Reachout: Please tell me about your education. How many Gold medals you have got? What made you join  your first company, Intergraph in Hyderabad?

Ramesh: I've got my Bachelors in Engineering from Osmania University, MBA (Finance and Information Systems) from Osmania University, Honors Diploma in Systems Management from NIIT. I was the topper of the University in Engineering with 94.7 % marks. Received a total of 8 gold medals from the college and the university. Passed MBA with 80% marks. After completing my   Bachelors in Engineering, I was looking for an opportunity which involves a mix of Engineering background with computer applications related knowledge.  
      I was always interested in Computers and that was the reason for opting to do Honors Diploma in Systems Management at NIIT along with my BS. This course gave me a good blend of software applications knowledge and with my good academic background, I was also interested in using my engineering Knowledge. 
    Coming to Intergraph, It is a pioneer in CAD/CAM/CAE products. CAD/CAM/CAE products are a perfect mix of Engineering applications developed using various software packages viz., Visual C++, MFC, OLE, COM, Visual Basic etc,. This was a perfect match for my interest and background. My academic excellence has helped in getting my initial break at Intergraph. I was fortunate to work on some of the latest and emerging technologies at Intergraph. It was a stepping stone for my software career.

Reachout:  Please tell me about Compunnel Southeast Inc.,at Jacksonville.

Ramesh: Compunnel Southeast, Inc. (CSI) under the umbrella of Compunnel, is a complete software solutions provider. Established in 1996, Compunnel Southeast, Inc. has strived for and achieved 100% growth in each of the last four years. As of October 1997, INC. magazine ranked Compunnel as 39th in the top 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S. CSI provides a multi-faceted portfolio of products and services to it's clients, including a complete Maintenance Outsourcing solutions methodology, on site, off site software/systems development, consultants, supplemental staffing, training and multi-media development. Other companies under the umbrella of Compunnel are Infopro Consulting, Inc., Ficon Technologies, Inc., and Multi-Media Learning Systems. The Jacksonville, Florida office facilities provide complete software solutions, client server projects, Maintenance Outsourcing services, and Staff enhancement services.

Reachout: Please tell me when you got selected for compunnel, what was your position? The positions that you held from starting till date.

Ramesh: I was selected for compunnel as IS Consultant which is parallel to a Software Engineer position. I joined Compunnel in 1996 and my main responsibility at that time was programming. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to work with some Fortune 500 clients here in the USA. From my CAD/CAM/CAE background, I moved into the client/server and n-tier architecture applications. I started working on Power Builder, Oracle, Sybase on various platforms. Being involved with a project from scratch till implementation, gave me a very clear understanding of the whole life cycle of a software project and the potential problems associated with a software project. Simultaneously I was also working on networking for our office to setup LAN/WAN and connectivity with our India office. In my first year, I was able to get the diversity needed to understand the various pieces of the software industry.

In 1998, I started working as a project manager. I was responsible for heading a team of ten people to work on couple of projects for major clients in the USA. In 1999, I became the Director Technical Services for the company. In this role, I was responsible for overseeing all the projects that our office was handling at Jacksonville. Project included Client/Server, N-Tier, Datawarehousing and Internet related applications. Effective second quarter of 2000, I have taken up the responsibility as President heading the Jacksonville office.

Reachout: What was the best time in your life?

Ramesh: There were more than one occasion in my life that I would say was the best time. First was, when I topped the university with 94.7 % marks. Then, when I got my break at Intergraph. Third was, when I assumed the reponsibilities of heading the Jacksonville office as president. But, the best time in my life so far, was the time spent with my family and friends. I miss all my family and some of the best friends at this point in life ...

Reachout: Any word of advice for Hyderabadi browsers?

Ramesh: I would like to share my experience with Hyderabadi browsers. I am actively involved in hiring lot of talent for our project requirements in the Jacksonville office as well as our offshore facilities in India. I feel really bad about the cooked up resumes, degree certificates etc,. I strongly believe that Hyderabad has a lot of potential in software field. This needs to be coupled with reliability. INS is so wary about the applications received from Hyderabad that they have been ordering inquiries into some of the cases. I would suggest everybody to believe in oneself. If you have the confidence that you know your stuff and can do the job, nothing can stop you. If you have this confidence, you can survive very well in this part of the world ...