Sanjoy Chowdhury, Co-Founder &
Director - Technology, MyLearnings Technologies LLP
Hello, I am Sanjoy Chowdhury, a data enthusiast with
over twenty-five years of experience in Information Technology. I specialize in
Intelligent Information Management Systems, and I’m passionate about working
with technologies like Big Data, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine
Learning, and, of late, Generative AI. My professional experience ranges from
providing solutions to Fortune 500 companies like FedEx and Hewlett Packard to
creating innovative state-of-the-art solutions for the Government of India on
projects like R-APDRP for the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board as well
as for the Dept. of Economics & Statistics, Lucknow. One of the most
prestigious projects where I have been an Information Management architect is
the Aadhaar project of UIDAI.
Apart from creating innovative solutions to solve data
problems for my clients, I enjoy sharing insights on technologies like Big
Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, to name a few. This
passion has led me to develop video-based, self-paced learning modules on many
of these technologies.
Could you tell us about MyLearnings
Technologies LLP and the range of services they offer?
MyLearnings Technologies LLP (MYL) provides services
related to consulting, professional services, and training in the Information
Management domain. This initiative has been taken up with a vision of helping
our clients become "data-driven organizations" through the effective
use of data and information management.
The consulting activity to help clients become
data-driven is done through "health-checks" and technical reviews of
the clients' Information Management systems and providing solutions
accordingly. Our professional services include the design and implementation of
data management and data analytics solutions. We are also in the process of
creating a Software as a Subscription model for some of the applications that
are being developed by MYL.
MYL also caters to the ever-growing demand for trained
and skilled professionals in the field of Information Management through
classroom-based, online, and self-paced learning modules. We have also teamed
up with another company to develop spoken-English skills amongst learners with
very little exposure to the language. This is being done using an app,
Readmylanguage, which uses the concept of transliteration to familiarise
learners with English using their own language.
What motivated you to become an
entrepreneur, and how has your leadership style driven the success of
MyLearnings Technologies LLP?
One of the main reasons for choosing the path of
entrepreneurship was a desire to work on problems that I felt keen to solve. I
also realised that I was more inclined to develop or modify processes and
technologies to create solutions that I felt would be most optimized. For this,
however, I needed an independent environment.
All of the above, coupled with a desire to develop
something uniquely mine and also provide opportunities for other people, made
me “jump” onto the entrepreneurship bandwagon. Leadership, for me, is about
carrying everyone along. That, of course, does not mean that we try to please
everybody, but it's about ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page. My
personal experience in developing a "collaborative" relationship with
all stakeholders has helped MYL to successfully negotiate challenges whenever
they arose.
Could you share with us your professional
journey, highlighting significant milestones and achievements?
I have been in this (Information Technology) industry
for over a couple of decades now and have had an opportunity to see technology
grow from client-server applications to web-based systems to the current-day
mobile apps and Generative AI.
However, my journey as a professional started as a
Structural Engineer. Having completed my BE in Civil Engineering from Jadavpur
University in Kolkata, I joined a company that was into the design and
construction of industrial cooling towers. But my childhood dream was to pursue
graduate studies in the US, and soon I saw myself quitting my job as a design
engineer and joining Virginia Tech in the US to get a graduate degree in
Structural Engineering. There I had an opportunity to develop an application
for analysing cold-formed steel structures. This got me interested in the field
of programming and on returning back to India, I got an opportunity to get into
the Information Technology domain with HCL Perot Systems.
From then on, I moved from one technology domain to
another—client-server applications, web-based applications, and then into
Data-warehousing, Big Data and finally to what I am doing now, working on
Intelligent Information Management applications. As an Information Management
Architect, I am passionate about making organizations "data-driven"
through the adoption of Intelligent Information Management systems.
During these years I have been associated with quite a
few organizations, some of which are HCL Perot Systems, PwC, Wipro
Technologies, Syntel, HCL Infosystems, Unisys, and HP. All the projects that I
have worked on have had their share of challenges. However, the Y2K project
done at Quintiles needs special mention. I was pretty new to the industry at
that point and was tasked with managing the audit of applications developed in
SAS, a language I was not familiar with at that time. Quintiles, a company that
conducted clinical trials for various pharmaceutical organizations, had
development centres all across the globe. It was my responsibility to ensure
that the hundreds of applications developed at different offices were all Y2K compliant.
