AWS Hero Bhuvaneswari Subramani says companies need to support women to sustain them in the workforce

Bhuvaneswari Subramani believes various events in her early life laid the foundation for what she is today.

As the Director of Engineering Operations at Infor and the first woman AWS Hero from India, Bhuvaneswari grew up in an agricultural family in Sathyamangalam, a small town in South India.

With an early focus on sports and extracurricular activities, she represented Coimbatore in ball badminton, and in fact, ditched Science after school to study Literature so that she could engage in sports. However, she returned to the STEM field and pursued BE in Computer Science and Engineering, after her foray into the IT sector happened along with an MBA in Information Systems and certifications in Cloud Architecting and Security.

In 2017, she joined the AWS Bangalore Group, and was one of five women selected to speak globally for AWS Re: invent in 2018 and in 2019 became the first woman AWS Hero from India. 

In a conversation with HerStory, Bhuvaneswari takes us through her journey in IT, being an AWS Hero, and her work at Infor.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

HerStory (HS): Can you take us through your early years in technology?

Bhuvaneswari Subramani (BS): I gained an interest in programming and technology during my college days, which grew over the years. I never hesitated to sign-up for challenging projects or adapting modern technologies. Infor strongly encourages us to be agile when it comes to learning any innovative technology, which helps maximise our potential and provides us with various platforms to do so. Our shared vision is to build a team of technophiles and not people managers.

HS: What are the highlights of your career spanning 22 years.

BS: Through my 22 years of experience, I have traversed around a wide variety of products. I started with a later stage of B2B portal development and maintenance with Bannari Infotech in Coimbatore where I designed and developed GIS & GPS based applications for Desktop and Web. I was also responsible for packaging applications, which became mainstream in the coming years. I joined as a software engineer and left as a project leader after a four-year stint. Later, as a senior software analyst, I developed and maintained multi-platform installer for Team Developer 2005 and related products (April 2004 - May 2005).

From July 2005 to August 2006, I was associated with Synaptris Decisions as Build & Release Engineer, where I designed and developed installers for IntelliVIEW suite of products and automated the Build Process for all the products. Then I joined Aptean, which gave me the platform to explore my diverse set of skills for six years, and I was involved with CSR, conservation, and change management initiatives. I also worked on end-to-end Application Packaging, Build Automation, Deployment to Sandbox machines & Software Configuration for ERP, CRM, and related products, catering for the needs of multiple agile teams.

HS: What are your roles and responsibilities in the present?

BS: I began my journey a decade ago at Infor as a Dev Ops Manager to lead Nexus (a company later acquired by Infor) for strategising, architecting, automating, and integrating continuous integration and continuous delivery at all levels, including Dev, Test, Non-Production, and Production environments.

Over the years, I have steadily progressed as a multi-disciplinary team leader and delivered 60+ major releases for the Infor Nexus product suite that involved feature automation and integrations seamlessly propagated to production. Now, in the role as a Director, Software Development, I am responsible for DevOps, Performance Testing, Cloud Development, and Application Lifecycle Management software administration.

Besides key deliverables, I am enthusiastic about my involvement in various CSR programmes, both tech-based and non-tech-based. I am a proud #WomenOfInfor and an active member of Women's Infor Network (WIN) aligned with the mission to help members on their self-actualisation journey, realise their potential, and create their greatest value.

HS: Tell us about working in a team.

BS: I believe in two things: growing together and having a team with equal opportunities. One of the interesting instances that I recall was when I ran a tech drive initiative to help the best of the tech minds in my team to create a platform to highlight their talent. Three of my team members from the Performance Testing team signed up for the challenge.

The team put in efforts for months--two hours per week during office hours and a few hours after office and some weekend collaborations. The team learnt the art of presentation and prepared content-based courses on selected topics. After five months, we had three ready courses under the Application Performance Management that covered Fundamentals of Performance Testing LoadRunner Workshop and JMeter Workshop. After a series of rehearsals, the team was ready for a three-hour workshop and gave a flawless presentation at two engineering colleges.

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HS: What have been your biggest challenges and successes in your career?

BS: As I look back, though I am content with my journey from a first graduate from a small town to a technophile, blogger, and global tech speaker, the path I tread had its own ups and downs.

Embracing change has always been my constant. My association with Infor has been a decade-long exploration, learning, and delivery. Cloud adoption has been a big win. We could upskill on AWS Cloud Technology, and eventually lead a Cloud Development team. After advanced AWS Training from our New York office, my association with AWS User Group in Bengaluru played a crucial role in strengthening my cloud skills.

Project or deliverable-related challenges have always interested me and solving those challenges was not as difficult as solving personal dilemmas. The dual role as a mother and working professional, with two children, was a big challenge during the earlier years of my career. CDC Software (Aptean now) allowed me to work from home and my managers were supportive and encouraging. I was promoted to Manager even before I joined back work after maternity leave. I returned to the office after my child completed five months and I was allowed a flexible work schedule for another two months before I was back on track.

HS: What more can be done to sustain women in the workforce?

BS: Firstly, I have seen women quit their careers for marriage. Some usually quit to relocate or just quit their jobs altogether to build a family. If one is determined, skilled, and lucky enough, it is always better to move to a city where opportunities exist for both partners.

Secondly, I have seen women quit their jobs during or after their pregnancy. Companies need to accept the fact that women can do their job under any circumstances, provided the company supports them. I can proudly say that women in my team and myself have proved the stereotypes wrong and are great performers in our professional as well as our personal lives.

HS: Why do you think there are very few women in leadership positions in tech?

BS: Women were seen in mid-level careers only until recently. But times have changed now, organisations are paying more attention to diversity and inclusion than ever before. Women are gaining more positions in leadership sectors and are also part of the board in organisations, which was not the case in the past. Women are also more interested in STEM studies and are evolving with the times, gaining knowledge in technology. However, like anyone who looks for growth in CXOs, women also need to have business acumen and prepare themselves for strategic positions from whichever vertical they grow through in their functional specialisation.

HS: Why should every organisation have an equal opportunity mindset?

BS: A diverse team adds new skills, talent, and experiences - all of which enhance the company's productivity and culture. A work culture that values talent beyond stereotypes and inspires people to reach their potential can be fostered by embracing diversity and providing equality.

In addition to encouraging respect for co-workers, it also creates an open, friendly culture in the workplace as well as a chance to support and encourage the performance of co-workers and contribution to the company’s diversity.

HS: Please tell us about your experiences as being a global speaker for AWS?

BS: From being a person who wished to attend AWS re:Invent to becoming a speaker at the event for three consecutive years (2019, 2020 and 2021) was a dream come true. This was possible due to my association with AWS User Group Bengaluru and to my Infor Nexus team for their support in helping me present our use-cases and cloud migration stories. When I am a speaker at an event, I walk up to the stage with an aim to reach out to women and inspire them in choosing technology as a career. I also got to be part of the AWS India Summit 2022 Keynote and other global tech conferences.

HS: How does community learning help in a developer’s growth?

BS: Developers can learn all the facets of innovative implementations from the experts, who help them exhibit their passion for their job by renewing, reviving, and revitalising their tech skills. Harnessing the power of networking with fellow techies and speakers also enables them to manage any situation with confidence.

(This copy has been updated after correcting a typo.)