Belgians cook for Indians

Last Thursday Ilse and Stefan made an Italian meal for our Indian colleagues.
On the menu there were garlic toasties, spirelli pasta with an Italian tomato curry and meatballs.
As a dessert they served chocomisu. Not all ingredients were found to make a real Italian tiramisu so they invented their own dessert.
Everybody liked it.

With heart and soul

For the last three weeks Colruyt India was joined by Petra. In those three weeks she gave heart and soul. Colruyt India discovered the hard worker, the motivator, the sportswoman (Hyderabad 10K) and last but not least ... the artist :

We STILL want YOU for Colruyt India

As you can read on this very blog, Colruyt India has taken a good start. But there's still a lot of cublices empty where we could have ... YOU maybe !

For information on our Hyderabad activities you can send a mail to info@colruyt.in

For information on the weblog (or for a less formal approach), you can find my mailaddress in the author's profile.

We are hiring :
- Java developers
- PL/I developers
- SysAdmins
- Project Managers
- Team Managers
- ...

We're looking for both experienced and unexperienced people, so if any of this sounds like your cup of tea, why don't you let us know (with your cv preferably) at recruitment@colruyt.in ? Colruyt India is an equal opportunity employer and there's lots of opportunities !

The secret of a happy marriage ...

... remains a secret. But that doesn't stop Ashish and Neelam from going forward with it.



Ashish is the first of Colruyt India's sons and daughters to take this important step in life. Take good care of each other Ashish and Neelam !

Who recognises these guys ?

I don't ;-), but I can definitely tell you where they work and I bet you can too !

Show me your doodles and I'll tell you how creative you are

In Colruyt India everybody has his/her own whiteboard, to be used for everything and anything (as long as it can be wiped off). After a short fad of "inspiring motto's" in the training days, these are now filled with the mystic symbols that only hard working developers can understand ...

So, as you can see, there's some highly creative spirits amongst us ...

Too slow ... but still ... Welcome Philip !

Our reporter was completely taken by surprise ...

So were all the other whitefaces ...

And yet, all other Colruyt India staff (low to high) had been hinting at it all morning (Big Boss is coming, Big Boss is coming, ...).

So when Big Boss Philip (for once - I hope - he'll forgive me for saying that) finally entered, he walked through an honor-guard of CI'ers, covering both sides of the entrance. If anyone took pictures of it ... please forward them. After my tongue was back in my mouth (it dropped straight to the floor at the sight) I had missed the moment. All I got was this picture of yet another sign that a special "star" was expected :

After all that this must sound a little flat, but ... Welcome in Colruyt India Philip !

Milestone

This morning the Colruyt India SysAdmin team received a couple of start-notes with some PL/I batch catals (compilation for the production environment) to be done today, Wednesday and Friday. Nothing new, nothing major, we've been doing that for weeks.

However, some of the Colruyt India PL/I developers became very interested ... as it were "their" programs that will receive the SysAdmin attention. The circle is slowly closing.

Nice work, all of you !

Front Office ?

Our reporter is rather long-legged and clumsy and almost stumbled over the following ...

In a rare flash of understanding, he thought : "This is the front of our office, the two girls on the left - Mythri and Devika - are our front office girls ... so this is our front office at work with the help of Lakshmi (on the right)"

Wrong ... :-)

Actually this is called "Muggu" (or Rangoli or Kolam), the art of making images with sand (or in this case flowerpetals). The result was very nice

The meaning ? Enhancing the beauty of the surroundings and spreading joy and happiness all around. More information can be found here.

Swimming in the pool ...

Google Earth does not update that frequently and until recently the Pioneer Tower was not on it yet. But now it is and does that look like a swimming pool on top of it ? YES it does !



For those interested, the pin is at Latitude 17°26'11.33"N and Longitude 78°22'56.59"E. You do not need Google Earth to "see" this, the Cyberabad Times Map has the same information (see the links at the bottom of the page).

P.S. For those that want to know it all, Casa Colruyt is at Latitude 17°25'4.96"N and Longitude 78°25'58.17"E.

Indian Chocolates Last Longer

The above header has been scientifically proven by this picture ...

On her return from Belgium, Yogi had a better idea than our reporter and Nagesh and brought ... Indian chocolates. So, either our reporter got faster (doubtfull) or Indian chocolates last longer.
Welcome home Yogi !

Belgian Chocolates

Both Nagesh and our reporter risked the wrath of Indian Customs by bringing a truckload (at least 4 kilo's) of chocolates for Colruyt India members ...


< ... >
This space was reserved for a picture of the chocolates
< ... >


Apparantly not even a truckload lasts for long here, but I gather those that did get some found them very tasty !

