SAP Labs India

SAP Quiz Bowl 2011 with Derek O’ Brien, November 11, Bangalore

“Let us have a quiz about the quiz master,” declared V R Ferose, MD, SAP Labs India. “When was he sworn in as an M.P.? ” The answer was August 2011 and the newly elected M.P. and Indian quiz’s greatest evangelist Derek O’ Brien assumed the stage for the SAP Quiz Bowl 2011 on November 11 at the SLI, Bangalore campus, to test the noetic abilities of the six teams which reached the finals after a grueling preliminary round.

“I have been to several corporate campuses but I have never seen a company like SAP,” Derek said, praising the innovative and cerebral work ethic of the SLI employees before proceeding to drill the avid quizzers.

While the six finalist teams wracked their brains to answer questions regarding the most hated figure in Britain in the last century to Jung’s analysis of Hitler’s personality, the audience was rewarded with gift vouchers for answering interesting queries on varied topics.

The complete package of entertainment, information and unadulterated joy anchored by a man with the perfect balance between intellectualism, irreverence and humor invigorated the SLI employees while enhancing their knowledge base. The one and half hours of the event seemed a transitory but enthralling experience with everyone left yearning for more.

Month of Service, October 2011

Spreading smiles, nurturing creativity, delivering joy to all the nooks and crannies of the society – it was all a part of a day’s work at SAP Labs India in October, which was celebrated, globally, as the Month of Service by SAP. Initiated in 2004, this year Month of Service, had SAP volunteers from over 40 countries targeting to donate 50,000 hours endeavoring to:

• Provide basic needs
• Support education
• Create economic opportunities.

Consonant with this goal, SAP Labs India, which initiated a week of service in 2006, and enhanced it to the month of service in 2010, participated in a bouquet of more than 42 charitable initiatives, across various cities including Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune, aimed at flattening the uneven socio-economic terrain of India. The projects, showcased on Charitra, were an eclectic mix and prospective participants had the option of being involved in the ones that interested them. Family members of the employees could also participate in the projects and did so with great enthusiasm. . The urge to serve took on gargantuan proportions and some of the projects included:

• Spending time with the underprivileged children in an orphanage
• Listening to stories at an old age home
• Packing school bags for 1000 underprivileged children
• Pac1king food boxes for the underprivileged children
• Constructing a playground for children of a primary school in Anekal, a village on the Banerghatta highway
• Building a road to help the villagers of Anekal
• Planting 600 trees at Kumaraswamy Layout, Bangalore
• Playing with differently abled children at the Spastic Society and Gerezim, Bangalore.

The satisfaction of being able to innovate happiness inspired the employees to donate their time to various charitable causes and, in the process, help the world run better together.

SAP TechEd 2011, Bangalore

From October 19 to 21 at KTPO, Bangalore, SAP Labs India hosted the largest ever technology conference in India the SAP TechEd 2011, with10,000 participants and more than 800 training hours featuring 100% international content. The event which is the best place to obtain an in depth insight into the solutions offered by SAP, and the company's future product road map, also witnessed an unprecedented industry academia interface with more than 500 academicians participating enthusiastically in the proceedings. Over 300 sessions and more than 400 trainers discussing and deliberating upon intricate points of paradigm shifting technologies with the audience, in a spirit of democratic learning, transformed the KTPO into a carnival of education whose infrastructure was enhanced, with the construction 27 tents, to ensure more than 10,000 people could exchange knowledge comfortably. The event also featured the first ever guest keynote at TechEd, delivered by the Indian spin legend Anil Kumble who inspired the assembly to master the circumstances and not be their slave.

Barcamp Bangalore, the technology unconference, organized at the Labs Bangalore campus

On Saturday, June 11, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, the tenth edition of the Barcamp Bangalore, a popular user generated technology unconference, was organized at the SAP Labs India, Bangalore campus. The event is an informal interactive forum where topics and speakers are proposed and matched by participants through a website – a practice which has earned it the name unconference. Attended by over 250 participants who included both Barcamp veterans and first timers, the event, provided an excellent platform to exchange ideas, share insights and knowledge on a variety of technology and non-technology topics.  From truth about mobile connectivity, architectural practices for scalable apps and gamification-add fun to public bicycle sharing and art of self sustaining trips, the Barcamp successfully brought together professionals who were engaged in spontaneous and innovative discussions.

