Sriram Alagarsamy

In God we trust, all others must bring data.

Could you tell us a little about your background?

Prior joining to Great Lakes PGPBA program, I have worked as a developer and technical lead for about 5 years and then as a Business Analyst for about 5 years. I always held a good interest in dealing with data. Therefore, I carry proficiency in both understanding the domain knowledge and presenting the same in a sensible way. In addition to this I also hold experience in using technology to develop applications. However, in all this, I was always keener to pursue my career in one of the SMAC technologies and chose analytics as I thought my acquired skills (via work experience) will come in handy while learning more about this domain.

Why did you choose PGP-BABI at Great Lakes?

And learning Business Analytics with Great Lakes was truly a rewarding experience wherein I understood that its important to learn from faculty and industry experts if you want to get into this domain. It gives you a holistic understanding of Business realities and current trends. Analytics is is a game changer for businesses and the demand for analytics will keep growing due to the exponential increase in the volume of data and cheap storage space. Simultaneously, peer learning in an academic setup assists you see multiple perspectives.

Please describe your experience at Great Lakes

Industry exposure provided during the course was quite beneficial. Herein, we got the opportunity to notice opposed points of view on some algorithms and technologies between industry experts and academic stalwarts, however, both the points of view were very sensible but from different perspectives. As someone who is going to work in the industry and convince customers about the deliverables it is important to get these alternate points of view to become confident and aware of the pros and cons of technologies, algorithms and required skills. Industry exposure also provided us a glance on the practical difficulties in a typical analytical project and how to resolve them. During this significant journey of learning, I was privileged to learn from experts like Bala V. Balachander and Tapan Panda, both full of energy, enthusiasm and tremendous zeal that made learning Business Analytics all more thought provoking and interesting.