IT-EXPO

TECH SUMMIT: TERADATA Date: November 27, 2014

Starting off from the simple manual catalogues, to computer text files and finally evolving to databases, data storing has been evolving through the years. The ways we store data has become more efficient but behind these big data that compiles all the data of certain areas or companies, are data-warehouse companies. Teradata, an American global data-warehousing company,  is one of them. It is a company which provides analytical solutions, marketing applications and help organizations increase their data value.

caption: (starting from upper left to lower right) NetworkLabs scenery characterized by a peaceful mood, my outfit and the lake, a shot of a duck wandering around the area, and my friend Kris and I taking a photo of our reflection at the Old Spaghetti House's door.

Activity: NetworkLabs Company Tour Date: November 21, 2014

"A Google-like work environment" - that would be my impression on NetworkLab's workplace. It is simply admirable and attractive to work at. The tour guide did mention that the place is being reconstructed similar to Google as it would give the employees the "feel" or the "mood" to work more productively. Apparently, a serious setup causes stress to people so in order to solve this problem, they added a little fun and creativity to the place, as well as a serene environment on the outside. Green grass, trees, lake, fishes and ducks all over the place; seems not working in the city. 

Apart from the fascinating facilities and sceneries, NetworkLabs has a good community. From what I observed, in comparison with the other companies I visited beforehand, the people in NetworkLabs looked more enthusiastic and social. In every floor we visited, they interact with each other than sit around in their own desk working alone. Communication helps them take their boredom away which is quite helpful in keeping them lively. Furthermore, they encourage their employees to share their ideas like what most companies do. This is to help them improve their services and create new technologies and innovations.

NetworkLabs is concerned with Research and Development; thus, their main job is to innovate. For example, the speaker Mr. Marlon Tong, told us that in the future, they aim to provide 1GB data per person a day. Comparing it with the performance of the past's internet speed and the present's mobile data, the latter two are very slow that playing games wouldn't be as fun as it was supposed to be. I believe that using the Internet is becoming a need by many nowadays. In fact, when in a certain area, people would ask for wifi just to stay connected. With the idea proposed by NetworkLabs, accessing the net will be easier.

Last November 14, 2014, a series of speakers from different companies came to DLSU to share their experiences in their workplace.

Since there were three seminars that took place that time, I think I had too much information stored in my brain for the day. From the first speakers, they discussed about the life in IBM, what they are and how they deal with problems. Quoting from them, "problems will be solved when people are willing to think". They encourage people to think of solutions instead of asking for somebody to solve the problem for them or basically running away from the problem. The answer is in our hands. Another inspiring message I got from one of the IBM speaker is to don't look at the role, instead look at the learnings. The role is basically a title. It's not necessary that we get the top position in our first try. What is important are the learnings we get in the long run for doing a certain job.

The second speaker from Magsaysay defined a lot of terms associated with technology management. The remarkable part of his talk was the ten guides to aligning to the business. He gave helpful tips like understanding the business, acknowledging the culture, knowing the current IT estate, discovering the value chains, interpreting the concept, determining the change agenda, charting the technology roadmap, planning the work program, populating the delivery framework, and achieving the business benefit.

As for the last speaker, she came from SAP and discussed what they do in the company, their mission and vision. With that, we were given information about their company and what their main objectives are like providing solutions, cloud, mobile and analytics.

Last Saturday, there was a summit and in the event, chosen speakers from ISACA were called to share their experiences and knowledge about career path, certification and IT governance. We acquired a new range of information which could be helpful in taking our journey to our future careers. The association encourages us students to join them as they will hone our skills, in dealing with real business and IT application.

"IT is important but complex. IT governance is a way to manage this complexity" ― and this is what they have to offer to us. I believe that joining ISACA (or the like) will expose me to various works I haven't encountered before. This would be a good preparation for the real job after graduation.

Date: November 9, 2014 Speakers:

Paulo Ocampo

Noel Mendoza

Jon Funtanilla

Ced Tanedo

Christina Pena

Kat Marcos

As a renowned IT company not just in the Philippines but also around the world, HP has gained a lot of recognition for their quality products and services. I have heard many people dreamt of working in HP. Last time, during the company tour, they chose the best speakers to have a talk regarding their experiences - may it be on their journey to the IT world, their struggles as a student, their passions or their stay in HP.

The speakers have inspired me to give more dedication to my current degree program as they have presented lots of opportunities for this course. The world is indeed an IT world, considering most operations are done using innovated technologies. As technology enhances, people also progresses. Thus, living in a more competitive society. What I've learned from the talk last time is that I have to know where my passion is and I have to use it as a weapon in order to achieve things. When strength and dedication fuses, I could become unstoppable in the sense that I would be doing my best on my work as well as enjoy doing it. What matters is that I am enjoying the task I am doing as well as excelling in it; because that's where quality work comes from.

During the talk, questions were raised to the speakers and most of them concerning fear of failing or being rejected. One of the speakers addressed that question by saying. "[f]ear is okay but don't let fear overcome you."  It actually sends a message to us. Fear is a natural feeling but the challenge here is how to conquer that feeling. Once we overcome fear, excelling in that field wouldn't be impossible.

Date: October 24, 2014

Speakers:

Ikee Tolentino

Sheng Dela Cruz

Gabe Mercado

Nicole Luzuriaga

Seminar October 17, 2014 Take home lessons:

Problem: We design things bad. Cause: Lack of Information Solution: Understand what's out there and get experience on how others do their jobs.

Career is a long term thing. It's not about the starting point, but more about growth and single-minded focus.

