Mapt: How did you come to be a developer?

S: I started my career at a time when the IT industry was transitioning from legal applications to mainframe technologies. I moved into development through my first job, for which I was recruited on campus. In my first year I certified on Java (version 1.3) and from there I took the plunge into the world of application development with Java and JEE as my primary technology focus.

M: How did you become an author

S: I received an email from a Packt editor in early 2016 asking if I would like to author a book on Bluemix. Although I had authored few articles earlier, I was still unsure about authoring a full-fledged book. Nevertheless, I was inspired to write a book after my initial discussion with Packt.

M: What new trends do you see on the horizon?

S: I think that the Internet of Things and cognitive technologies are shaping the IT landscape and defining future applications and workloads.

M: What has changed in the industry since you first started?

S: A lot has changed from the legacy of object-oriented transition. We have come a long way to bring back scripting-based languages as the preferred way of building modern applications. The relevance and acceptance of crowd-sourced ideas/assets/software is a revelation, especially when you see how they are also penetrating the enterprise markets.

S: It would be incomplete if I do not also make a reference to the start-up culture – this industry possible has witnessed hundreds of tremendously successful stories of start-up entrepreneurship.

M: Tell us about a risk you took with your career

S: One of the biggest fears I had even as a child was to speak in front of an audience – I would shudder to even think of doing it. But in late 2014/early 2015, I took up a career change that required me to assume a full-time role of evangelist, entailing the need to talk to sizeable and varied kind of audiences at various different venues.

S: Facing my fear was a risk and a was a new education – I am glad I learned from it and having overcome my worst fears and has made me a better-equipped person.

M: Any advice to today’s young developers?

S: Young developers today don’t need an advice. I think they are doing things right. They are willing to learn, explore and experiment. They have fewer inhibitions, are more confident and are willing to go all out. Good luck is all that I would like to say to them.

Sreelatha’s book is fully available in Mapt. Find out more about her book Learning IBM Bluemix or learn more about her work at Linkedin.