DataStax Employee Spotlight: Deepak Anand

DataStax is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment that encourages, supports, and celebrates the voices of our employees. Our DataStax spotlight series gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique experiences.  

Deepak Anand is the Head of Field Engineering for Americas at DataStax. He has a knack for looking across the boundaries to solve large-scale problems using digital technologies and innovation. Here, he shares a bit about himself, his career, and his role at DataStax.

How did you get into the industry?

Since my childhood, I have had a knack to explore things, take a deeper look at them and challenge the way we do things. I remember seeing people using computers as part of their jobs in banks, offices, etc. and my passion to get my hands on those machines and explore what we could do with it. 

All this made me decide that I want to pursue a career in computers and software and hence I went for a degree in computers. I completed my Masters of Computers Application degree in 2004, and as soon as I was done with it, I was tempted to get into the Industry and solve real-world problems with technology. 

How would you describe your job to a class of kindergartners?

My daughter is five and she is a Kindergartener. One day, while driving her to school, she, in fact, asked me, “Daddy, what do you actually do?” I explained to her, “Honey, you know when you watch YouTube or Netflix and as soon as you pick a video, the app gives you real-time suggestions/recommendations for the next videos to watch? That’s what my company helps those app providers to build those capabilities.” 

 

What are some challenges you have encountered during your career and how did you overcome them?

Getting settled in a new country and learning the culture and becoming part of it. I was born and raised in India and spent the major part of my life in India.

I moved to the U.S. in 2013 with my family and it was the greatest thing that could happen in our lives. But at the same time, we wanted to engrain the culture and the values of this country as we were going to be living here for the rest of our lives. We took this as an opportunity and a positive change in our lives and got into the rhythm of how we live, celebrate and have fun in the U.S. I am now a proud U.S. citizen.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

As I briefly covered earlier, I like to explore things and take a deeper look at it and that’s what landed me this role at DataStax. We help enterprises use the value of their data in real time and there isn’t a better solution to leverage your data in real time, exactly when you need it, without using DataStax products. 

What is one thing people do not know about you?

I am very picky when it comes to food. My wife has spoiled me by feeding me good food all the time :)

What is the most exciting thing you are working on right now?

I am excited about the opportunity we, at DataStax, have in front of us, to help enterprises realize the value of real-time data and help them build high-growth applications.

In my role, I am excited to coach a number of smart people who are helping us [DataStax] towards our mission – “We serve real-time applications with an open data stack that just works.”

One of the DataStax values is to Be an Owner in all that you do. How would you describe this value and what does it mean to you?

Our values define our culture and “Be an Owner” is one of the four values we live with. This is how I describe and apply this value to my day-to-day work. 

What do you do when you have a problem in your house? You go and own the problem and find the best solution instead of complaining about it to others.

That's exactly what it is. When we encounter a challenge or a problem at DataStax, we own it, find a solution and fix it. 

How do you think we can better promote Apache Cassandra^® within the database industry?

More and more developers and enterprises are adopting Cassandra and there are many more that would love to but they don’t have the time and the money to spend on the operational aspect of Cassandra. That’s where DataStax is helping enterprises leverage the full potential of Cassandra while not dealing with any of its operational overhead.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

There was a time when I would react to things if those didn’t go my way, but soon I learned the importance of context and perspectives.

We often judge others by their actions but judge ourselves by our intentions. When things don’t go your way, take a pause, understand the other person’s perspective and then react.