SAP Labs India believes that interactive forums such as Barcamps are crucial determinants for nourishing and nurturing the technology ecosystem in India and a befitting platform to “learn better together.”

SAP hosts its first Analyst Day on April 29

On April 29 at the SAP Labs Bangalore campus, SAP hosted 14 technology analysts from 6 research and analysis firms at the first SAP Analyst Day. This endeavor on the part of SAP derived from the organization’s attempt to interface directly with the group of important decision influencers who are crucial determinants of SAP’s future roadmap.


The event hosted by Clas Neumann, SVP and Global Head, Core SAP Labs Network, Alok Goyal, COO, SAP India, Peter Gartenberg, MD, SAP India and V. R. Ferose, MD, SAP Labs India was successful in creating a rendezvous between the analysts and SAP. This candid interactive forum not only strengthened SAP’s future roadmap but was also pivotal in comprehending the perspective of technology analysts regarding SAP.

Bandhan – Forever Together: Celebrating completion of 10 and 15 years at SAP Labs India

On March 25, at Leela Palace, Bangalore, 89 people who have been with the organization for ten years, and 3 employees who have dedicated fifteen years to SAP were felicitated and commemorated at Bandhan 2011. Clas Neumann, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Core SAP Labs Network, and V.R. Ferose, MD, SAP Labs India, congratulated, and thanked each of the employees personally who have been the wind beneath SAP's wing for more than a decade.

Ferose and Clas not only acknowledged the employees, but also their families who have supported them throughout their long alliance with this organization. "India's original diva", Usha Uthup also performed on the occasion to celebrate the timeless bond between SAP and its employees.

The nature of this priceless alliance was excellently encapsulated by Sanjay Vasant Bhujle, a member of the SAP family for the last 15 years, who said "I have known nothing beyond SAP. For me SAP is the world." The association is reciprocal, as for SAP its employees are its universe.

Master Blaster Cricket Quiz: Celebrating the spirit of the Cricket World Cup 2011

At the Labs India Bangalore campus, on March 23, a day before India padded up against Australia in the cricket world cup quarter finals 2011, , the renowned quiz master, Joy Bhattacharya, CEO of the Kolkata Knight Riders, tested the cricket knowledge quotient of the Labs India employees in a brainstorming match.

The questions ranged from a bee attack on a cricket pitch to the famous "I am at least the best player in my family" sledge by James Ormond to Mark Waugh, whose brother Steve Waugh was deemed to be the better cricketer. The six teams who had qualified from the written preliminary round held earlier answered the questions with elegance and finesse. On the rare occasions when the participants were stumped by a query, it was fielded by the appreciative and knowledgeable audience ready to answer any question. The level of awareness of the Labs India employees awed the quiz-master, who said "This is what I like about SAP. Look at the depth of general knowledge."

This quiz, held amidst the cricket World Cup fever, helped enrich that treasure trove of trivia, and knowledge of enthusiastic SAP Labs employees further.

SAP DKOM Bangalore 2011

The SAP Development Kick-off Meeting (DKOM) is an annual, internal event designed primarily for everyone in the Products & Solutions and the Technology & Innovation Platform board areas. The event is designed "by Development for Development" and sets the technology direction for the coming year, while allowing the development community to explore and experience the best of our products, technologies, architectures, practices and tools.

DKOM 2011 held on March 16 and 17 at Bangalore was an interactive and innovative two day mega event, with over 2700 attendees striving to develop a culture of challenging and exceeding all boundaries. The success of the event was aptly described by the SAP mentor from IBM, Somnath Manna who confessed "as an external participant, it was a very interesting view of the new SAP." As for the employees, DKOM was the most befitting motivator to help the new SAP "run businesses better together".

Quality Day

The purpose of this annual event is to learn from the industry as well as share internal best practices and listen to customer experiences and expectations.

Labs India showcased that 'Quality' is a critical factor, to 'Make the World Run Better', during the 'Quality Day India 2011' event held on March 14. Attended by more than 500 employees, customers and partners, this one day event held at the Bangalore Labs India campus presented a unique opportunity for the employees to interact with partners and customers to understand their perspectives about SAP products. The event aimed at motivating employees to strive for greater quality so as to help businesses run better.

