The evergreen pastures of NITIE were left behind a few months back to culminate a thoroughly exciting and eventful journey that started way back in the summer of 2011. The life-altering MBA experience is something to be treasured and cherished forever – be it the sleepless and lively hostel-life or the hectic and challenging exam-time or the buzz around the campus ignited by those numerous extra-curricular events. Talking of events, reminds me of the legendary management fest Prerana and its latest 2011 avatar, which sure had all MBA junta hooked around with its emphatic ensemble cast. Besides others, it was the heady cocktail of “Beauty & Brains on the Rocks” what with Anurag Kashyap, Gul Panag and Indian Ocean gracing the campus this time around, which had everyone including yours truly, craving to be in the campus and missing it all the more when unable to attend Prerana! The ultimate realization of being a revered alumnus of this wonderful institute (popularly known as the hill station in Mumbai) was complete with a call and the mail from the mighty Alumni Committee! And hence followed this article.

Life after NITIE has only risen on the awesomeness scale mostly because Bangalore happened! Famous as the IT hub of India, this metropolis is a perfect mix of sheer brilliant weather, a foodie’s delight, work hard & party harder culture! The only slight blemish could be the sometimes immovable traffic jams, but the highly organized public transport system especially buses and the recently started metro facility provides travel comfort to the commuters. Concerns with respect to stable infrastructure in light of ever increasing population explosion maybe valid but as of now, this heart of South India is managing decently especially in comparison to other metropolitan cities across India. My take, based upon a still very short experience, reiterates Bangalore continuing to being the ‘Land of Opportunities’ atleast in the near future and a very suitable long-term option for settling down.

Being a part of an organization in its 100th centennial year of existence makes you feel really proud and excited! My IBM experience, previously also known as the Identical Blue Men in the 1950/60’s era because of their leaders singular attraction to everything blue (suits, shirts & trousers), has been so far so good. Big Blue, especially in the GMC (Global Marketing Centre) team where I work, provides you with a great combination of flexibility, quality and challenges all at the same time. Top it with an excellent work culture and a second-to-none brand, the experience becomes truly epic!

And the next Big thing is Cloud Computing, make no mistake about that! From an industry marketing perspective of chemicals and petroleum in particular and the complete gamut of industries in general, all organizations (small and big) are slowly but steadily moving towards the cloud culture both internally and externally. Be it enterprise asset management or storage a solution, cloud technology is everywhere. The biggest issue is of security in employing a public cloud that requires sharing of information with various companies that may include competitors too. However, the success of the private cloud model and the steep rise in data worldwide makes Cloud – A Must Have for all! Rate of adoption would vary from industries to services. IBM is all set to lead from the front in this domain leveraging its rich legacy of highly successful and dynamic solutions touching everybody’s lives. Recipient of the prestigious Forbes award for being the Numero Uno organization for leaders makes the Big Blue completely aware of the famous quote: “With great powers come great responsibilities”!

The Future is here. The Journey has just begun. The ABC Stories have been told.