EMC Proven Professional Spotlight - Vijayakumar Ravindran

Employer: EMC

Function/Role: Cloud Infrastructure Platforms/Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Location: Bangalore, India

Certification(s) Achieved:

• Associate
  • Cloud Infrastructure and Services Associate (EMCCIS)
  • Data Science Associate (EMCDSA)
  • Information Storage Associate (EMCISA)
• Specialist
  • Cloud Architect, Virtualized Infrastructure Specialist Version 1.0
  • Data Center Architect, Storage Networking Design Specialist Version 1.0
  • Implementation Engineer, VNX Solutions Specialist Version 7.0
  • Implementation Engineer, XtremIO Solutions Specialist
• Expert
  • Cloud Architect, IT-as-a-Service Expert Version 1.0 (EMCCAe)
• Product/Tech
  • ScaleIO 1.x Server-Based SAN
  • ViPR Controller 2.x
  • XtremIO 3.x Flash Storage Solutions

Education: Alagappa University, Master’s Degree, Computer Applications

ECN: VJ R

LinkedIn: vijayakumar ravindran

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What’s your background? Have you always been interested in technology? What drew you to work in this field?

My background is in Unix Administration. I began my career in support for SUN Microsystems and later became involved in managing Data Center Storage. I’ve always been driven to learn new technologies and stay updated in my profession. I have a passion for technical implementation of complex, new solution initiatives which drew me to this field.

What most interests you about your work? What is your current job like?

I like to architect, develop, test, and document the complete solution stack in the area of Software Defined Storage. My current role involves day-day support of Storage infrastructure, managing storage capacity/performance requirements, and Proof of Concept for IT Proven/Show IT in new product solutions.

Are you active in the EMC Proven Professional Community or the ECN?

I am a regular participant in EMC Proven Professional Community / ECN programs. I have submitted Knowledge Sharing articles from 2013 onward. This year, I co-authored an article that was selected for publication in the EMC Proven Professional Community.

Can you describe the value to you of your EMC Proven Professional certifications? Why did you choose to get certified? How has the EMC Proven Professional Program benefitted you professionally?

EMC Education Services’ e-Learning and online instructor-led offerings provide a better understanding of the products and solutions which results in better implementation. The knowledge gained enables greater productivity and value to the day-to-day operational work and successful delivery of planned IT projects.

What big project are you working on now? Or what major project have you recently completed?

I have been involved in a functional development project called “Unified Framework for SDDC” which mainly targets lowest cost per GB storage infrastructure model for DevOps and SMB customers.

The recent projects delivered are IT Proven TestIT projects on Isilon 8.0 Riptide, CloudPools, eNAS, and ViPR 2.3, 2.4 Beta programs

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Are there any new technologies/skills you want to learn?

I see myself in a Technical Project Management role. I am looking forward to attending upcoming technology forums in EMC and VMware/OpenStack. The major technology skills I look forward to acquiring include Neutrino, VxRail, and Federated Enterprise Hybrid Cloud suite.

What technology trend do you think will make the biggest impact on the industry in the near term?

Software Defined Networking/Software Defined Storage will have the biggest impact along with Enterprise Hybrid Cloud.

Name a major achievement in your career or any awards that you have won.

I was a primary contributor on a team that submitted a winning Solution Proposal for EMC’s Service Offerings at the Global Innovation Challenge Conference in 2014. The topic was Low-Cost Cloud Service for Life Science and Bioinformatics Start-Ups.

What advice would you give to someone entering the EMC Proven Professional Program?

EMC Proven Professional certification will deepen the technology/product knowledge and skills of engineers, developers, and administrators. Gaining this level of understanding also builds confidence as they advance in their technical career.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

Big Data Platforms/Cloud Services offers a promising career. I plan to focus on continuous learning and education to keep up with the new advancements and value creation.

Read other EMC Proven Professional Spotlight interviews in the Proven Professional Spotlight Archive