Members Who Inspire | Mitresh Kundalia

 How did you first hear about SAPinsider?

I first heard of it back in the 1990s! You know back then the internet wasn’t available to everyone and as robust as the internet we know today. A colleague told me that we should look at SAPinsider and it was extremely exciting to find these publications and CDs with very helpful resources. 

If you had four more hours in your day, what would you do with them?

I would do one of three things: The first would be to take the time to talk to our customers and learn how we could help them solve some of their business problems better and faster.  The second  would be to sit down and take the time write an article for SAP FICO Expert Magazine. The third would be to spend time to design and develop our product-suites.

Why are you a member of SAPinsider?

I originally became a member of SAPinsider because of the great educational resources my membership provides me. However, I now am more active in the SAPinsider community and contributing my expertise and knowledge to other members by writing white papers and the articles for the SAPinsider magazine.

What is the most serious issue facing our profession today?

What I personally think is a huge issue, especially for customers, is the plethora of solutions and options available in the current marketplace. Look at it this way, if I need an internet router, I go to my nearest Office Depot or Best Buy, there are over 20 different routers I can choose from and that is very overwhelming! We cannot expect customers to do the research on all these products and solutions. It is up to the partners and firms to explain why their product or solution is the best for the customer, not the other way around.

Tell us about a time when how you had a problem at work and used your SAPinsider membership to solve that problem

One example is hard to think of right now, as I have used it several instances. More often than not, I usually just go on the SAPinsider website and find either a webinar with great subject matter experts or a download a white paper with crucial information to help me with whatever problem I am facing. That’s what’s great about SAPinsider, it’s the best of the best content and experts all in one place.

Name one person who has had a profound effect on your life and tell us about it.

On a personal level, of course it will have to be my father. As a father myself now, I try to instill the “hard work pays off” mentality to my own kids. Professionally, it will have to be Project Manager from a leading firm from my earlier years. He helped me think outside the box and how to navigate work challenges and issues, identify major issues and deescalate small issues that others thought to be big issues. He was great and I learned so much from him, truly a great guy.

What advice would you have for the next generation of SAP users?

I think this generation is much smarter and have so many resources available to them that I have no doubt in my mind that they will achieve wonders. As far as advice goes, I would say to continue learning. Learn from our mistakes, don’t be afraid to try new things and always keep innovating.

What has been the most rewarding part of your job?

Whenever I see a smile on a customer’s face. As you know, we work in a very fast-paced environment and at times very stressful. Solutions aren’t always easy or very neat, but it’s our job to the customer to deliver the most user-friendly solutions that provide business-value. Whenever I get appreciation from our clients for the work we have done for them, that truly makes my day, knowing the number of hours and time spent on this project was well worth it.