Meet Sujatha Subramanian, Data and AI Solution Architect and Director at Avanade. She joined the company right before the first Dutch lockdown in 2020 during the Covid pandemic. Just a year earlier she moved to The Netherlands with her husband and two children. She is experienced in leading high-performance and agile delivery teams and delivering advanced analytical solutions with actionable insights. Now she leads projects related to Data platforms, AI and Machine Learning.

Adjusting to a new culture
“I did not apply directly to Avanade but was introduced to the company by my contacts at Microsoft. After moving to The Netherlands, I was looking for a new challenge. I wanted to learn new things, meet new people, and be ready for the next step in my career. Meanwhile, I needed to adjust to the Dutch culture. I knew people were very direct and open with each other. I call it enthusiasm. Learning the language takes practice, although people switch to English very easily. I have lived in several other countries before coming here. I am originally from India and have lived and worked in Poland and the US among other places. Lucky for me, I was able to join the onboarding at the office and meet a lot of people in person before the lockdown happened.

Importance of working together
‘I started my career working as a software developer. Helping clients with their data-related goals and challenges and providing them with the best solutions. I grew into management roles and have over 17 years of experience in this field. Today I work with the newest technologies and innovations, such as chat- and voice bots as a part of conversational AI. As a Director, I manage projects and coach-specific teams, helping them to achieve their goals. We work together on delivery projects, where I match the client requirements to the desired skill set and teams. It is very important that as a team we work together towards the client’s goals. The entire team is part of the journey and has a direct impact on the delivery solution. This contributes to the motivation of the team. Also, working with the latest technology enables the ability to continue to learn and grow.”

Understanding the data journey
“Clients value our approach and delivery time. With data-related projects, we help them move faster in their data journey. For a large bank, we are in the process of transforming its contact center through conversational AI. We started off with a POC, which is a presentation of the proposed product and its potential viability. For this project, we are working together with Microsoft product teams and other partners for special technologies. During the process, we need to validate certain proof points, which will enable us to build a robust solution. A product like this needs to perform really well because it needs to understand the language capabilities of the individual user.”

Seize the opportunity

“If you are interested in a career in IT, the time is now.”

“I highly value good company culture. It is something I look for when joining a new company. The people, their attitude, and the overall organizational structure have a significant impact on company operations. If you don’t feel supported by your peers and colleagues, people are going to walk away. At Avanade the company culture is based on good communication: everyone is very open and approachable. You have the freedom to create your own career path and have many opportunities along the way to grow as a person and professional. Next to that, the data domain is expanding and will grow a lot in the coming years.”

Click here for more information on careers at Avanade.