3Years@SAP

It is three years at SAP and 5 years of my life after college. There has been only a day where I was jobless, transition phase from ThoughtWorks to SAP Labs. I still remember my last day at ThoughtWorks, the place where I started my career. I was a bit emotional and during my exit interview wondered whether I was making the right decision. Nila, my colleague, told me that I am moving from a pond to an ocean.

I left after my farewell but Nila’s words kept me busy and I told myself it is a new place, a new beginning, and a bigger challenge. Is the cup half full or half empty? An optimist would say that the cup is half full and the pessimist would say half empty. So lets be optimistic and assume that moving from a pond to the ocean would mean bigger, better and challenging opportunities. A pessimistic view would be easier to stand out in a smaller company than a larger company.

I joined SAP as a Solution Management Specialist on 20th of July 2005. I was the second person in the team and was excited about my new team, friends and work. My batch mates (all the guys/gals who joined on the same day) turned out to be my great friends at SAP.

I visited the SAP Headquarters in Waldorf, Germany in January 2006. We (Somesh, Reneeth, Shiva, Preeti and Sijesh my manager) had a great time in Germany. It was my first trip to a foreign county. Swimming, driving, Spa, Cooking, Shopping and visiting the county side… lot of fun especially when it is snowing. A month’s stay was an experience of a life time. Working with Germans, French, Israelis, Americans, Indians and Asians was truly fascinating. SAP taught me the value of time and punctuality from trams, trains, busses to people, everyone on time every time.

Melbourne, Australia was my next destination. I had to pay a visit to Australia as I had my resident visa. Three weeks in the month of February 2006 was a lot of fun. Beaches, Australian women, old school friends, casinos, the weather… I stayed with my father’s brother in a suburb in Victoria. I did look for opportunities in Australia… and in those three weeks attended two interviews. Compared to Australia, opportunities in India were far better. So I decided to go where I belonged.

The year of 2006 I traveled to Europe again and again. I was fortunate to visit Germany in all seasons, winter, fall, summer and spring. All seasons had something different to offer. Europe is scenic in winter, fall and spring. I used to play tennis from 7PM to 10PM in the clay courts in Waldorf, SAP Campus. Sunset at 9, speed kills but trills in the German Autobahns and shopping in Hauptstrasse, Heidelberg. During my visit we were on critical projects (War Rooms). It was not just work but a lot of fun as well. We visited the Sex Capital of the world (Amsterdam). Amsterdam to me was walking on the streets of the red light area, visiting the sex museum, Casa Rosa and the amazing Tulip Gardens.

October 2006 was Tech-Ed in the EMEA region. I had the opportunity be part of this great event. I realized what it meant to be part of SAP. Innovation, business process, customers, independent consultants, software, partners, SDN, BPX… the list just grows. I helped in creating and conducting a workshop on composites. I also presented the same concept of composites in Tech-Ed in Bangalore.

November 2006 – March 2007 was time for innovation at SAP. The gang of four and also known as Blank Inc: Harsh, Chandu, Surabhi and I, my batch mates and good friends at SAP, won SAP Code Olympics 2006 for our innovative idea of integrating SAP CRM with Google Adwords. We then looked at something bigger… not just Google Adwords but also Google Checkout, Google Base, Google Analytics, osCommmerce (Shopping Cart) and Tiger Direct (comparison sites). It was not just advertisements but the complete cycle of e-selling, maintaining your catalogue, marketing products in your catalogue through Google Adwords, tracking using Google Analytics, payments using Google Checkout and courier services using FedEx. This led us to the innovation workshop organized by SAP Labs India in Sri Lanka.

We as a team moved out of Composites and our new focus area Business Analytics. During the transition period we conducted a training workshop for all colleagues at SAP Labs India. Preparing for an all hands workshop, training material was something totally different. Our work in Composites was part of the Discovery System on SDN. (Request for Quotation Approval, Store Specific Consumer Price, Production Order Rescheduling).

Business Analytics our new focus area was filled with all odds. We had new challenges with Business Intelligence: Data Warehousing (Querying, Reporting, Planning, Performance Management, Data Modeling, Global Risk Compliance, Predictive Analytics…), Web 2.0, Rich internet applications… and yes we were successful. It has been more than a year with Business Analytics and I guess there is a long way to go.

