I have been working in offshore offices of US-based IT companies for the past five years and I had always been eager to learn about the workings, processes and environments at onshore offices. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to visit Deerwalk’s headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts last month.

I was feeling a bit apprehensive before the trip but, as I recall now, I had a very wonderful time. I enjoyed every moment from the very first day. Meeting people in person with whom you had only worked via email, skype, and phone is really amazing, and I also had the chance to meet many new colleagues there. I found the people in our onshore office very caring and helpful. Also, I learned more about the vision and future of our company after meeting our senior executives.

A typical day starts with updates from the offshore team, a review of deliverables and artifacts, and a sharing of those deliverables with clients when deemed necessary. Calls are generally set up with clients so that we can explain any problems in detail and discuss the best possible solutions. There are also regular weekly calls set up with clients for discussing requirements and progress. Participating in these calls was a great learning experience for me. I witnessed various ways to deal with clients, elicit requirements and manage projects. After the calls, tasks are compiled and sent to the offshore team for development. For high priority projects with complex requirements, a separate call is also setup with the offshore team at the end of day.

I also got the opportunity to attend some sales calls which helped me understand our products from new perspectives. Similarly, participation in technical discussion sessions with the senior technical experts of the company was very fruitful.

Apart from office work, visiting new places and knowing the cultural differences broadened my outlook on life. Meeting some of my old friends during the visit was one of the best parts of the trip. And, having to stay in a colleague’s house, instead of in a hotel, helped me a lot in adapting to a new environment and in understanding the basics of the American way of life.

Overall, I had diverse and productive experiences, and I would like to thank Deerwalk for providing me with this opportunity. I hope Deerwalk will continue such exchange programs so that other employees will also benefit from it just the way I did.

Sagar in New York	Lunch with Onshore Team