Visitors The Sequel

One has to get up very very early ...
All was still very quiet in the Colruyt buildings in Halle ...
And then in a flash ...



Usually behind the camera (taking shots of sysadmins in meeting for example), here we find Nagesh as he can be seen often in Halle these days - in meeting (in this case with the teamleader of Infoco's Security Team).

Rumors claim that he had lunch - with Yogi and Ilse - in a restaurant called Jaipur (the owner of which comes from that area in India). Sadly enough our reporter couldn't make it there to see his reaction to what Belgians call "spicy Indian
food" ...

Visitors

Even though this blog has been quiet for a bit (due to Austria, snow, cold, lederhosen, jodeling and other unmentionables I will not explain in any further detail ... :-) a lot is happening in Colruyt India. I'm hearing about development teams being formed ... and Colruyt India staff visiting Belgium.

After visiting the Infoco computerroom in Halle, Yogi was sufficiently impressed to not run away from the big camera our reporter (also in Halle at the moment but heading back to India soon) now has ...



And look who's beside her ... and also heading back to India soon ! Hearsay has it that Nagesh is also in Halle but so far he eluded our reporter. No worries, there is no escaping ... ;-)

Replacements

As my first 3 months in India are almost done, Belgium sends out a couple of its sons to replace me ... They even made the Belgian and Indian newspapers :



For Colruyt India however these two (soon available in the comic stands here in India) did not seem to be the right solution. Instead Peter is joining us today. Welcome Peter !

You can find the original article on http://www.indianexpress.com/story/211258.html

Independence Day - O.L.V Hemelvaart - Moederdag

Today both the office in Halle Belgium and the one in Hyderabad India are closed. In India we celebrate Independence Day, in Belgium OLV Hemelvaart. On top of that, in the province of Antwerp where I come from, its also Mothers Day. Ne gelukkige moederkesdag moeke !



P.S. The picture shows the entrance of the Pioneer Office, also on the 7th Floor. They had enough flags and balloons to share around :-)

Pooja

On Monday we had a full-fledged Pooja performed at Colruyt India's office. If I understood everything correctly both the office and its inhabitants are now on their way to prosperity

Enter here

The office is getting its final touches these days.
Some are more visible than others ...

Second SysAdmin Meeting

The two new SysAdmins have been twisting my arm to get a correction on "The First SysAdmin Meeting". However, first is first, I don't do corrections. But they are right in saying that the picture no longer shows the full team.



The WhiteFace sitting down is Tom by the way ...
And if these are all the SysAdmins, then who is taking the picture ? This mystery will soon be resolved here !

On your mark, get set, GO Java GO !

Today, August 1st, the 1st Java training starts at Colruyt India. Another 14 people will join us (some a couple of days later). The training-room ... is ready and waiting. Liesbet and Ashok ... are ready and slightly nervous. Welcome to you all !



Some 4 experienced Java Developers kicked my shins after reading the above. They've been with us - going through the training at speed - for a full month now and never even got a mention on this blog. My apologies guys and here's a big "Welcome" to you as well !

It never rains, but it pours

For those complaining about the Belgian summer (and I know you're out there ... yes, its you I'm talking to !) I have the following picture :



Only when you've seen cars sticking front first into drains can you talk about rain !

The Cableguy

Before I left for Hyderabad I was instructed on how a good computerrack should look and how the cables in the rack should be positioned. My teacher in this (hello there Christophe) asked me to send in pictures of our computerroom.
Well ... this is the picture of switchrack :



I could easily claim the honour for this, but actually its a combined effort of the Cableguy(s) from Pioneer Tower and the SysAdmin team of Colruyt India that resulted in this. Nice work guys !

Who's who in Colruyt India

Since yesterday all Colruyt India members can be easily recognised.



It contains the name, company code and blood group. Very handy for passing vampires (and other leeches) ... and in case of accidents of course !

Efficiency during and outside working hours

Our reporter on site (on the road actually) took the following two shots in which you will recognise two sysadmins and probably will not recognise two others :






Now, that's what I call efficiency and teamwork !
By the way guys, the bike driven by Abdal was ahead ... :-)

Developers At Work

I've heard our developers complain that they don't often feature in the blog. Here's a link to resolve that issue : PLI Developers At Work (well, getting training really, but if you don't say that, who's going to notice ;-).

Forgive me for the poor quality, was taken on a mobile phone.

The Coolest Job in Colruyt India ...

... is being a SysAdmin ! Or so they told me themselves, two minutes after this picture was taken. At least, that's what I think they said, for some reason they were shivering while they said it ...



And the best part is, we're still looking for SysAdmins. And Java Developers as well. So why not contact us and join us ?

First Sysadmin Meeting

After a thorough training on "agenda", the sysadmins decided to have their first meeting. Everyone showed up !



