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Monday, March 25, 2013

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT - SIDDHARTHA RAO

Technologist. Author. Leader
By Aritraa Mitra


It was the summer of 2004 and the beautiful weather beckoned one to be outdoors. However, Siddhartha Rao, now head of SAP Product Security APJ, was confined to his home in Germany, nursing a broken knee.
Missing the intellectual discussions that he regularly enjoyed with his colleagues at SAP AG, he turned to online communities for conversation. Instead of spending his time on just any social networking community, Siddhartha logged on to a vibrant forum of more than 100,000 registered developers: CodeGuru.com.

Troubleshooter par excellence

Browsing through the forums, Siddhartha discovered that his experience in Windows application and driver programming enabled him to answer many of the questions that various perplexed users had asked. Enthused, he got to work, helping developers right away.
Whether the questions related to the CString class – used to manipulate text information — or passing SAFEARRAY within VARIANTs, Siddhartha had a solution. Often he would not only provide code snippets, but also fully functional projects to help members test their solutions.
In addition to helping with problems at a technical level, Siddhartha detected and solved various problems at algorithmic levels that helped the community. His expert contributions were soon noticed. Acknowledged as an expert in all matters technical, he was made a moderator of the development community. Within a couple of years, Siddhartha had voluntarily provided approximately 6,000 solutions.
Siddhartha says that forums like CodeGuru have been a source of invaluable joy to him: “It is not only the intellectual stimulation, but getting to know other technologists at CodeGuru that was the icing on the cake. When I started with CodeGuru, I never ever thought I would get to eventually meet such nice people and interesting personalities.”

Microsoft MVP

Microsoft soon recognized Siddhartha’s efforts to help the development community at CodeGuru. The company named him a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Visual Studio – Visual C++ for three years in a row (from 2005 to 2007). As an MVP, he was invited by Microsoft to participate in various MVP events, such as the Global Summit at Redmond, Microsoft TechEd at Barcelona, and networking meets at Munich.
“It was an enriching experience to meet software experts from around the world as well as professionals from Microsoft that make the company go round,” Siddhartha says.
During one of these events at Redmond, where Siddhartha was reviewing Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 in development, a fellow Microsoft MVP (and an author) suggested that Siddhartha write a book for Pearson, a large education company and book publisher with brands such as Addison-Wesley, SAMS Publishing, Que, and Penguin Group in its portfolio.

Teach Yourself C++

Once Siddhartha learned that Pearson sought an author with his type of expertise, he “burnt the midnight oil and spent one vacation too many” to write Teach Yourself C++ in One Hour a Day. The 768-page book provides comprehensive insights about the C++ language, and examines frameworks such as the Standard Template Library (STL) that make C++ so powerful and versatile. The book also teaches the language from the basics for beginners, as well as introduces tricks and ideas that seasoned professionals may find valuable. In fact, Siddhartha believes that C++ — along with his book — offers something for everyone.

“Given recent major amendments to the language that make it a lot more developer-friendly, C++ allows the developer to extract best performance without compromising on productivity,” he explains. “Indeed, ABAP itself and many other SAP software components — including major SAP platforms and database products — are programmed using C and C++. For many programmers, C++ thus provides the optimal mix of being a high-level language that allows the development of complex applications while being flexible.”
Published in 2009, Siddhartha’s work became the fifth best-selling C++ book in the United States. In 2012, Siddhartha published a new version of the book, rewritten from scratch to reflect the new C++ Standard, called C++11. The 2012 version also features updates based on reader feedback to his previous work. This new book became the best seller for its category in the United States on Amazon.com. And its availability isn’t limited to America. Both of Siddhartha’s C++ books have been translated into Chinese.
Through his interactions with developers at SAP and at CodeGuru, Siddhartha learned that many programming books were either just too theoretical or too simple for professional developers. Hence, his books teach C++ programming from a pragmatic and practical perspective, addressing developers with plenty of code samples and guiding them with dos and don’ts.