Personally and professionally it has been truly satisfying working with SAP. I have had my great moments of success with projects, innovation, competitions and promotions. I am now an Associate Manager (Level D) at SAP. The Journey from a Software Engineer (Level A) to an Associate Manager has been a great learning experience and a beginning of something new.

Sparsh, Make a Difference...

I am part of SAPPORT and mostly involved in activities concerning Janodaya.

I had a personal motive (b-school admission) to join SAPPORT but when I first visited the Child Care Center I was touched.

Can you imagine 130 children, staying together, having fun, studying and all they want is to be treated as equals and time from us (representing Secular India). I was amazed at their enthusiasm and ambitions (some want to be doctors others engineers, pilots… and the list is never ending). Imran, the eldest has set a good example. He is now in 12th and has been a good performer for a long time. He will be appearing for CET and is looking forward to do Engineering in R.V.C.E (Karnataka’s No.1 Engineering College).

We as volunteers organize picnics, events (Diwali, Christmas, Family Day, and Charity Week) for the children at the Child Care Center. We also visit the child care center every month to teach, play and understand them better. Spending time with them makes me happier.

This year I will be involved in the week of service. Where we have numerous projects and we can be involved in a few. I am looking forward to the week of service focusing on physically challenged children.

Sparsh, Make a difference… The theme of the Charity Week ’06.

Janodaya, The Childcare Center, Karnataka

SAP Labs India supports a Child Care Center in the state of Karnataka in India that is home to children from disadvantaged sections of society.

A large proportion of these children belong to parents who are awaiting trial in a court of law for alleged criminal offences. The other children are either orphans, those of single mothers - belonging to the 'temple prostitutes' community - or from very poor economic backgrounds.

At the center which is run by the NGO Janodaya, children are provided with a place to stay, meals, schooling, medical care and counseling.

The ultimate aim, however, is their overall development. Labs India is, therefore, committed to engaging with these children beyond their educational needs. Children who will be completing their 10th standard will be assisted in taking up college education or given professional training that would equip them to become self-reliant.

SAPPORT : CSR Initiative at SAP Labs India

In line with SAP’s commitment to the communities in which we live and work, Labs India has been actively driving and participating in various projects that focus on education and children. We also support disaster relief and rehabilitation projects, while engaging in community building with an aim towards all round development of the community and its people.

Employees at SAP Labs India are also enthusiastic about corporate giving, whenever the need arises.

Our role as a concerned corporate citizen is largely driven by SAPPORT, the corporate social responsibility initiative at Labs India.

SAPPORT Projects/Initiatives:

• Rehabilitation of Tharangambadi, Tamilnadu
• The Childcare Center, Karnataka

Commute Easy - Lets make a better Bangalore

Hey guys!

As you are all aware, the traffic scene is Bangalore is going from bad to worse. To help alleviate this problem, a friend of mine has recently launched a website to help commuters across Bangalore find potential partners for carpooling.

It’s a free service.

For this to really work and make a difference, it is important that more and more people are aware of it. It will be great if you can help in spreading the word by passing on this message to people you know.

A little something about Commute Easy!

What is Commute Easy?

Commute Easy is a pooling initiative that aims to make your daily commute easier by connecting you to commuters across Bangalore who share your route. By opting to go the commute easy way, you can
· Help decongest traffic in Bangalore.
· Lower your own travel costs and stress levels.
· Bring about a reduction in pollution levels.
· Broaden your social network.

The URL for the site is www.commuteeasy.com .This is a free service.

KANK - 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'

A story of relationships, love, extra-marital affairs and life. The characters in the movie could have played a more intense role to make the movie a must watch. KANK deals with infidelity after marriage.
Dev Saran (Shah Rukh Khan) is a rising soccer star in the US, married to fashion executive Rhea (Preity Zinta). Rhea works hard at her career, spending less time applauding sourpuss hubby for every goal he makes, than he would like. Dev met with an accident and lost his only dream and passion, soccer on the other had Rhea became successful.