LEADERSHIP TALK SERIES

Leadership Talk Series is an ongoing effort at Labs India to give employees a chance to hear and interact with renowned and motivational personalities from all walks of life.

Leadership talk by Prahlad Kakkar, the legendary Indian ad film director, December 12, 2011

The room was filled with employees eagerly waiting to meet the man who has become synonymous with Indian television advertising. With his trademark beard, long hair, round glasses and Fedora hat the man, Prahlad Kakkar has himself become a brand that requires no advertising. True to the famous motto "Nothing official about it", used in the popular Pepsi commercials created by him during the 1996 cricket world cup, he delivered a jovial talk at the LTS at SAP Labs Gurgaon on December 12. Prahlad, who, besides being a great advertising film director, is a passionate chef, started his speech with a recipe for making French omelet which he used to prepare for his customers in the early days of his career.

However, a director's greatest statement is the person's body of work. Thus, the man whose aim has been to "tell a story in 30 seconds in the most interesting manner possible" treated the audience to a nostalgia inducing collection of television commercials, created by him, from 1996 onwards, including advertisements for Cadbury’s dairy milk, Pepsi, Centre Shock, Hathi cement, Times of India, Safari Dicor, Century Ply, at the concluding part of his talk.

As the invigorating and humorous session with the multi-faceted person ended with the strains of "Kuch mitha ho jay" (have something sweet - the tagline of Dairy Milk) still hanging in the air, every person in the audience sported a smile. This enlightening and de-stressing event is sure to energize the employees thus enabling them to perform better together.

Leadership talk by Jug Suraiya, the Associate Editor of Times of India, November 22, 2011

The room was filled with eager faces. They knew all about him, his wife Bunny and his recently deceased dog Brindle who had adopted him and his wife many years ago. They savored his columns in the Times of India and were waiting with anticipation to meet the iconic associate editor of Times of India, the "Art Buchwald of India" and raconteur par excellence Jug Suraiya at the Leadership Talk Series at SAP Labs India, Gurgaon, on November 22.

Rohit Gupta, Location Head, SLI, Gurgaon, introduced Jug to an audience who were habituated to seeing his name in print. Following this, Jug assumed the podium and started his speech in his own inimitable style by recounting personal anecdotes which have shaped him as a thought leader in his field.

After this illuminating and intellectually freewheeling session, the floor was open to enthusiastic audience questions which ranged from the role of media in the modern society to different methods adopted by the leaders to fulfill their objectives.

This remarkable interaction with a luminary of Indian journalism is sure to energize and inspire the SAP Labs India employees and help them work better together by finding the latent leaders within themselves.

Leadership talk by Retired Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC, September 15, 2011

“As leaders and team members of an innovative organization you need to transform your outlook and take it beyond your current boundary,” said Retired Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC, at the Leadership Talk series 2011, organized at KTPO, Bangalore on the special occasion of the visit of Jim Hagemann Snabe, Co-CEO SAP, to India.

Having chosen an unusual and daring profession, Rakesh Sharma, from the inception of his career challenged the accepted boundaries in all spheres of life. “Dealing with the unknown involves the element of risk,” he emphasized. Great leaders are personalities who are neither afraid to tread the incredible roads nor frightened to overthrow the status quo. Such people are the “challengers” of the unknown who can lead a nation and inaugurate new vistas of life.

This unique leadership session concluded with Rakesh Sharma sharing an interesting anecdote behind his historic comment from space. When Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, asked him, “How does India look from space”, the extremely media shy young astronaut could promptly make his famous comment, “Saare jahan se accha” because he could only hear the audio from space. Little did Rakesh Sharma realize at that time that his words and his deeds will make him famous for ages to come.

Leadership talk by Chetan Bhagat, the most popular English language novelist in Indian history, September 14, 2011

"To become a professional writer you have to sell at least 1000 copies of your first book." Hence, a "techie" was advised not to venture into fiction writing, as Indians do not read books. It will not be worth any publisher's money if a book does not achieve the minimum sales needed to recoup costs. However the "techie" ignored all such foreboding for the love of writing and ventured into his first literary endeavor, Five Point Someone, and the rest was history. Reminiscing about many such anecdotes and incidents from his own life, Chetan Bhagat, conducted a memorable session at the Leadership talk series on September 14 at the Taj Palace hotel, Delhi.