So, if you have a problem and no one else can help then maybe you should call ... "The SysAdmins" !

Testing is Important

Yes indeed it is and I'm quite sure that our new developers already learned that in the mean time. Welcome to you all by the way !

The crew finishing our office also believes in thorough testing. In the picture below you can see the combined cubicle / carpet test. Everyone can "rest" assured that nothing will be left to coincidence :-) !



This also reminds me of the fact that I didn't show pictures of how the office looks these days. Well, here they are ...






And yes, this is the same space where on Friday they started putting the carpet in ... :-)

Special Report : The carpet is in ...

Slowly but surely the 7th floor of the Pioneer Tower is changing into a real office-space. Yesterday (Friday) they started on the carpet.



Other changes ? The UPS is in, the leased line, voice and ISDN lines are connected, ... Last Wednesday the first three sysadmins already started, on Monday we are expecting 20+ developers, Team Managers.

As the Chinese curse goes : "May you live in Interesting Times" !

Spaghetti or Monster or ... even worse !

While ignoring the danger, our onsite reporter took the following picture of something trying to escape the computerroom ...



I'm glad to report that our reporter survived the encounter !

Lights are on ...

Yes indeed, the lights are on on the 7th floor of the Pioneer Tower !

Bad translations

In the feverish rush to get the office ready in time, a lot of things are happening (at the same time). It is also the ideal time to learn some basic things about infrastructure.

For example, when someone says - "The network is lying here", this is what they mean :



Another example, when someone says - "Pulling the network", they mean this :



And yes, those are our actual networkcables !

Lost Forever

There is visible progress in several areas of our office floor. Here's a view of the mandatory false floor in the computerroom :



After this picture the floor was closed up. Somebody is going to miss that packet of crisps !

Makeshift Office

Very hard to explain to people how we work these days, so I made a picture of our makeshift office (and future training room) :



This is it. This is were four (and soon six) people work. We also :
- Conduct meetings here
- Interview future employees here
- Test future employees here
- ...

Every morning it gets more or less cleaned, but as you can see the dust from the construction site (of which this is a little corner) creeps back in during the day.

Promises Promises ... and Casa Colruyt

Only three days ago I promised more frequent updates. Naturally that was the moment to move from our hotel to the appartments which are so brandnew that they didn't even have internet yet ...

In the mean time they do (I've just installed the Wireless, my first actual installation in India, yay !), the furniture is trickling in (slowly) and we are searching for a name. Casa Colruyt was the best we could come up with so far. All suggestions are however still welcome.

No pictures yet of Casa Colruyt. But I did manage to make some of the work-in-progress on the office (Pioneer Tower) :



At last count I counted about 30+ people working on our office !

New arrivals

On Friday the first of June Colruyt India went from three active members to four-and-a-half active members ... the half being me since I only arrived at 1h30 am the same morning (after travelling for most of Thursday). Yogi also rejoined us.

In the mean time the cobwebs in my head have cleared (a bit) so you can expect more frequent updates (and pictures) in the coming days, weeks, ...

STPI

Since a couple of days Colruyt India is also member of the Software Technology Parks of India (Hyderabad division). This is important for buying computerhardware (and yes, we'll probably need some of that :-).

Take a look at http://www.hyd.stpi.in for more information, you'll find us listed under "Export Units" (number 50 under the 'C').

And a safe touchdown !

Ilse landed safely in Hyderabad. For those interested in her first-day-adventures, she's got her own blog on http://mamainindia.blogspot.com.

I'm especially fond of the computerroom-picture she made ! Looks like I've got some work "cut out" for me :-)

3 ... 2 ... 1 ... We have liftoff !

Colruyt sends out its daughters and sons. Today at 8h25 Ilse will be on the plane to Hyderabad, India. A major leap, both for herself and for Colruyt India.

Together with Edwin, Ilse will shift the Human Resources activities (recruitment !) for Colruyt India to a higher gear. She'll also prepare the way for future arrivals, organise and lead anything training-related, and so on ...

We want YOU for Colruyt India

Several people have been asking me where they can get more information on our activities in Hyderabad and whether or not we are already hiring.

For information on our Hyderabad activities you can send a mail to info@colruyt.in

For information on the weblog (or for a less formal approach), you can find my mailaddress in the author's profile.

We will soon start hiring :
- Java developers
- PL/I developers
- Tech Lead(s) for Java and PL/I development
- Functional Lead(s)
- SysAdmins
- Tech Lead(s) for SysAdmin
- Project Managers
- Team Managers
- ...

We're looking for both experienced and unexperienced people, so if any of this sounds like your cup of tea, why don't you let us know (with your cv preferably) at recruitment@colruyt.in ? Colruyt India is an equal opportunity employer and there's lots of opportunities !

