It’s a plot that has unveiled on a huge canvas in no time. Within two and a half years, the SAP SDN (SAP Developer Network), a web-based community has acquired 600,000 members—a sizeable proportion being from India. Says Mark Yolton, Vice President, SAP Community Network: “There are more than 80,000 Indians on board here and as a whole, they are at the third position after the U.S. and Germany.”

The vibrancy in this web-based forum is palpable with more than 400,000 unique hits and a total of 6-7 million hits a month. Enthusiastic members are always eager to contribute to the knowledge pool with the average response time being 16 minutes for posted queries, generating 6000 messages every week.

So the techies are coming to the site in droves and registering themselves free of cost. To keep them hooked on, SAP has hit upon a unique formula. The fellow techies award points to peers for answering their queries. The greater the complexity of a problem, the higher the quantum of points on offer by the poser for the solution provider to garner. And so there are tiers of point structures starting from 250 and soaring to 10,000 plus.

And there is enough incentive to garner these points. Apart from receiving a T-shirt for crossing each level, there is the added motivation of being recognized for technical contribution. Marco ten Vaanholt Director, SAP Developer Network says: “When an individual consultant starts contributing regularly, he gets recognition, and his efforts become part of his business card and personal profile.”

Agrees Arun Varadarajan of Intelliworks, a contributor with more than 3000 points in the kitty, that the presence of customers induces the contributor to be active and showcase his skills. Adds Kartik Iyengar, SAP NetWeaver Group Head in Wipro and boasting of 10,000 points: “Indian IT sector is seen as a major sweatshop. In order to change that perception, we need a forum to show our skill. SDN gives us that visibility.” Companies like WIPRO asks its employees to be active in this forum to hone their skills.