Tuesday
Today was a great day. The team went out to lunch today at subway. I rode in my first auto rickshaw to lunch. It was dodgey to say the least. Auto rickshaws are essentially motorized bicycles with makeshift carriages welded onto them. There are no seat belts, and the drivers come within inches of accidents your entire ride.
After lunch I had the pleasure of meeting Amy Kwan -VP Finance Accounting Shared Services Organization, Mike ward – Director FASSO, and Robert Fulnecky bus ops manager onsite. Amy, Mike, and Rob are out here checking up on the status of our Fusion project. They gave a good speech on the importance of the Accenture- Cisco partnership as it relates to accounting excellence and enablement. If Accenture can drive OE, standardize, and focus on delivery, it will enable Cisco to work on our evolving business model as we enter into new market adjacencies and continue to drive top line growth through innovation. They brought it all together at the end by speaking to the importance of one Cisco, and how we view the Accenture staff as our own, 1 team, 1 Family, Cisco.
I worked the late shift this evening to finish my testing. My testing is now 100% complete. I’ll be conducting analysis, consolidation, and documenting my findings over the next few days. The team is going to the Cisco Bangalore campus tomorrow. I’m excited to finally see campus.
Wednesday
The Cisco Bangalore campus is absolutely stunning. The entire campus is run based on Cisco’s smart grid technology. Most of the campus runs on Cisco’s Smart and Connected Community platform, linking building utilities, security, and facilities maintenance to the network. Every building can be managed remotely, energy is optimized, and crisis management is integrated. The Bangalore campus is an operation model for the future of the commercial real estate industry. Every building leverages best in class green technology building practices. It’s truly one thing to hear about S+CC projects like Songdo, and another to experience them. Furthermore, the aesthetic presence of the buildings and forward thinking interior design make the Campus an absolute pleasure to visit.
After a tour in the morning, the Audit team gave a status update meeting to Amy Kwan and Mike Ward around the Fusion Audit. Immediately following the meeting, we were invited to the FABINDIA Finance all hands meeting where Amy spent 90 minutes reviewing Cisco’s FY10 financials, highlighting FY11 initiatives, and answering questions. The key takeaway I had from Amy’s presentation was that she echoed the same message as John did in the company all hands. It’s a good feeling to have a consistent message from your leadership team. Knowing that everyone is on the same page assures me that FY11 is going to be a strong year.
After work, the team went out for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. It’s clear at this point that the team has bonded very strongly. We’ve been very productive together from a deliverables perspective, and we can have a good time together outside of work. The team has made the trip seamless for me.
I’ve included some photos below from dinner and drinks. That’s right Ravi, the party didn’t stop after dinner…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53854912@N02/sets/72157625018325684/
Thursday
We partied pretty hard Wednesday, so the morning on Thursday was a bit of a struggle. After lunch I had a 2 hour Telepresence meeting with the audit management team and my counterpart on the audit. We consolidated our findings, presented our analysis and metrics, and offered recommendations to the team during the call. All of the groundwork for my piece of the audit is done, and the management team is up to speed. It’s a great feeling to be done and know that what I did while I was here made an impact on the audit.
After work I went out shopping to a place called HUM India. I would highly recommend it for anyone who visits Bangalore. It’s a designer outlet store that sells designer goods of all kinds which have been priced for India. I cleaned the store out, and have no idea how I’m going to get all this stuff home!
Tomorrow is my last day. My flight leaves at 6:30am which means that I have to leave the hotel at 3:00am. I am not looking forward to the 26 hour trip, but it’ll be good to be home.
I’ll close off the blog series with a final post when I get home, keep your eyes open for that.
Thanks for following,
Karl
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