Keep checking back for more information (there will soon be a link to our main site where you can find detailed jobdescriptions) !

An even closer look : Cubicles

We've all heard about cubicles, but apart from reading about them in the Dilbert-cartoons not many of us have actually laid eyes on them. So here they are. For the record, this is not our officespace, but a newly installed officespace a couple of floors below us (courtesy of the Interior Manager of the building).



Does that carpet look as familiar to you as it does to me ?

A new feature in this blog (I'm still hoping to add video soon) is the "Hungry For More ?"-links at the bottom of the page. Check them out ! I've added a link about how cubicles can ;-) look at the inside !

A closer look : The Office

For those who want to know it all (and who doesn't), here's the layout of our office in the Pioneer Tower.



The full address is :
Colruyt IT Consultancy India Private Limited
7th floor, Pioneer Towers, Plot no 16
APIIC Software Lay-Outs,
Madhapur
Hyderabad 500081

Special Report : The Building

Long time, no post, ... but that does NOT mean no progress.

Last Friday, at 8pm, the lease for the building was signed !

As Philip already stated in internal note K393.65.46, Colruyt India's pioneering days in Hyderabad will be located in the ... Pioneer Tower.

A first picture below, in the coming days I'll add more (and hopefully some video footage), so check back often.

Special Report - The company is official !

As of today (2007/03/09), Colruyt IT Consultancy India Private Limited is a fact and part of the Colruyt group !

If everybody agrees I'll stick with 'Colruyt India - Times' as the header for this blog, my screen being only 17 inch ...

Preparing to go East - Inocculations

Your physician will check which inocculations are necessary. If he or she is unsure, check with the authority on these matters, the Tropical Institute.
Their website is http://www.itg.be. You can also go there (without appointment) for your inocculations.

What you're going to get depends on your medical history and your plans (are you going to travel around or just stick to one place). Typically you'll get most of this list :

• Tetanus
• Rabies
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Polio
• Typhoid
• Yellow Fever
  

Some of these are 'one shot covers all', some take two shots (with a month in between) and a third shot (6 months later) to give lifelong (or >25 years) protection. So do start in time.

Above all ... don't mess around with this, it's too important !

Special Report - Little India is born

In what has to be called a bold move, forces from Little India occupied part of the room formerly known as 1144B ...

Our reporter on site took the following picture ...



After being asked for comment, the invaders stated that :

• They came in peace

• The goal is to create an exact (small scale, hence Little India) copy of the IT Infrastructure that Colruyt India will contain. Little India will be used to experiment, to create procedures and to train future India-goers.

Where's Where in Colruyt India - Hyderabad Revisited

I forgot to mention this last time, as it is already common knowledge to me, but Hyderabad is the city where Colruyt India will have its office.
Having said that, here's some scenery Edwin send in ...



Yes, you've seen it right ... they drive on the left ... :-)



You know what my first thought was ? There's clouds ... :-)

Philip and Norbert visited Hyderabad during the last week of January and also contributed some pictures ...



Last time I saw an arch like this was in Rome ...



India is straight in the middle of two time zones, the difference thus being +4h30 during winter and +3h30 during summer.



Of course we're all waiting for the biggie ... where is the office going to be and (more important) how does it look. We'll no doubt know soon and you'll read and see all about it here !

Where's Where in Colruyt India - Hyderabad

If you'd have asked me that question only three months ago I'd have said ... Hydera...what ? But these days the world is small (and there's things like Google Earth) ...



So there it is, a city with 6 or 7 million inhabitants (Halle has 34000), depending on how much of the surrounding area you consider to be part of the city.

A closer look you say ? Surely ...



Yes, you can go even closer (down to 800 metres, you can clearly see the buildings), but I couldn't get all (or at least most) of the city in the view then :-)

Who's Who in Colruyt India - Edwin Kolen

Edwin can be considered a real globetrotter.

He is married to Awa and they have a 2 year old son - Adriaan.

Quote : "Life in India is good; one just has to take the time to enjoy it"

A bit of history

Similar to Rome, Colruyt India was/is not build overnight …

2006/06/22

The first announcement was internal note Z746.14.25 from Philip:
"We are starting a feasability study on setting up a small Indian company ourselves."

2006/12/26

Some time went by, some new faces showed up (more on that in a later post) and then there was internal note K185.96.53 from Philip:
"I've decided to start a small IT Captive Center in India in 2007."

Or, in other words, time for Romulus and Remus to come on stage ...

In the beginning ...

In the beginning there was the word and the word was : "We can't find enough IT staff in Belgium, lets go look elsewhere".

That was already a whole lot of words in fact.

And it wasn't just 'talking the talk', we're now also 'walking the walk' !