Hello there! I am Shweta Kesarwani and I work at SAP Labs Bangalore, India. I was added as a link in the Blog it Forward chain by
Shay Barry, from SAP Labs Israel. Thanks Shay . (Isn't it fascinating how working for SAP has connected so many people from across the world?).
Before starting, let me briefly introduce you to myself. I've been with SAP Labs since December 2004, prior to which I worked for Infosys Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for about two and a half years. I hold a degree in Electronics Engineering.
So, without further delay here are the answers to the questions that Shay asked:
What do I enjoy most in my work and why?
I started in the industry as a programmer. I learnt several languages but ended up working extensively with Python - which I didn't even learn formally! It is quite a cool language, where you can code as you think instead of having to learn complex syntaxes! Sometimes I miss working in it.
Moving on, an ex-colleague from Infosys, forwarded my resume at SAP and I enetered this whole new world of ABAP and Netweaver, with blue colored UIs! I found it strange initially but then I was told that I'll be working on Analytics for which I needed to learn SAP BW. Again - that was on the job learning - like the Python story . I was working in the Financials module in the the Business ByDesign product at that time.
In 2010, I got a chance to work with the SCN team, a result of a six month fellowship program, after which I was back into the development world - this time creating the Commercial Platform for SAP. Now if you are wondering what am I talking about? Is that a new product from SAP which is kept under the wraps?
So, ta da...here's the revelation - it is the online buying portal of SAP - the SAP Store. Basically, the idea behind it is to bring together the ease of buying of consumer apps, with the complex requirements of enterprise buying. Customers can buy enterprise apps from SAP and its partners, in three simple steps - Discover, Evaluate and Buy - whenever they want and wherever they want.
I started in development and then moved into a Solution Management role (or Product Management if you prefer that term) for the SAP Store, defining what capabilities need to be built into the Store, along with the rest of my team in Germany.
So, now having given you all that history, you will easily understand when I tell you what I enjoy most in my work. I enjoy being able to work with different technologies, coping with the changing business requirements by providing new solutions and above all, always having something new to work on!
What is my professional life dream?
This is a tough one. I want to write a book. When I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher - one can't help but be fascinated by the all powerful teacher who can tell everyone what to do and they do it ! Then as I grew up, seeing people around me, I did my Engineering and got into the Software industry. I don't regret the decision. It's been a quite good run. But all through this, I've always wanted to be also a writer. Keeping my fingers crossed about that. But meanwhile, I keep a personal blog.
If I were to move to a different country, where would it be?
That's a good one. I like India, specially being in the city of Bangalore. There is so much diversity within the country itself, be it the landscape - from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, or the people - we have twenty eight states each with its own language, cuisine, culture and even different landscape! I still have to see many places within India itself. However, I like to explore other places too and one country which I would like to be in for some time is Italy, the reason being my one and only visit to Rome. I was fascinated by all the art which meets you all around the city. Bonus points for - weather, food and above all - the gelatos! (Plus the liveliness there would keep me from missing India). Surrounded by art by the masters, indulging your senses - what more can one want ? Who knows if the inspiration for my book also strikes in with so much around to be inspired by!!
Alright, I think I should stop writing now. I will forward this to three people, whom I met during my fellowship with the SCN team and would like everyone to know what interesting people these are and what else they do, besides making SCN what it is - "Such Cool Network"!
- patrick.flanders, whose son had given him a baseball ball so as to enjoy when work got boring!
- laure.cetin, who loves sipping green tea while working.
- kuhan.milroy, who once told me that he didn't find it difficult to change the habit of driving on the left hand side of the road to the right hand side!
The questions that I'll pose to them are:
- What would they have done if not doing what they are doing now - professionally?
- Which is their favorite place in the whole world and why?
- What keeps them motivated?
I am sure, we'll get three very interesting blogs .
