I interviewed Midhun VP on election day in Chennai, India. He was at home because his company gave the day off to its employees so that they could go and vote. And Midhun was kind enough to spend an hour of his free time with me. Talking to him reminded me of Jitendra, Member of the Month in February 2014. Both are young, promising SAP consultants working in India and they have a contagious smile. When Midhun told me how much he was passionate about SAP, his whole face lit up with an excitement that was very touching to see. It was too bad I was not recording this 🙁

This passion is the reason why Midhun spends a lot of time on SCN. It’s easy to be good at what you do when you have so much fun doing it!

Interview video (6 minutes):

Namastē* Midhun! Or should I call you VP? 😉 Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you live, who you work for, and other things you would like to share with the community (hobbies, fun facts)?

Namaste Laure! Of course you can call me VP too, but only my friends used to call me VP. I was born in Kerala, it is one of India’s most beautiful states – popularly known as God’s own country. I did my engineering degree in electronics and communication and have been working as an SAP Mobility Consultant since the beginning. I moved to Chennai for work and I work for TVS Infotech as an SAP Mobility Consultant. My expert area is the SAP Mobile Platform. Similar to other Enterprise Mobile Consultants I also have a larger dynamic skill set and I believe that I can learn a new technology in a week time. On SCN I am active in the SAP for Mobile and SAP Mobile Platform Developer Center spaces.

* “hello” in Hindi

In your Blog it Forward post, you said that you like to draw but “stopped drawing pictures and started drawing complex electronic circuits for [your] lab records”. Now I am curious, do you have a drawing you can share with us here on SCN?

Unfortunately, I don’t have those drawings with me right now, they are at home in Kerala. I stopped drawing pictures after my time in school. So I left all of my drawings at my home.

That’s too bad, but that’s what I thought. It was a long time ago (well, it’s all relative given your young age!).

It’s good to know though that our SCN members have hidden talents! There are photographers, singers, musicians, philanthropists, and I’m sure many more people with surprising talents.

When did you become a member of SCN and what brought you to this community?

I joined SCN in May 2012. In my early stage of career I faced a lot of issues during development, and SCN helped me a lot. I used to ask a lot of questions in SCN that were being answered by experts. Later, by understanding the importance of helping others I started answering questions and I became a big fan of SCN.

Can you tell us in which areas of SCN you are active in?

I am mainly active in the SAP for Mobile and SAP Mobile Platform Developer Center spaces. I am really passionate about SAP’s Mobile Solutions. Being active in these spaces is equal to updating my knowledge base.

How do you find the time to contribute on SCN?

Whenever I am in front of my system (most time) I make sure that I am logged into SCN and get a quick view on what’s new in my communications tab. But I answer a question or read a blog only when I get free time. And I choose to write blog posts on the weekend, it’s a longer thought process: I take notes throughout the week and when I am home on the weekend I can structure these thoughts in a post.

If a new member came to you and asked for your advice on how to be an active and respected member of SCN, what would you say?

Firstly, I would direct him to read and follow SCN’s Rules of Engagement. SCN is a great place to share knowledge and help each other. Being active in SCN will definitely pay off in some or other way. You learn by contributing, and the achievements you’ve made on SCN are a proof of your expertise.

Any particular contribution that you’re most proud of?
Yes, my blog on Mocana Mobile App Security was the first blog post on a solution from Mocana, and it got a lot of appreciation from SCN members. I used the trial and recorded the demo and reported on SCN. I then posted the link to my blog on LinkedIn and that’s how the company found out about my post and I got appreciation mails from Mocana Corporation for featuring their product. They provide a mobile application security solution and partnered with SAP. Their clients can use Mocana together with Afaria.

Is there an SCN member you admire (OK… you can name a few)? And for what reason?

Ravi Sankar Venna for his motivational blogs on career, those can even make you a fan of SAP technologies. Especially for people like me who start their career.

David Brandow for his best technical answers in mobile space. He helped me a lot when I started with SAP. He answered with a lot of detail. It’s great that knowledged people like him answer your questions so quickly. In a way this also taught me how to answer questions with thought and details.

I know you attended SAP TechEd last year in Bangalore (2013). How was your experience? And was it the first time there?

It was my second time at SAP TechEd (I attended in 2012 too). For me it is a large amount of knowledge in few days. This year’s TechEd was special for me since I was recognized on stage for being a Topic Leader in the “SAP for Mobile” space.

These three days were very exciting: I was spending my time attending as many sessions as possible. It’s great to have the opportunity to learn about what’s coming up in the future as well as meet a lot of experts such as Thomas Jung. It was very nice to meet the “legend” and I have a picture of us on my SCN profile.

Oh, that’s him behind the beard!

Easy question: Mac/iOS or Windows? Or Android?

Of course Android. I develop Android apps too. It is user friendly and developer friendly.

Are you on Twitter?

Yes, @midhunvptwit.

Every month, a member of the SAP Community Network is recognized for exemplary behavior: sharing knowledge with peers, being helpful and taking on additional tasks to support community engagement. See the list of previous SCN Members of the Month.