It's not enough to just build a system; you must keep it running.

In order to perform our jobs well, we must use the best practices and processes.

We're living in an IT world. IT is in everything.

  Basically, the seminar was about the career path of an IT student. Knowing about the different responsibilities of an IT specialist, I was given a much clearer view on my career track. Truthfully, I am not too sure myself where would I head to when I graduate.

The tips each of the three speakers imparted to us gave us an overview on what employers are looking for. From that, we figured, it wasn't about the grades and the failures. Those are just nothing but mere numbers. What is important is our skills and how we sell ourselves. English proficiency is one of the qualities an employer is looking for. The world is filled with competitive people here and there. The big question is, how would I stand out from the crowd? I have to have some special characteristic that will captivate the people's attention and give them the idea that I actually have potential or the skills.

Tour: JPMorgan Chase & Co. Date: October 11, 2014

A good working environment is an important element of a workplace. This is to encourage workers to become more dedicated to their works. From the tour we had last time at JPMorgan Chase and Co., they proved that they do value their employees and this brought them to their current position.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. maintains a high security among their facilities. Since they are a global bank, they want their company secured so as to protect their employees, facilities and their whole business. They also have motion-sensored lights which makes the building eco-friendly. With this, I realized that many companies also value conserving energy. 

What I learned about the tour is that companies should value their employees, not just their customers. I saw the company give value to their workers by providing them rewards and benefits, especially during events; not to mention the vending machine (which attracted most of the student visitors), the accessible gadgets on the pantry, and the high-end facilities. Because behind an outstanding customer service is a high quality-producing employee.

The tour gave me an idea on what company to choose when applying for a job. I don't just apply for some job that I don't even know about nor got the motivation to do. Motivation is a driving factor that keeps one going. Doing a work one likes will guarantee productivity. It's about working efficiently not just about being knowledgeable about a certain task. According to one tour guide, they don't look at where did a person studied. Instead, they assess the quality of work the person produces.

Four books second speaker Sean Si suggested and their lessons: 

Linchpin. Exclusivity. Scarcity dictates value. Value exchange.

Purple Cow. Make sure the product in itself is great enough to market itself.

Outliers. 10,000 hours of practice leads to success.

HOW TO BECOME A CEO AT AGE 22 Speaker: Sean Si Seminar Date: October 3, 2014

The title of his presentation wowed and captivated everyone to listening to his talk. It wasn't the title that only kept us hanging but also the stories he shared. They were interesting and much relatable. The very lesson I got from him was to keep believing in myself. His speech has inspired me to keep pushing despite the failures and repeated trials. They are just obstacles anyway. Their main purpose is to hinder or delay the progress of our work. But whatever challenge that appears to stop us, we shouldn't give in. Because if we do, we're only throwing our dreams to the garbage bin.  His talk was simple yet very insightful. He shared with us how it feels to work and what it means to connecting with people. The bond of the employees and boss contributes to the success of the company. If they have strong ties with each other, they are able to make a good work environment. Giving Google as an example, Sean Si said that Google has four things it does which put it where it is right now: (1) you don't need a suit to be serious, (2)  a casual office, (3) a fully relaxed environment, and (4) a serious, output-based work ethics.

Sean encouraged us to establish principles in order to fulfill our goals. According to him, "principles will save 90% of your life decisions". Well, of course we should also have self-discipline so that we would follow these principles we've set. What's the use of the principles if you're not going to follow them? He has enlightened me to start thinking of my future ― on what and where I want to be. Dream big because big dreams will lead me to a bigger future and will help me embrace lots of opportunities given to me. 

He finishes off the seminar by concluding it with three essentials in becoming successful. 

GOD. It's not about luck but fate. Everything happens for a reason.

GUTS. It's about having strong will.

ICT: MONEY & ME  Speaker: TJ Amorado Seminar Date: October 3, 2014

Numerous things revolve around money. Quoting from  TJ Amorado's (the first speaker) slide, "Money is important. Therefore, it should be studied". It's quite simple if you look at it but in reality, it takes much time to master handling money. Given all the technology advancements today, learning is made easier. Therefore, we shall take advantage of those and use them to learn and become more successful.

During his talk, he mentioned about eight advices he could give in order for us to be able to establish our own success. I find his tips very helpful especially to (majority of) us who still haven't experience working in the industry.

Establish Why Apparently, people care more on why you do something and not what you are doing. It's more on the what is your reason for doing a certain job, whether it is your first step to getting your future goals done or you simply like doing it.

Decide How Now that the why has been establish, the next thing to do is to decide on what action to do. What specific plans do you need to do to be able to get the job done?

Work on What These are the "outcomes that prove your why and how". From what I've learned in his talk, working on the what is performing the actions to do the job.

Innovate Technology is here, there and everywhere. We're basically surrounded by them just as how we are surrounded by air. The thing is, we need to adapt to the technological advancements and take advantage of them. Technology has contributed to much success so we should take it as an opportunity to achieving our goals.

Connect Connections are very important especially in the work life. Even in school it is already needed and practiced in organizations or events. All our lives we are encircled with people. We need to interact in order to communicate our plans and objectives. Also, it becomes most helpful when applying for a job and making ties with co-workers and clients.

Speak Up Speak so you can be heard; but what must came out from our mouth are relevant words or those that make sense. We should be able to share our capabilities in order to show them what we can do.

Accept Failure Failures come as a package in our lives as we grow. Not once in our lives that we come out as perfect all the time. We are humans, we make mistakes. The presence of failures is to teach us of the lesson we need to learn and this lesson will help us grow and perform with better results.