This is not a review of the movie but how this movie is applicable to ones own life. It resembles to circumstances that we can closely relate to ones own life.

In today’s generation both men and women are serious about their respective careers and ambitious.

KANK has raised some important questions about today’s men and women.
Can men tolerate their wife’s/girl friends success? When women can why can't men is the most common question asked. I do not have an answer to that perhaps a psychologist can.

Men love a lot of attention and care, to feel that they are the provider (financially) and to believe that they are better than there counter part but it is time to change and look at things differently.

Is it not good that women are more independent (financially and emotionally)? Lets look at the some benefits (The benefits model :) )

• No cribbing that we are not spending time together. Lets you concentrate on your career
  Double income for the family means more luxuries, holidays and also a means to provide better education to children
• The female child will gain more importance and will be responsible for taking care of their parents
• You can meet your dreams faster
• Less stress and tensions (at least monetary)

Let us be happy and happy for our girl friends/wifes. Marriage/Relationship is about compatibility, love and adaptability. Not that I am married :).

Driving in Germany on foreign soil

Finally in my third trip to Germany I decided to drive. I guess it is because I was alone not with my team. With an Indian license I am eligible to drive here but SAP requires one to take driving lessons to become familiar with the rules, accustomed to left the hand drive and familiar with the speed with which one should drive.

I arrived in Heidelberg on 8th of July and on the same day took my driving lessons. I met Thomas who was my instructor/coach. He was an English speaking German with a lot of patience and good understating of rules and regulations both in India and Germany. I drove for around 80 minutes, in the city, on the country roads and on the autobahn.

When I first thought of driving in Germany I was scared. There is a lot of difference between a left hand drive and a right hand drive but I guess when we start driving everything falls in place. It is a great experience.10th of July is my last lesson after which I will start driving my company car.J How I wish it is a BMW/Audi/Volkswagen but unfortunately I will have to manage with a FORD.

It feels great to drive on the Autobahn @180KM/HR that’s the max my ford can touch.

Make hay when the sun shines but can you Predict

This could be said about the Indian Stock Market. When I started trading the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) was at 6000 levels. I experienced good returns as the index doubled to 12500 levels.

I usually sell shares if my margin is around 20% but as the index was rising I decided to hold shares for a longer period. Everyday you see your shares increasing and the virtual profit made me fly high. I was lucky I sold all the shares I was holding when I was in Germany (just before the stock market crashed). If I had not sold my shares I would have lost all the money I had made in the last 12 months. Did I know the stock market would crash? I had no idea… just being lucky.

When the BSE fell by around 1000 points I decided to re-enter the market and bought Mutual Funds and some selected shares but lost a lot of money because of investing in an extremely volatile market with a bearish outlook. I guess my biggest mistake was to sell them after a month at a considerable loss.

Share trading is similar to gambling but we can make hay when the sun shines but can we predict when it will fall? It is time to make systematic investments and buy in small amounts every month. (Mutual funds or shares)

One night @ the call center - Chetan Bhagat

Five Point Someone and now One Night @ The Call Center and both of them are interesting stories and a must read.

One Night at the call center is a story about colleagues (Shyam, Priyanka, Varoom, Esha, Radhika and Military Uncle) at a call center and there boss Bakshi.

Some background:
Shyam's ex-girlfriend was Priyanka and he is still madly in love with her. Shyam lacks self belief/confidence and believes that he is not good enough for Priayanka. He is just an employee at the call center hoping to be promoted but will Priyanka’s mom feel that he is worth it?

Priyanka is all set to be married to Ganesh (a software geek with Microsoft, US). Ganesh and Priyanka have never met and have just spoken a few times. Ganesh is growing bald but he is rich and has a good/secure future.

Esha is 5'4" and extremely beautiful... hmm... HOT. She aspires to be a model and can do anything to be on the ramp. Had applied for Miss. India but 5'4" is just not good enough. L

Varoom likes Esha and has feelings for her. Varoom is this guy who loves to live his life... pizzas, junk food, bars and discos has had to earn to live a life style.