Another significant project that I have worked on is
Aadhaar. This opportunity came when I was consulting with HCL Infosystems. HCL
became the managed service provider of UIDAI, the parent body that was
developing Aadhaar. As a Business Intelligence & Data Management consultant
at HCL, I got the opportunity to work with technologies like Big Data, Hadoop,
and its eco-applications. These technologies were pretty new in India at that
time, and it was a challenging experience to develop knowledge on these technologies
as well as lead teams to create solutions with these technologies. However, it
was an extremely good learning experience personally.
Post Unisys, I decided to take the plunge into being
an entrepreneur, and over a period of time, MyLearnings Technologies LLP (MYL)
came into being. Co-founded by me along with a couple of partners, Mr. Balaji
Jayaraman & Mr. Parthasarathi Doraisamy, MYL was initially focused on
providing industry-orientated training on advanced data management and analysis
technologies so that the learners would be project-ready within a couple of
months. We have now ventured into providing solutions in data management &
data analysis and also developing software-as-a-service applications to be
provided to clients on a subscription or pay-per-use model. I also conduct
online training on a regular basis and have also developed video-based,
self-paced learning modules on the technologies that I work with, some of which
are endorsed by the American Council of Education as a Microdegree program.
What are your areas of expertise, and how
have these skills contributed to your success?
I have been working in the domain of Information
Management for the last couple of decades. During this time, I have worked on
technologies like Data-warehousing, Business Intelligence, Big Data with Hadoop
and its eco-applications, etc.
My recent work is primarily in the area of Data
Science, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. I am also a product
owner and manager of the app, Readmylanguage, which uses Kotlin as the primary
development language.
Apart from these, I work regularly with programming
languages like Python & R. My experience with Delivery & Project
Management has also helped in ensuring we are able to meet and exceed client
satisfaction on the projects we engage in.
What notable projects has MyLearnings
Technologies LLP accomplished, and how do you stay current with industry
advancements?
Some of the more notable initiatives taken up by
MyLearnings Technologies that come to mind are:
1. Training in Information Management
technologies such as Big Data & Hadoop, Data-warehousing, Advanced Excel
for Data Analytics, etc., for various MNCs.
2. Creation of video-based self-paced
learning modules in Big Data, Data Science, Deep Learning, etc.
3. Data Science training for learners
studying Electronic Mechanics.
4. Development of a self-paced learning
module in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, which has been
endorsed by the American Council of Education as a MicroDegree program.
5. Development of software utilities,
especially in the area of voice processing, that can be used by end-users on a
subscription or pay-per-use basis.
Our industry develops at a breakneck pace, and there
are new tools and technologies getting introduced to the market, literally,
every other month. It is also very important to keep abreast of the new
technology to remain competitive in the market. In such a scenario, I try to
keep up with the latest trends through reading, attending webinars on a regular
basis, and also undertaking training from industry experts. Apart from all
these, I tend to use the tools or technologies myself through creating small projects
and POCs to get first-hand experience of how they work. My passion for learning
new things and the fact that I tend to put my learning into practice have
helped me all these years to stay current with industry advancements.
What advice would you like to give
aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to build a career in data-driven technologies
and start their own business?
Entrepreneurs tend to be the ones who look for
solutions to problems. An entrepreneur's mind is always filled with questions
such as, how can I solve this problem? Is there a better and more optimized way
to solve the problem? What would be a futuristic approach to solve a problem?
This is the first trait that someone aspiring to be an entrepreneur has to
develop.
Apart from this, an entrepreneur needs to have
imagination about the future possibilities, develop knowledge to be able to
solve problems, and take action to actually solve problems. Last, but
definitely not the least, an entrepreneur needs to be passionate and persistent
in what she/he is doing, continually believing in herself/himself as to why
they chose to be an entrepreneur. Also, they need to remind themselves at all
times that success is usually not an immediate ‘response’ in an entrepreneur’s
journey.
Be passionate, be imaginative, develop knowledge, take
action, and be persistent. Also, develop a team that will partake in your
journey of entrepreneurship. This is very important, as we all know the adage,
“To walk fast, walk alone; to walk far, walk with someone.”
The above qualities are needed for all entrepreneurs.
For anyone wanting to focus on data-driven technologies, they need to remember
that “Data is the New Oil,” and hence there is a need for data management, data
analysis, etc., in all organizations. However, keeping up with the latest
technology is very important, as new technologies for data management, data
analysis, and visualization are coming up on a regular basis.
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