Happy Valentines .... !! :)

What do you give a MAN who has everything?? Everything that sweeps me off my feet!! That makes me blush n smile and look crazy in a crowd of strangers! Everything that has found its way in my heart and engraved those memories in words of gold! Abhi is My Man who has everything! :)

Yesterday, I thought, today was going to be an ordinary Valentines Day .. Abhis appointment book for today was full… I was probably thinking we may not be able to make it for a dinner together … I had had a long day after having being treated to an exhaustive Induction program that had made me breathe IBM… literally !! :)

I was drop dead tired … fast asleep by midnight and I was disturbed by a voice that said "saaay"
My eyes opened to the light of candles and a curious face wishing me "Happy Valentines !! :) " :) Abhi sat there holding the cake and I realized oh Yes! Valentines it is indeed !! :) When he handed me the card that read With all my Love – Just for You I felt wow !! (hez always managed to find cards better than I could) :)

He handed me a beautiful bag and out comes the Little Black Dress with beautiful earrings to match !! :) Now this is a feeling LEO’s love to have !!! I was being pampered :) and I could’ve loved for time to just stand still!! But good that it dint, cause Valentines Morning had me even more surprised!

Abhi was off to office early and I was left to pack my lunch at the kitchen platform when the door bell rang.. Baba willingly answered it to bring in a Bouquet of Red Roses !! I turned to face Baba when he said "Sayli"; seeing my Jaw drop at the sight of the red roses baba just said one word "Abhi" and I blushed !! I called him to tell him he is crazy !! :) and I continued repeating that in my mind… wasn’t it a perfect start to the day !!…

Now its my turn to reveal what I had hidden in my office drawer since Tuesday afternoon ! :)
I am heading for a dinner date with hubby deary!! :) and I too have a surprise for him!! :)

As for the rest of you … whether or not cupid’s struck already – May u find Love and Fulfillment in all your Relationships ! :)

Happy Valentines !! :)
~ sayli :)

An IT Architect - Who IS He ??

Okay! So I am an IBM Certified SOA Associate. So ?? What next ??

I have been extremely fortunate to have got an opportunity to apply the techniques for modeling a SOA. Or rather, it was the learnings that I continued to get from my engagements in Vodafone that lead me to get myself certified on SOA.

There is still however, a feeling of unease. It roots from the fact that I am being exposed to a team of IT Architects. A team who has expertise that goes beyond just a product, a framework or a technology alone, and probably I want to see myself replicating those varied capabilities. But, I could get there, only if I made a start. So let me make a start today, by identifying and analyzing if I could elivate my actions, thoughts and knowledge, by archiving and understanding what I found (and reproduce here for your reference,) about the Role, Scope and KRA of an IT Architect.

This surely is a piece of interest to a few, but to those who are interested, chances are that you may also take a step towards being one. So read on ...

An IT Architect defines solutions to client business problems through the reasoned application of information technology. Those solutions are documented as architectures and can include systems, applications, and process components. They may also involve the application and integration of a broad variety of products; technologies, and services; various systems and applications architectures; and diverse hardware and software components.

The role of the Chief/Lead IT Architect is:
• To initiate, business justify, and lead projects for the development of new and sufficiently complex components within the enterprise architecture in the areas of information, applications, and technology, in order to meet business objectives
• To establish an architectural framework that is the foundation for other systems across the organization and is essential for the proper execution and delivery of critical and strategic business systems
• To implement organizational-wide initiatives aimed at supporting the enablement of the IT Architect community through the development of tooling, education, or career enhancement

The Chief/Lead IT Architect is:
• An expert in the understanding of architectural principles and their implications to system design, securability, system extensibility and interoperability, costs, and operational considerations
• A student of the profession that is constantly learning and applying new techniques and technologies and seeks to design new innovative architectural solutions

What distinguishes IT Architects at different levels are leadership, and scope, depth, and breadth of impact. Well "Leadership" is a pretty relative term, but I did find its specific relevance to the IT Architecture Parlance. More in the next post :)

Have a gr8 evening !
~ sayli :)

Another Day - Another Chapter !

Its another weekday… the City’s woken up to those morning rush hours …cutting through painful traffic jams and signals which are thankfully followed!
You reach Metropolitan and if you’re one among those bike riders you probably are queued up in a massive line to get into a lift that carries you to the terrace parking …the car commuters however, have it easier …

For one who is fitness conscious you probably take the stairs, else you just wait to get into the lift to hit the button to floor 3. A swipe of the card and you are greeted to an environment full of activity! A central hallway with cubicles on either side with soft boards in colors as varied as red to green, (except pink which was bid goodbye and saw its sunset with the brand hutch) the usual sound of the keyboard and the mouse clicks, some highly audible conversations over the phone, a wodden floored LOUNGE AREA, overlooking a grandeur view of the hills and towers alike - hosting a couple of guys catching up on the newspapers (thanks to no internet access) another couple lined up outside the net café (a glass partition with two PCs running internet catering to a strength of 130 odd people on a floor), a fair amount of activity near the vending machine, all conference rooms which seem to be overflowing with the likes of Technical Gurus, IT Architects, SMEs and the Variants !! That’s the Vodafone IT office for you!

A stark contrast to the Tech Park One (TPO – C building), floor one which houses a chunk of IBMers in Pune. A massive breathing space, spacious cubicles, carpets done up in stone grey, interiors done up in muted colors like beige, grey and white, people just plugging in their laptops and catching up on news, personal email, social/professional networking sites, logging onto SameTime, w3 (which is like the life line of every IBMer), checking emails on lotus notes..

The pantry wears a deserted look and the only thing that looks colorful, are the two red dustbins with “Wet Garbage” and “Dry Garbage” tagged onto them (it always makes me wonder if it made any sense at all to have two separate bins since each soul in the pantry generally walks in either to drink water or have coffee/tea which makes it both Wet Garbage - God knows what goes into the dry garbage bin, but I do see it full!) lots of conference rooms lined up on one side on the floor with each requiring you to book them in advance - this is IBM for you !

Its been exactly a week since I shifted to the TPO office and 2 days since I started shuttling between Vodafone and IBM offices. So I guess its reason enough for me to come to terms with the stark contrast in atmospheres. Just as I have my own time getting used to different working styles, I am also welcomed to a newer culture - whether one is better than the other is truly not a question - but how well you adapt yourself to both simultaneously, is something worth sparing a thought for - cause after all when you switch roles from being The CLIENT to being A VENDOR, it’s a lot more than just office space and privileges than change!! The only thing that remains unchanged however, is the fact that U DELIVER - client or vendor / slowdown or no slowdown!

Good Luc to one and all. My heart goes out to all the fresher [who got laid off by the likes of TCS and IBM] with the hope that they find better things to do in life. As for the more fortunate like us, may the thirst for exploring an alternative lucrative profession take us to the next [not so insecure] level!!

luv n luc as always
- sayli..