Radhika is married and she is a working woman. Family melodrama (the usual mother-in-law - daughter-in-law drama) Husband is working elsewhere and on his own trip.
Military uncle fought with his daughter-in-law and son... well... wants his daughter-in-law to stay at home and be a housewife. He now repents and wants to get back. Late realization L

Varoom and Shyam have created this website to help customers of Western Customers to solve most of there problems on the internet rather than calling the call center agents. Because of this site Connexion (the call center) has lost a lot of business. Varoom and Shyam are on a high and hope that this would give them a break that they deserve.
Bakshi, the boss only manages his career but is responsible for Connexion.

The most memorable Night
Priyanka spilled the news that she is getting married to Ganesh, a software engineer from Microsoft (US). Everyone was excited except our very own Shyam. He made arrangements to tap all calls from the emergency landline where Ganesh called Priyanka.

Every now and then Shyam would dream about his past dates with Priyanka. Could he compete with Mr. Microsoft? Is he good enough? All thoughts would trouble never left him alone.

Varoom planned to play the role of an RJ, called Radhika’s husband and asked him to dedicate a song and flowers to the one he loves. Radhika’s husband said he wanted to dedicate this bouquet and a song to his girlfriend Payal. This shocked Radhika… and she did not know what to do? Anuj had been cheating on her.

Varoom proposed to Esha but to his vain Esha was more interested in her modeling career. When Varoom got to know that Esha had slept with an agent to get a break in a major fashion show he called her a slut and abused her. (The agent spent the night with her and said she was too shot to be selected to walk on the ramp. Did he not know that before he slept with her? Esha was furious and felt extremely guilty)

Bakshi took credit for the website that Varoom and Shyam built. He was moving to Boston and decided to cut 40-50% of the staff.

The word of GOD and life changed since then.
Know what you want to do
Self belief/confidence
Just do it attitude and God will always be with you
Failure is the stepping stone to success

Varoom and Shyam decided to quit and start there on Web Design business, Priyanka decided that Shyam was the one she knew and loves and wants to spend the rest of her life with him, Radhika decided to divorce her husband and start her new life, Esha started to do social service in the mornings and work at the call center in the night and Military Uncle got to the US with his family. Esha and Varoom were dating.

Bakshi was screwed. Varoom and Esha sent out a mail from his computer to Esha… asking for sexual favor to promote her. They blackmailed Bakshi and got their revenge… “POOR” Bakshi had to do everything that these guys asked for. J.

Brighter Side of things

The IT Capital of India, the Drunken Town, and the Garden City.... are we talking about Bangalore? Yes we are. Bangalore has a cosmopolitan culture and is a great place to live. "Nama Benguluru"

Today, Bangalore is know for traffic jams, horrible infrastructure and to top it all the Congress led government is not interested in improving the situation.

Can/Should we rate Bangalore only on just two parameters 'Traffic and Infrastructure'? Should we look at the brighter side of things? I think we should.

It was early in the morning in Mahatma Gandhi Park on MG Road... I was on my way for a morning walk. An elderly lady in her late 70's said it is such a beautiful morning and that she is blessed to be in a place as beautiful as Bangalore.

This incident made me realize that there is lots to Bangalore that we ignore and just crib about what is not good but we should realize that 'The cup is half full not half empty'. We should also look at the brighter side of things.

Women on top

'Women on top', we find more and more women financially independant ,self reliant and brimming with confidence.

Is it then wrong or a sin to be a homemaker? I have seen my mom. She has always been a homemaker, made a lot of sacrifices for her kids and family. Her family was and still is her world.
She used to spend a lot of time teaching and taking care of my sister and me but as we grew up things changed. My sister and I could handle things on our own and mom would provide us with moral and emotional support.

Today my sister is married and I am working... we are busy in our own world. I work five days a week and spend time with my friends, mom and dad on weekends. My mom feels really bored during the weekdays... although she helps my dad in the shop she feels that if she had worked after she got married she would have been busy and financially independant. I can sometimes see that she repents... does not mean that she is not happy but a thought that is always on her mind what if...?

I want to spread this message to all the women in this world. Work and make a career for yourselves and also be a homemaker. Its good to take care of the family but then its more important to keep yourself occoupied and busy.