Deepa Kuppuswamy
Life at Zoho
Describe your current role in the organization.
I spent over a decade leading the engineering of various products in ManageEngine and have been working in the information security domain for a decade now. In my current role, I head the team responsible for designing and managing the technical security and data protection measures within the organization. Evangelizing security and building a strong security culture within Zoho has been the motto of our team.
What does your work space currently look like?
I like to have a clutter-free workplace with just basic, essential things—laptop, Wi-Fi router, headphones, chargers, notepads, and pen stand. Anything else goes into the storage drawers, which are easily accessible. And, of course, it gets adorned periodically with my daughter's craftworks, her toy—globe, and her scribblings. :)
What role does Zoho’s company culture play in your identity and the work that you do?
Zoho has given me the space to identify my strength and reinvent myself at various phases of my career. I had the freedom to change teams and choose challenging problems to work on. It has also taught me to be committed for the long haul and work towards the long term.
There are no shortcuts to success—it requires passion, hard work, and perseverance. The company culture instills a greater sense of purpose than just measuring the work by designations and remuneration. The culture of freedom and trust in employees provides the confidence to take on bigger challenges and learn from failures.
At Work
Your most embarrassing blunder?
When I was leading the engineering for one of the products, I pushed the release for a major upgrade in my zeal to keep up with the deadlines and customer expectations. This caused major issues in the customer environment, and the quality suffered. Not once, but this happened twice in quick succession. Lesson well learned—we had to pull back on the release, redesign and rework things, keep the team morale up, and deliver.
Is there a project or an accomplishment at Zoho you’re proud of?
I transitioned from engineering to the information security domain in 2014. It was a new technical domain; the career path required effective communication, collaboration, and persuasion among the various business units in the organization. The role also requires aligning with business objectives, making the teams understand the value of security and privacy, arriving at solutions to be a business enabler, and not being a blocker but helping the organization grow in a secure way.
I have been a part of building the overall security program, which has matured over the last decade. As a team, we have made significant progress towards security awareness and privacy by design. We have also engineered a secure development pipeline and established incident response procedures. Building a strong and sustainable security culture within Zoho is our motto; we have made great strides in this and will continue to do so in the future.
Getting Personal
Any memorable moments of your journey captured?
Hacktober event at Zoho.
Travel with family.
Friends at Zoho for 21 years.
What are some of your favorite activities outside of work?
Reading has been my favorite hobby since my childhood. From being an avid fiction reader, I have slowly transitioned to nonfiction in the past few years. I also enjoy immersing myself in the magic world of kids' stories I read to my daughter.
My other favorite hobby is traveling. Nothing gives me more pleasure than dreaming about the next destination, planning the nitty-gritty details of the trip, and soaking in the experience of exploring new places, foods, and cultures. And the memories last for a lifetime!
Words of Wisdom
Be curious. Ask questions and soak in all the information you can in the early phase of your career. Be strong in your basics and develop deep domain knowledge. Be a continuous learner.
Challenge yourself. Be willing to try new things, and have the drive to deliver. As you grow in your career, earn trust amongst your peers, subordinates, and superiors.
Be humble and develop empathy.