Focusing on the topic of the day, "Pursuing Passion", Chetan succeeded in creating an immediate rapport with the audience who thoroughly enjoyed his humorous take on regional differences and deeply reflected on his zealous advice to pursue one's dreams with passion. As the audience appreciated the passionate dialogue with Chetan with thunderous applause, he concluded the session with a request to the employees, "Make life less busy and listen to the motivational speaker that lives inside each one of us."

Leadership talk by Shekhar Kapur, the maverick Indian director, June 16, 2011

“What is the fountainhead of creativity? Is it the universal consciousness being expressed through an individual?” asked Shekhar Kapur during his paean to creativity and innovation at the Leadership Talk Series on June 16 at the indoor cafeteria, Bangalore. The audience, filling the auditorium, and sitting in the aisles and on the stairs, were enthralled as the words and questions floated around them unlocking unexplored vistas and recesses of their minds. They had come to meet the creator of Mr. India, The Bandit queen and Elizabeth, perhaps expecting a lecture on the intricacies of long shots, flashbacks and background score. Instead, they were transformed by a dialogic exploration of spirituality and creativity.

As the audience appreciated innovative dialogue with Shekhar with thunderous applause, he concluded the session with a panegyric to SAP – “I can go on talking only about innovation and creativity at a place like SAP Labs India”.

Leadership talk by Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde, April 12, 2011

"Democracy is no longer ‘by the people, of the people, for the people’. It has now become ‘by some people, for some people, of some people’." Thus spoke Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde, the most "feared institution in Karnataka", at the Leadership Talk Series (LTS) held on April 12, 2011 at the Labs Bangalore campus. The appreciative SAP Labs India employees, most of whom had occupied their seats, at the indoor cafeteria, 15 minutes before the start of the LTS at 10:00 a.m., applauded and then grew pensive at the implication of the remark.

Throughout his one hour session, Justice Hegde forced the audience to confront serious and deep issues regarding the structure of governance, and the value system in a humorous manner, often using personal anecdotes. When the session finally concluded, the employees of SAP Labs India were left enthralled by a simple man, whose moral power derives from practicing what he preaches and this makes him a personification of honesty.

Leadership talk by Nasser Hussain, February 28, 2011

The indoor cafeteria of Labs Bangalore campus, at 11:00 p.m. on February 28, was as full with boisterous cheering people as the Chinnaswamy stadium was on the evening of February 27. A tall lean athletic figure, Naseer Hussain, the former English captain, walked up to take his guard, at the Leadership Talk Series (LTS). Hussain, one of the greatest English captains ever, the person who propelled England to the number 3 spot in test rankings, received a standing ovation for his invigorating speech at the Leadership Talk Series, 2011.

Leadership talk by N. R. Narayana Murthy, February 15, 2011

10:00 a.m., February 15, 2011. All the chairs at the indoor cafeteria of Labs Bangalore campus were already occupied and people were still streaming in. They sat on the stairs, on the floor while the "late-comers" stood. This was the scenario at the indoor cafeteria 45 minutes before the start of the third talk of the Leadership Talk Series (LTS) 2011. It was difficult for Narayana Murthy, who arrived punctually at 10:45 a.m., to find his way to the dais through this impenetrable crowd waiting eagerly to listen to him.

A leftist turned philanthropic capitalist, Mr. Murthy loved meeting the "good" people at SAP, and had "great" conversations with them. SAP employees in turn expressed their joy with thunderous applause after the LTS. The session was made unforgettable by the legend behind Infosys.

Leadership Talk by Ramachandra Guha, January 12, 2011

On Wednesday, January 12, the indoor cafeteria, at Labs India, looked like the inside of a rush hour bus. Ramachandra Guha, the pioneer of environmental history in India, delivered a speech on "Gandhi as a leadership model", as the first lecture in the Leadership Talk Series for 2011. If the audience was excited, so was the author of "India after Gandhi" – his rimless glasses glinting, his voice ringing, with excitement he talked about the opposition that Gandhi faced.

During this session the audiences were entranced by the philosophy of a practical philosopher, and debater par excellence. Guha, the interpreter of modern India, talked about a Gandhi, relevant and modern, who can be hated, abused, loved, worshipped, but can never be ignored.

