Meet Sham Lal, Senior End User Systems Administrator at Progress

We’d like to introduce you to some of the people from around the world who make us who we are. In this post, meet Sham Lal, senior end user systems administrator based in our Hyderabad, India, office.

Whether he’s communicating with customers, collaborating with colleagues or catching his kids while playing hide and seek, Sham tries to get the most out of his experiences and the challenges they present.

Check out our Q&A below:

If you had to describe your role in just three words, what would they be?

With only three words, I would say my role is exciting, challenging and stimulating.

How long have you been at Progress? And what made you want to work here?

I’ve been at Progress for nearly three years now. I chose to work at Progress because the office culture seemed great, and I liked how independent the position was. I also knew that Progress would provide career development opportunities that would let me explore and fulfill my potential.

What's the most exciting thing about being a senior end user systems administrator at Progress?

In my role, I get to talk to different people, like customers, vendors, teams, etc., from across various fields and with different expertise. I love talking with all these people because we can exchange knowledge and learn from each other. I am constantly learning from these communications and I really enjoy that. I am also able to collaborate with IT team members across various locations, participate in IT projects and I can obtain IT certifications.

Tell us more about the experiences/moments that have made you who you are today as a professional.

I have been fortunate to work with extremely talented and knowledgeable people, and I have also been granted with opportunities to realize my full potential. The best moment in my professional career was the recognition I received at my previous job. There was a situation where the site was facing issues in handling “service level” for which the company had to pay penalty. With the help of my manager, I performed root-cause analysis and completed a quick troubleshooting to resolve the issue. I got the opportunity to add the resolution in KB article and it was also shared with all different teams. This way, we were able to achieve FCR with 98% accuracy. I was pulled to train the teams in different locations. My manager appreciated my work and I ended up getting recognized.

What activities do you enjoy the most once the working day is over?

I always make time for the kids. When I log off for the day, I’m always sure we have time to play some sort of game they like, like Ludo, Carrom, or the classic, hide and seek. If I’m not playing with the kids, I’m listening to slow, melodious music to rest and recharge.

If you could give advice to your 11-year old self, what would you say?

It would be to stop worrying about what others think and keep reassuring yourself that you are good enough to handle any task or situation. Pick up a hobby, start reading more and relax. Take all the time you need.