javascript
Sign in to follow 's advice will appear in your account when you log in. Follow specific Community Members and never miss out on their views and insights. Build a group of Members who you want to listen to.
Email:       Password:  
Don't have SiliconIndia account? Sign up    Forgot your password? Reset
Close
Ask Suresh Ramanan for Advice
If your advice request is relevant to other Community members, our Editorial team may choose to send this request to all Experts to attract a wider range of answers and share them with the Community. Rest Assured, we will protect your privacy (unless you recommend otherwise).
Advice Request
Suresh Ramanan
Suresh Ramanan

Suresh Ramanan

Assistant Vice President

Cognizant Technology Solutions

twitter
facebook

Suresh Ramanan is a member of:

- Expert
The Journey: Early days to How i got here
I started out
almost typically in a pure technology career focusing on database
technologies and moved up the value chain into doing data modelling and
database performance tuning. As I slowly switched into project
management and delivery,the opportunity to get into delivery leadership
roles became wider and I realized that, that was exactly what I wanted
to do. As of now, I head global DW&BI delivery, which in itself is a
unique experience, for all of Cognizants customers in the Life sciences
space.
Decisions that mattered
There were a few
important career decisions I have made along the way firstly I returned
to India when I was ready to make a transition from technology
management to delivery management which was one of the inflection points
in my areas. Secondly, the decision to join Cognizant was great as its
leadership and entrepreneurial style suited my profile and aspirations
perfectly. Thirdly,the decision to pursue MBA in US greatly helped me in
getting a managerial as well as business view of decisions that came my
way.
The turning points
Some of inflection
points in my career were returning to India and making a transition
from technology management to delivery management, joining Cognizant and
pursuing my MBA in US.
Work and Role: Then and now
My current role
focuses pretty much on my leadership abilities, less task oriented and
more decision, result and business oriented. This forces a shift in the
mindset towards thought leadership, innovation and requires the
management skills to focus less on the do and more on the get done.
Two years down the line
In a couple of
years, I would like to be in a leadership role that spans across
multiple business units that clearly takes the organization forward.
What I learnt along the way
The top 3 in my
mind and in no specific order of priority would be  the ability to take
quick and accurate (nearly accurate) decisions and more importantly
stand by them, recognizing the power of the team and the ability of a
leader to drive his team to success and also the ability to think large
beyond the scope your own work.
Trends to watch out for
In the Enterprise
Information management space that I am in today, we have to constantly
keep watch of the increasingly complex nature of business demands and
the technology trends that will answer them, that lie ahead of what we
do today. I have been watching numerous trends that have happened in the
past but the future holds some very exciting ones – multiple forays in
technology for the future – viz. cloud, mobility, social media, open
source. In the IM space,these trends are playing in the form of Big
data,  enterprise analytics,db appliances, mobile BI platforms, semantic
web technologies, in memory analytics,  and cloud enabled BI platforms
to name a few.
My advice if you are starting out
The typical
dilemma that most beginners get into is to be very concerned about the
next project they would be working on and thereby gain a narrow
perspective of the space that lies in the future. For someone starting
today, I strongly suggest looking at a window of career like the next
3-5 years that they can use to get themselves into a well rounded IT
professional and keep themselves constantly into the habit of learning
more. The secret lies in staying ahead of the learning curve in the
initial stages of your career. 
Must have skills in BI.. As I see them
Clearly enterprise
analytics, social data integration and mobility within the BI/DW domain
are seemingly some of the trends that have the highest degree of
influence on the ways of life on the millennial generation.

Do we need certifications
There is no
specific one but I would certainly urge one to take certifications in
any space that excites them. The certification gives the confidence to
not just accomplish short term achievements but also to take on the next
level of challenges.
Most viewed stories - Don't Miss (1-5 of 15)
Owner Pearl Clinic plus Evangelist in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Kolkata
KIIT UNIVERSITY
Associate Software Engineer
Vmoksha Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Head of Marketing at GMC
GMC Software Technology India Pvt Ltd
INDIAN CHEF AT FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS MALDIVES
FourSeasons hotels and resorts
General Manager - Corporate Communication
BGR Energy Systems Limited