BUSINESS WOMEN NETWORK

Objectives:

• Foster an inclusive atmosphere where employees' potential is retained and fully utilized.
• Improve market performance by utilizing diverse leadership capabilities.
• Ensure SAP's competitive advantage by benchmarking against best-in-class.
• Increase SAP's reputation as an employer of choice, that is, an excellent and fair employer for all employees.

Businees Women Network with Hasleen Kaur, Femina Miss India Earth 2011, August 22, 2011

" Do not let the word fame control you", said Hasleen Kaur, Femina Miss India Earth 2011, while addressing the Business Women Network at the SAP Labs Bangalore campus on August 22. The event hosted by V. R. Ferose, MD, SLI, witnessed an overwhelming response from a huge audience who were enthralled by the beauty, brains and empathy of Hasleen who emphasized the need for "reinventing and reworking oneself" in order to break gender stereotypes.

In spite of her success and glamour which she has achieved at the tender age of 22, Hasleen is committed to her responsibility to the society. Since she had always been inspired by Dr. Kiran Bedi, she choose to work with Navjyothi Foundation, a partner NGO of SLI, founded by Dr. Kiran Bedi, when she had to select a domain of social work as a part of the Miss India contest. Under the ambit of Navjyothi, she is promoting and working towards increasing girl child education which is indispensable for the growth of any country.

This BWN session offered SAP Labs India employees the opportunity to interact with a young girl who in spite of tasting success early in life has maintained her humility and integrity.

Businees Women Network with Shobhaa De, the renowned author and columnist June 27, 2011

"I am of the same age as India. So my story is the story of India", thus spoke Shobhaa De, the renowned author and columnist. While addressing the SAP Labs India, Bangalore, employees at the Business Women Network on June 27, Shobhaa emphasized the need to deconstruct the gender stereotypes. Having successfully lead a multi-faceted life as a model, journalist, scriptwriter, bestselling novelist and mother, she said, "I have learnt to live with little things."

Candidly discussing her success story and her inspirations behind her writings, Shobhaa De kept the overflowing audience enthralled by her vivacity and dauntless spirit of womanhood.

Businees Women Network with social activist and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, May 19, 2011

"As women we need to redeifne success,freedom and use them responsibly", thus spoke Rohini Nilekani, social activist and philanthropist, who despite being the wife of Nandan Nilekani has maintained her independence and carved her own niche in the society. While addressing the SAP Labs India, Bangalore employees at the Business Women Network on May 19, Rohini emphasized the need to deconstruct the gender stereotypes. The chairperson of Arghyam, Pratham Books and Akshara Foundation, Rohini is amongst the country's most active philanthropists and is involved in multifarious initiatives including provision of clean water, sanitation and literacy to the less privileged section of the society.

During this candid interactive session SAP Labs India employees got the opportunity to learn from the adventures of the life of a woman philanthropist who is also an ace juggler of personal and professional life.

SAP Labs India celebrates the uniqueness of being a woman March 11, 2011

In 1886 Kadambini Ganguly and Anandi Gopal Joshi became the first Indian women doctors registered to practice western medicine. Since then women have traversed an extended path and today even I.T. sector companies, long considered a male bastion, boast of active participation of women. This is exemplified by SAP Labs India (SLI) where 31% of all employees are female. To celebrate this mercurial rise of the feminine gender, SAP Labs India, Bangalore, observed the centenary year of International women's day, on March 8, with an eventful two hour program starting at 2:30 p.m. at the indoor cafeteria. The event included a book reading session by the noted journalist and author Sudha Menon, a panel discussion on "Men and women are different but equal", and other cultural programs.

The session was an earnest endeavor by Labs India to recognize its women employees for their commitment and passion in helping SAP become a great place to work.

The youngest Vice President of Wipro shares her stories at the BWN

"I don't want a working woman. I want a career woman" Sangita Singh's husband had warned her three days after their marriage. Sangita, the youngest senior Vice President of Wipro, did not disappoint her husband and that was the reason she was requested by SAP Labs India to host the first session of the Business Women Network (BWN) 2011. Held at the indoor cafeteria at 3:00 p.m. on February 16, the audience for the event was a fair mix of both men and women.

Clad in an elegant grey colored sari, with benign smile radiating self confidence, Sangita was the perfect example of the graceful woman "tigress". Befitting her personality, her sincere advice was "Be yourself, be happy and stay woman."