Sumanth S
Principal Engineer
Yahoo
Sumanth S is a member of:
- Expert
The Journey: Early Days to How I Got Here & The Turning Points
I did my masters from IIT Bombay and after that I was working in a startup company. There I was involved in defining the product to delivering it. This was a good exposure for me. Over the last year and a half, I have been involved in developing the In-App Ad SDK for Yahoo on IOS and Android platforms. The Ad SDK is designed to render Ads on native as well as hybrid (HTML5/Javascript) Apps. My role involves design and development of the SDK on both Android and IOS platforms.
I have also interacted with creative designers in developing Rich Mobile Ads conforming to standards like MRAID.
Previously, I was building web applications using Java Servlet technology, tomcat, MySQL and MVC frameworks like Struts. Also familiar with designing and developing REST based web applications.
Decisions That Mattered
When I moved out of yahoo search, I had 2 things in mind- Mobile Space and the Cloud and wanted to be in one of these two. I somehow feel that the Mobile Space will be what I will enjoy most than working on the cloud and since then I’ve been building In App SDK for Yahoo and it has been a success
Books/ Websites I Recommend
Well for me, if I face with any problems, I search online for related articles. There are also blogs and forums which you can always refer.
Two Years down the Line
The mobile ad space is a very interesting space. It goes from creation of ads for mobile devices to SDK which show these ads in various apps, so it’s a very rich space. There are many standards on how to deliver good ads and people in this domain needs to understand these standards. I’m really not sure where I would be in a couple of years but this is the space where I’d love to work.
Work and Role: Then and Now
Yahoo gave me exposure to different technologies. Once you get this kind of exposure u will know that whatever you do is being used by lakhs of people. You will then understand what the user wants. This is the biggest difference as opposed to my previous job
Trends to Watch Out For
iOS and Android are popular at the moment. In the next one or 2 years people will be looking to monetize these apps…. So a lot of development will happen in this direction. Another trend is the Hybrid app. There will be development in this as well. A challenge for mobile ad creators is to make ads compatible.
Do We Need Certifications?
I have not done any certifications and I really don’t know certifications will actually help.
My Advice If You are Starting Out
Watch out for the new technology and reinvent yourself. Critically look at what you are doing and what others are doing.