NPA Awards Categories

Top of the Mark - Volunteer Award honors the networking professional who has made the most effective combination of the ideals of professionalism and is a notable example of the best in giving back through selfless effort. Rahul Nathan volunteers a large amount of time leading groups such as My-TUG (Mysore Technology User Group) and MY-TDG (Mysore Technology Developer Group) which focus on Microsoft Technologies like the Windows Server, Exchange Server, Dot Net and SQL Server. He has also lead the Microsoft SQL Server Chapter of the Professional Association for SQL Server (SQL PASS) in Mysore and Bangalore IT Pro Users Group.

Rahul Nathan tells of his experience…
My name is Rahul Nathan and I am from India. I have been a Technology Community Leader for over 5 years now. My association began with contributions in the newsgroups and User Groups of Microsoft in India. I soon became a group leader. I lead the Bangalore IT Pro User Group for several years, introduced innovating ideas like intercity community meetings over the Internet etc. and then decided to go beyond and try to share my knowledge and experience in the rural part of India in late 2008.

I was awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award in 2006 and 2007 for my contributions to Microsoft Windows Networking communities and played a key role in providing Microsoft teams valuable inputs for the Networking stack used in Microsoft Vista Operating System during my visit to Microsoft Campuses in USA, China and India. In the following years 2008 and 2009 I have been recognized as a Microsoft MVP in the Virtualization technology space.

My community contributions are mainly now in the space of taking the technology communities idea to the Rural parts of India. I initiated the formation of the Mysore / Mandya Technology Group in the state of Karnataka in India in 2008 with the help of a trust called Positive Actions Foundation (https://www.Positivekingdom.org ). Thanks to the help of fellow Microsoft MVPs and very good local support the community has over 250 members in a short period. This community tries to help people of Rural India by taking latest technology updates to them from the wealth of knowledge the community leaders have collected over the years and information collected from various other sources.

With a lot of Global support from various sources we have been able help the people of the region a lot. Some would say that information is available over the internet but I think presenting information to a group of people in a way they understand and then helping clarify their doubts is very important. We feel we have done this and created a lot of excitement and passion for technology in the hearts of many. I feel really good when people say I have impacted their lives even if it is in a small way. I am in the process of initiating such communities in other parts of India also. Interestingly when our community in Mysore / Mandya was started people laughed at me and said there was no scope. But I am very happy to have proved them wrong. It takes a lot of effort to change mind sets but once people understand the value, technology communities can drive themselves.

I see my contribution as a mindset changer in technology community space. I do not do this for money so. I do not do this because someone is forcing me. I do it because I feel I learnt a lot in life from people, I have been fortunate that I got wonderful opportunities in life, I grew my own self confidence and now I feel the urge to give back to the technology world. I was among the first few in the world to get Windows 2003 certification in 2003 and ever since then I have never looked back. Today the Microsoft and Cisco Technologies earn me my living and I feel obligated to share my knowledge and help a few more individuals succeed in life and may be even be major bread winner for their family. I initiated the SQL Server Community school program in the Mandya / Mysore region and hope to do more by starting with the basics of technology of various kinds to enrich the lives of people.

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