Are technical architects (Cloud Domain) safe given the current IT layoffs?

You are probably referring to “layoff of IT professionals in India” that is generating a lot of news.

Let us start by looking at the basics. Indian software service companies generally do NOT resort to “layoffs” or shutdown entire business units and retrench people enmasse. By doing so, they will become subject to labor laws and other government regulations. What they do instead is the following:
  • Wait for natural attrition and slow-down hiring - The attrition in Indian IT has been in the 10–15 percent range
  • Instruct individual managers to seek the help of HR to initiate “Performance Improvement plan” for the bottom percentile of people.
  • For a large company like Cognizant, TCS or Wipro, the ‘bottom 5–10 percent” of people will account for 10–20,000 people. Such a large number of people being “nudged out” becomes news; which the Indian media calls it ‘layoff’
A while ago, I blogged about Cloud Computing Architects (link). Architects working for consulting firms have to stay on top of the technologies including AWS, Azure and tools from vendors. If you are a ‘cloud domain’ architect, you should
  • Continue to learn about the latest tools and techniques
  • Specialize in one or more platforms (and possibly get certified)
  • Continue to seek billable engagements and pre-sales opportunities
If you follow these basic tips, you are not likely to be at the “bottom 5–10 percent” among your peers. And you are not likely to get on a “Performance Improvement plan”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Man accused of groping woman in Bangalore metro claims he did not intend to touch her, but accidentally did so while attempting to pickpocket

Image
Bengaluru | December 9: A techie claims she was groped by a man on the Namma Metro Train while she was alighting at the Metro on  Thursday . She immediately raised an alarm and the security managed to nab the accused.  On  Thursday  morning, a 22-year-old techie took a Metro from Rajajinagar station to reach her office. While she was stepping out of the metro to switch lines at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Metro Station, a man touched her inappropriately from behind. She got down and screamed.  The accused hopped onto an escalator to flee the spot but the alert security managed to apprehend him.  They subsequently handed him over to the police. Preliminary investigations indicated that the man had a history of offences, primarily in theft cases.  The accused has been identified as 30-year-old Lokesh who works in the catering industry.   He had been previously arrested by officers from the same police station for a theft-related  incident.  The man claimed that he did not intend to touch the w
Read more

Checklist: What to do after death of a Parent or loved one?

Image
With a death in the family, survivors may have to come to grips with the stark reality: how to move forward after the death. While the grieving process can take time, one also must address several documentation, paperwork and other formalities. Here are a few things that you will have to follow up on: To Do Immediately After Someone Dies Inform loved ones, family and friends Arrange for a funeral - depending on your custom and current regulations and wishes of the deceased, you will have to plan for the final rites Plan for after death ceremonies - this will depend on your customs (e.g  After death ceremonies – Brahmin Iyer ) Apply for a  death certificate . This is the most important legal step and may be a two-step process The hospital, crematorium or burial ground officials may issue a letter/document with the name of deceased and cause of death.  The letter/document needs to be submitted to the local municipal/corporation office that will ‘record’ the death and issue an ‘official’
Read more

Lessons from the story about Bengaluru Techie being extorted by rogue cops - Use social media judiciously to help those in need

Image
Lessons from the story about Bangalore Techie being extorted - Let’s use social media judiciously to help those in need I was fascinated to see a thread of complaint posted by @vpatilav , a 22 year old intern from Himachal Pradesh who tweeted about being extorted by a couple of cops. His Twitter thread explained how he was illegally detained and extorted by cops while returning home after a late-night shift. The two cops on night duty allegedly planted a small twig of ganja (marijuana) in the youth’s bag and threatened to implicate him in a drug related case. They asked for cash in return for ‘letting him go.’ The techie paid them about Rs 2,500 before he could walk away. The distraught techie took to social media the next day and the story blew up on Reddit (thread) and elsewhere.  What was intriguing was that  @vpatilav , abruptly deleted the thread saying “Police was looking into the matter.” This led to speculation that he was being harassed for “falsely” accusing cops. Dear
Read more