Kamal Dwivedi: Defining the True Essence of Professionalism

In an exclusive interview with Insights Success Magazine, Kamal Dwivedi – Senior Manager- Cognizant talks about his journey.  As a seasoned technocrat who has experienced all the flavours the industry, he is determined to reach the epitome of success by the virtue of his hard work & the zeal to succeed.
IS: Kindly talk about your early years so that our readers can get a glimpse of your early childhood days, family, education, and early aspirations in life.
Kamal: Born to a very simple and traditional Brahmin family, my Dad is in Indian Judicial Services and mother is home maker. Having two elder sisters, I always been a darling son of my parents. My childhood spent in and across Madhya Pradesh as due to Dad’s government service we used to have location transfer in every 2-3 years. Studying in different school has helped me to get along with new people and made me adaptable in different culture and conditions. Post schooling I made my base to Indore for Graduation and Post-graduation and did start my IT career from Indore only in Year 2004.
IS: What was the point in your life when you were sure of having a career in IT field?
Kamal: I was in my teens when my father was appointed as honourable Justice at MP High Court and it was expected from my family to make a career in Law field but it was pure destiny which took a turn in my life when I crack MCA entrance exam in the year 2000.  It was era of IT boom where IT professional were treated as soon to be NRIs and whiz kids. For me it was swimming in the wind direction to accelerate my passion to pursue in IT industry.
During college days I was always fascinated by new gadgets and mobile technology, that was the time in which mobiles were just entered in Indian market and this is the beginning of new world dominated by Yahoo Chat, Internet surfing, web site development and mobile games.
Somewhere inside me I was sure I wanted to part of this IT fraternity and it was a decided and agreed move to jump into IT world and find my shore.
IS: Today, the IT domain is vast and continues to disrupt every business setup by the virtue of innovations and changing business models. How have you aligned yourself to be a part of this ecosystem?
Kamal: As said change is the only constant thing in the world one has to always make yourself adjustable to the changes happen in the environment. I have been open to work on new products and technologies, it helped me to learn new things and cop up with the latest trends. I started my career as Java developer and slowly move to ITSM and CRM product base industries and now managing Service Now projects which is niche and most widely used IT platform in today’s time.
It’s the Zeel of learning with in me which helps me to keep myself updated and got absorb into the new technology and service platforms. 
IS: You have travelled to numerous countries due to your professional commitments.  Kindly talk about the experience and how has it helped you to evolve in the professional environment.
Kamal: In the early career sprint only, I got an opportunity to work in UK from 2006 till 2009. In these 3 years I have travelled to entire UK and Europe for project development work. This particular phase of my life will be most special and instrumental throughout my life. When I first time landed at Heathrow airport way back in 2006 I was having lots of aspirations and dreams to be fulfilled with lot of energy and motivation but I was lacking of work experience and self-confidence.
Working far from home made me more responsible as a person. I came across initial hurdles and home sickness but slowly and steadily I evolve as a person and identified myself as more calm and composed man.
I learned a lot from people I worked with in UK and Europe, the ways of working people follow there has really helped me to plan and prioritize things in life and how to balance the professional life without having impact on personal commitments.
IS: How does your family contributes to your success?
Kamal: Family is my strongest support system in my entire career. My wife Barkha, who is a home maker has been a constant support of me throughout my life. The journey from no-one to become someone; She is been there standing strong and motivating and encouraging me. My Daughter Sia and Son Yug been my two pillars of joy and my stressbusters.
I have inherited the values of discipline and patience from my Dad. My Mom is a true devotee of God taught me to have faith in God irrespective of whatever went wrong in life. These values have kept me grounded and define me as a positive person.
IS: Kindly take us through your job role?
Kamal: I am working as a Senior Manager at Cognizant and responsible for the successful initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of the projects for Service Now Practice.
My responsibilities includes accomplishment of  project deliverables, planning, monitoring and appraising job results; coaching, counselling, and disciplining employees; initiating, coordinating, and enforcing best practise in project design, development, release and deployment.
The responsibility includes End-to-end accountability for running the Project management for IT demands and to supervise all operations and profitability of a projects.
IS: What is your idea of relaxation? Kindly talk about your hobbies, interest, and activities you indulge in when you are not working.
Kamal: Though I don’t get much time to pursue hobbies but spending time with family and friends on weekends are the most simple and best idea of my relaxation. I enjoy every bit of my time I spend with my kids. They gave me best positive energy and feedback and I cherish their company. As a Bollywood fan watching movie on weekends is another thing I like most.
IS: How do you portray the future of Information Technology in India?
Kamal: In one word it will be Booming. More flourishing, Prosperous and Emerging. We are living in a IT world we are so used to today’s technology that we employ its sources in our day to day life. It is evident from the fact that we are dependent on IT services for everything we do and it has made our lives, easier and comfortable.