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Srinivas Rao Durvasula

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Srinivas Rao Durvasula

Sr.Manager - DW-BI Practice

Virtusa

Srinivas Rao Durvasula is a member of:

- Expert

The Journey: Early days to how I got here

I began my career in 1998 in the manufacturing industry. I was on the
functional side and primarily handled the management information systems
and developed management information reporting around financial supply
chain and operations. I gained experience in databases for applications
enabling inventory and warehouse management, procurement vendor
management, etc.

Later, I decided to move out of custom solution implementations.
With the Business Intelligence (BI) space catching up, and given my
strong understanding and grounding in databases, I decided to pursue my
career in BI technology. Eventually I joined Virtusa in January 2004 and
have been here for a good 8 years.

Decisions that mattered

The most important decision in my career was when I moved from the
manufacturing sector to IT services. Basically, I went from being an
implementation specialist or a functional consultant to a technology
expert advising and providing IT solution services to global clients.

The Turning Points

As mentioned above, the inflection point in my career was my decision to
move to the IT services space. I wanted to be in the industry that
actually engineered the technology solutions that were implemented in
various businesses. On hindsight, I am happy that I have been able to
model my career based on my interest and expertise.

Work and Role: Then and Now

In my previous job in manufacturing sector, I was actually implementing
solutions based on the requirements of the company. Even during the
earlier years in Virtusa, I was a software analyst who would develop and
implement software projects for Virtusa’s global clients. Today, as a
technology Practice Evangelist, I handle the business development of
Virtusa’s Business Intelligence (BI) and Data warehousing services (DW).
This role also requires competency management.

Two Years Down the Line

Right now, I am in a management role within Virtusa’s DW/BI practice.
Over the years, my career progression at Virtusa has been a natural
growth and in the next few years I aspire to see myself as the owner of a
centre of excellence for BI. My passion for data governance, coupled
with my career aspiration, provides me the skills and capabilities to
create and manage a centre of excellence in data governance, cloud and
data space.

Changing Days: Lessons Learnt

‘Change is the only Constant’. One key lesson, I have learnt through my
career has been that of being open and flexible to change at all times. I
feel that being ready to adapt to new things is not only a necessity,
but a key requirement to be successful. Eight years back, when I quit my
job, I wanted to think through my options and really do what interests
me. At Virtusa, I have taken on many different roles. Many opportunities
came my way due to the changing dynamics and I took them up readily.
These exposures not only helped me gain extensive experience, but also
enabled me to learn new skills including managerial, technical, etc.
These experiences and opportunities have greatly contributed to my
career growth.

What I learnt along the way

I was a programmer during the earlier phase of my career. Over the
years, I got the opportunity to take on different roles including that
of software analyst, pre-sales, Client Servicing, etc., Today, I am a
Practice Evangelist, who handles business development for Virtusa. This
role also requires competency management. My experience across different
roles has helped me gain an in-depth understanding on the technology
needs of clients, managing global teams, strengthening my team skills
and has made me competent to take leadership roles.

Trends to Watch Out For

There is a lot of consolidation happening in the BI space. Oracle has
acquired Hyperion, whereas IBM has made many acquisitions over a period
of time. When acquisitions happen, the next generation vendor solution
architecture undergoes a change. So, when we use a beta release for our
solution, we have to worry about upgrading our skills to adapt to the
new architecture. We need to be aware of this and accordingly upgrade
our skills. Right now, everybody is talking about BI on the Cloud. IBM
also has tied up with Amazon. Also, another key technology trend is the
mobile BI, which is becoming pervasive.

My Advice If You are Starting Out

I would ask them to get grounded on the concepts. Create a solid
foundation through conceptual knowledge. Further, do not be a tool
specialist. Rather, try to focus on becoming a technology specialist.
Ultimately, the decision to have a career in a particular area boils
down to your interest, aptitude and long term goals.

Areas of specialization

We are observing few trends in the BI/DW space. One of them is on Data
Quality. Another key focus area is the master data management (data
discovery, profiling, rules management and implementation of MDM
solutions). These BI/DW topics are in demand now. Some of the other
areas which are in demand include being a specialist on database and
data warehouse appliances.

Do we need certifications

There are multiple specializations offered by a variety of reputed
organizations. I would recommend TDWI certifications and also
certifications from IBM, Informatica, Oracle, etc.

Books/ Websites I Recommend

There are a lot of books and the web has a tremendous amount of reading
material. So there is definitely a lot of choice for learning and
gaining knowledge on the subject.