solutions; Result-driven with extensive expertise across scalable enterprise architecture, value-driven data science, and full-stack engineering. Sriram can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsriram/ 

Continuing our special series for the year end, Shiv asks colleague PM Powerian Sivakumar (Shiv)  how he has developed a curiosity mindset and how he weaves them into stories and more.This series of conversations will help you reflect on the year that was and identify some actions you may want to take in the new year.You can reach him @https://pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/sivakumar/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivakumar-subramanyan-1a78101/

Continuing our special series for the year end, Shiv asks colleague PM Powerian Vasu how he is so observant and able to take copious notes during meetings and moreThis series of conversations will help you reflect on the year that was and identify some actions you may want to take in the new yearYou can reach him at Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/svasudev/https://pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/vasu/

Continuing our special series for the year end, Shiv asks colleague PM Powerian Gopalan how he stays calm even under pressure and moreThis series of conversations will help you reflect on the year that was and identify some actions you may want to take in the new year.More about Gopal at https://pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/gopalan/Can reach Gopal @https://www.linkedin.com/in/gopalgopalan/

In this episode, Paramu Kurumathur, Consultant at PM Power consulting talks about various situations in his career. When he had the opportunity to latch on to an idea, develop it to concrete action.He talks about how there are many ways to do that and that age is no bar, based on his own experience.Specifically, he talks about the following approaches that have helped him-Explore, expand an ideaCollaborateResearch, learn, internalize, let it simmer : one day, it will come outLook for metaphors, analogiesDefine some boundaries.. scope.. 108 facts..Look for gaps in models / Getting a coach / teacher; being self awareKnow more about him herehttps://pm-powerconsulting.com/experts/parameswaran/You can reach him athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paramu-kurumathur-01489a6/

In this episode, Raghu Viswanathan, knows as Raghu, shares his story with details ofBeing an alumnus of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, which got the first computer in IndiaHis initial ‘hate’ for computer science, mainly due to the use of punched cards!Joining TCS [Tata Consultancy Services] as a management consultantHaving to play the role of an IBM expert on his first overseas project, as an individual contributor with no other colleagues with himBeing asked to teach IBM to the client and seeking support from his manager Gaining confidence after that successful assignmentWriting code the traditional way - in Australia - from creating pseudo code and getting it reviewed before writing a single line of codeIf you want to work on a good project, think through, write pseudocode, consult with peopleHow the rigour at ISI prepared him for increased confidence in the futureThe importance of understanding the domain for a developerHow, understanding the business [and implications] help in one situation to not only avoid a penalty, but also help the bank make moneyThe evolution of the concept of offshoring or distributed working in his organizationFinding major lifestyle changes in young Indian professionals when he came back to IndiaFeeling happy about India’s progress over the yearsTrekking and volunteering and pacing his activitiesThe joys of retirementHow he discovered the interest in trekkingHis career tipsHis perspective in Decentralized Finance [DeFi]Viswanathan Raghu, Started his career as consultant in TCS. Later working with Various firms like UBS(Formerly Swiss Bank) ,Bank of New York, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank and Russel Investments.Was head of change for Finance in Deutsche bank's service center in Mumbai before relocating back to US. Responsible for implementing Process efficiencies in the offshored processes. Implemented Finance’s strategic transformational program for Financials and Regulatory reporting. Program enabled offshoring of globally consistent re-engineered processes to the service center.Also Managed -Vendor delivery management, Departmental management, IT Program / Project management, Globally managed large and diverse teams for the full project life cycle.His Specialties: International delivery experience in US, European and Asian work cultures. Vendor business application product implementation. Wide Investment banking domain knowledge & management experience across functions. Cross functional IT program management. Full life cycle experience in managed services implementation. Global manager of large and diverse teams for the full project life cycle. Prepared budgets and managed financials for an entire department.You can reach him @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/vraghu/