Software is conquering the world, and it is hungrily eyeing industries whose products and processes have traditionally had nothing to do with technology. While computers are getting smarter and more omnipresent in our lives, and AI is developing by the minute, we, humans, are still the only species asking what it means to be who we are. And who we are, at the end of the day, is a choice, and we are free to choose what we think and what is essential to our own humanity.
In the last decades, the number of choices that humans have to make has increased significantly, largely due to technological innovation. And it has forced a new challenge upon us, a new question to be answered - how to be a human in a machine and data-driven world?
In this whole rush, in a world where man and machine have to coexist, it’s sometimes great to just stop for a moment and take pleasure in the rich flavor of our daily bread. Find the courage to assume that the entire conception of the world may be wrong and just seek silence and contemplate our place in the great expanse of the cosmos. Right now, all you’re thinking, probably, is “Let’s go back to earth” 😉 so, without further ado… let’s meet another amazing Dynatracer - Nadeem Mushtaque @nadeem_m - who enjoys everyday life, our Community, and whose story will lift your... spirit.
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Can you share some details about your past? What is your story, how it happened that you decided to work in the IT / APM area, and how you became a Dynatracer?
Austria, Sweden, and India - are where my life mostly revolves. I was born and brought up in India and later moved to Sweden, where I studied and worked for 12 years before finally moving to Austria.
The story is a little funny - I was born very close to "Bodh Gaya" which has that famous tree (if you have heard of it) under which Buddha found enlightenment. I tried my very best to get enlightened, but before I could do anything, I had to move to Uppsala for higher studies. Uppsala is where most of the Viking kings are buried. Legend has it that it is the city of old Norse Gods - Thor, Odin, and Freyr. As a Viking, one must pay a visit to Uppsala or else one will have absolutely no access to Valhalla. I lived nearby, and every morning I ran past the royal mounds, and just before I had visited the shrines enough times to call myself a Viking, I met my future wife (from Austria), which led me to move to Linz. Last time I was seen trying to become an “Austrian Sherpa” near the foothills of Dachstein – a beautiful Alpine Mountain range in Austria.
From a very early age I have always been curious - what is the true story of the Universe or life in general? I find both physics and metaphysics extremely interesting. Reading "A brief history of Time" by Stephen Hawking and "What is Life" by Austrian Physicist Erwin Schrödinger influenced me quite a lot and probably later led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in physics. A few years later, curiosity (following the evolution and impact of Artificial Intelligence within our daily life) led me to do a master’s degree in computer science from Uppsala University. I feel very humbled to have studied at Uppsala University. There has been a tradition to visit Uppsala University after receiving Noble Prizes by Nobel Laureates. This gave me an immense opportunity to meet and ask direct questions to Nobel Laureates if I had any - satisfying my thirst for knowledge. A few times, I have also worked as a volunteer at Nobel lectures/dinners, and I still try to attend the Nobel Week dialogue every year.
Dynatrace was proposed as the best "equal opportunity employer in Austria" by my girlfriend - (She herself is one of the three founding members of another startup company from Linz, called "Rudy games"). I went through the usual application, interview, and hiring process and joined Dynatrace around 2 years ago. Prior to Dynatrace, I worked as Sr. Tech Support Officer for Microsoft and as IT Process Manager at IBM.
Can you tell us a little bit about your job? What interesting things you’re working on that you can share?
I work as Sr. Tech Support Engineer and as such, get a great opportunity to work with many different existing and future technologies with multiple high-net-value customers. This gives me a reasonable idea of what is currently happening in the IT landscape. It seems the "technological knife" is being sharpened at Dynatrace every day.
What makes you excited about being a part of the Dynatrace?
Dynatrace started as a small startup company in Linz and, in a very short span of time, has become a global player in the APM space. We hear such success stories generally about companies coming out of the bay area in San Francisco. If you’re not from the bay area, you really must be double smart to walk this line, and this is what I like most about Dynatrace. In my opinion, all Dynatracers are D-Smart (Double-Smart aka Dynatrace-Smart).
How is the Community helping you in your job? Why do you think it’s worth being a part of the Dynatrace Community? What best advice can you give someone who just started using Community?
If I don’t know something, I generally look for an answer on the Community pages. Most of the time, I find the answer. If I don’t find and could find an answer later through research or other channels or resources, then I make it a point to post an article on Dynatrace Community - in an effort that might help our fellow Community members in the future.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know. What is your biggest joy or passion in life?
Every day I follow 4+2=6 Mantras of life. Three of these come from My grandfather, who claimed he got it from a Himalayan Monk. Later I added 3 more to it (as the world is changing), and I call it 4+2=6 mantras of life (4 individual and 2 non-individual).
1. Mind [To think and learn something new every day]
2. Body [To exercise or work/get tired physically, and to rest]
3. Soul [Examples are to help, to do charity, etc.]
4. Economy [To earn, save and invest]
5. Community [Keeping society before oneself sometimes, thinking as plural and not individual, being selfless]
6. Environment [Save energy, reduce carbon footprint, keep surroundings clean, don’t pollute]
Other than that, in my free time, you will mostly find me cycling or hiking in nature/wilderness.
What’s one thing on your bucket list? Your dream?
I would love to write a book one day. One of my childhood friends "Siddharth" has written science fiction (here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Space-Babies-Siddharth-Priyadarshi/dp/B09V3DDN8S). I would love to write something similar.
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Nadeem, thank you for being with us. We appreciate your contribution to the Community! And as every day of life is a new chapter, we all are writers in some way already. 😉 Regardless, we wish you not only to write the best book of your life but also author the second one, maybe a science fiction too.
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