Helper at Large

Although Siddhartha has achieved success helping developers and programmers, writing code is not part of his day job. In his role as the head of SAP Product Security APJ, he concentrates his efforts on recognizing and hiring the right talent for SAP in Bangalore, improving product security awareness in the greater APJ region, and in mentoring talent and creating development opportunities.

On top of that, Siddhartha still enjoys plunging into a development environment to answer questions, solve problems, or satisfy his curiosity. As someone who pursues and shares knowledge outside of work, Siddhartha does not see himself as unique. He strongly believes in the potential of SAP employees, and he hopes that his story will encourage others to write as well. In Siddhartha’s opinion, SAP employees can also use their expertise to educate by publishing books.
And as a best-selling author, he should know.



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Friday, March 1, 2013

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT - CHRISTIAN MUELLER

A Torturous Nine Hours

By Christopher Benz, SAP

On Big Island, Hawaii, the temperature can climb to 40°C in mid-October. For many, that’s the sign to lie back and relax in this Pacific vacation paradise and maybe sip on a cocktail or two. Christian Müller definitely doesn’t belong to this category.

“How far can you go?” is the question that powers Christian forward, day in day out, as he swims length after length in the pool, burns up endless miles on his bicycle, and uses his lunch break for a demanding training run. It’s all about getting better and better, challenging himself to go further, and finding out what enormous feats the human body and mind are capable of.

The Hawaii Ironman is considered to be the world’s toughest and most prestigious one-day endurance event. A 2.4-mile swim is followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and a footrace of 26 miles. “By the time you get to the marathon stage, you’re always vowing never to do it again,” is how Christian sums up the athletes’ physical and mental state in the last part of the race. The muscle ache that inevitably follows every Ironman event usually takes a whole week to wear off. During this time, says wiry athlete Christian with a wink, “I’m more than happy to be able to just sit quietly in my office.”

Off to Hawaii again in October

Christian has crossed the finish line on Alii Drive as fastest amateur twice, in 2009 and 2012. Last October, he finished ahead of more than half of the professional competing athletes and placed 24th overall – a result that is at least as impressive as winning his second Ironman World Championship amateur title. To crown this amazing achievement, he also clocked his first ever sub-nine hour time in Hawaii (8:54:17) and finished a mere 30 minutes behind the overall winner, Australia’s Pete Jacobs. His personal best time of 8:39:55 was set at the Frankfurt Ironman in 2010.

Christian, who lives in Pfinztal, near Karlsruhe, Germany, has competed in the Hawaii Ironman five times in the last seven years. This year, he is planning his sixth and final race. He’d like to end his Hawaiian Ironman career by crossing the finish line on another high note.

Christian didn’t start competing in triathlons until he was 31, a fact that makes his success in this event all the more remarkable. He took part in his first-ever race over the Olympic distance in 2004, near the Schluchsee reservoir lake in Germany’s Black Forest. “I did a lot of sport when I was younger,” he explains, “but it wasn’t until I’d been working for a few years that I decided to focus on the triathlon.”

At SAP in Walldorf, Christian is jointly responsible for developing the German HR Payroll software. His colleagues include a number of top-class runners, swimmers, and triathletes with whom he trains on a regular basis. He meets up with members of the SAP swimming group, “SAP-Wave”, at the indoor pool in Walldorf three mornings a week to get some training in before work and fits in most of his running training at lunch time or after office hours. “SAP offers great facilities for helping me make efficient use of my training periods,” says Christian.

6.2 miles of swimming, 37.2 miles of running, and 186 miles of cycling make up an average weekly training schedule for Christian. “I have to plan between 20 and 25 hours for my training, but it’s a great way of switching off and leaving the office behind,” he says. When you’re asking so much of your body and mind, it’s obviously vital to follow a healthy diet. “I try very hard to watch what I eat,” says Christian, ever the professional, but admits to succumbing to the temptations of the occasional portion of curry sausage and chips in the SAP cafeteria.