Members Who Inspire | Akash Kumar

 How did you first hear about SAPinsider?

I first came across SAPinsider at the SAPinsider booth in the 2018 SAP SAPPHIRENOW Conference, which was my first ever SAPPHIRE event and have been a member since.

If you had four more hours in your day, what would you do with them?

I would like to be more active physically. I would also spend more time reading new SAP technology trends and spending more time with family.

Why are you a member of SAPinsider?

I find myself always learning something new. SAPinsider does a fantastic job of keeping me informed by recommending newsletters, articles, and the research papers, which are very easy to consume, giving me a peek into the SAP community, customer interests, use cases, experiences and breakthrough solutions being developed. I also value the exposure to SAP Partners and the solutions and new technology developments they are coming up with.

What is the most serious issue facing our profession today?

I think one issue that we are facing is company wanting to stick to the way things were and old processes. SAP is continuing to grow, change and innovate. I think that’s something customers need to start embracing as well, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. We should continue to innovate, come up with new solutions and ideas.

Tell us about a time when how you had a problem at work and used your SAPinsider membership to solve that problem

I always use my SAPinsider membership to understand the external point of views provided by the research and articles. SAPinsider’s articles and research won’t provide you direct solutions, but encourages innovative thinking, provides directions to build new solutions, which is more valuable than direct action items. You become your own hero at the end of the day.

Name one person who has had a profound effect on your life and tell us about it.

I’ve been very fortunate to have many mentors in my life. I think when people
think of mentors, they have this idea that it’s just one person. I have not found
that to be the case. I think you can have many mentors in different stages of
your life. When I started my SAP journey in 2011, I had my boss, who became my
mentor, really show me the ropes and taught me a lot about SAP. After that, I
have had other bosses, colleagues and even other SAP customers become
“mentors”. You can learn so much from other people, you just have to take the
opportunity to listen.

What advice would you have for the next generation of SAP users?

Embrace change and learn to adapt. SAP technology will always continue to evolve and so should we. Don’t get left behind because you feel comfortable with what you already know. We should continue to grow and innovate.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job?

I like interacting with customers and support them as they build intelligent enterprises and develop solutions for their business problems. That is and will always be the most rewarding part of my job.