How to drive a project on NoSQL, Big data, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Hadoop, and other such technologies

I am authoring this blog after quite a long break from blogging. Once one gets married, promoted in the organization at the same time, and made responsible for more than 20+ projects as the Lead Architect for a portfolio, it's not easy to catch up with blogging. 

These days, I work on projects spanning technologies like Sharepoint 2013, .NET, jQuery, SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, Powerpivot, Powerview, Mobile web apps using Bootstap and jQueryMobile, Native apps using iOS xCode, and NoSQL based technologies like Elasticsearch and MongoDB. Working as a solution architect with a broad range of projects and technologies is like working as a chef in a kitchen. I get to mix and merge various technology combinations, to create various solution recipes that cater to project requirements. The only exception is bad recipes are not tolerated easily as significant cost is involved based on a architect's decision.

I have spent my career working with technologies that were predominantly from Microsoft space. But the world is changing, and so are the focus on technologies. I have been taking a lot of personal interest in studying more on the NoSQL based technologies that can tap intelligence from unstructured data as well as big data.

One of the biggest traits that many developer or architect generally have is the typical punch line "I can't learn by reading, I need hands-on experience of the technology I need to manage". If you are working with a multi-national organization, it's not that easy to land into a project where neither you would have an experience in the driving technology, and in most cases neither the organization would have any experience too. When organizations don't find or recognize use-cases for any particular technology, if you try to push or propose the technology, it would be seen as you are trying to sell the technology and it's a solution in search of a problem. 

So the big question is, how to bag an entry ticket into the NoSQL world and drive a project using NoSQL technologies ?

Some of the initiatives that can help professionals seeking to build competency in NoSQL as well as intending to drive NoSQL based projects, can consider the following points:

1) Setup a personal lab: Virtualization has made is easy to create a VM. Most of the NoSQL technologies require very modest resources (like 2 GB RAM and single core), to run the software. This can be a starting playground to start practicing the technology.

2) Join the global community: Platforms like Github and Stackoverflow have lot of community projects and real-life questions. By being an active observer as well as participant of these platforms, one can mature on the technology very fast as well as make oneself globally visible as an active professional in the technology of choice.

3) Create a community within your organization: Organizations feel comfortable in adopting technologies, which can be easily managed by the pool of people available in the organization. If you one of the few ones having grip on the technology, you may classify yourself in the niche bracket, but that does not increase organizations confidence to deal in the technology. To deal with this issue, you should conduct various awareness sessions to bring people are various levels up to speed with technology, and create a community of practice in the organization.

4) Pursue a professional training: Post you have been able to successfully pursue points 2 and 3, you can confidently ask for a budget from the organization to pursue professional training on the subject. Everyone's pocket might not allow to pursue training from one's own pocket !!

5) Develop and publish POCs: Confidence to adopt a technology and confidence in a professionals ability to manage a technology, is reflected by the professionals ability to justify the use-case for technology. Identifying use-cases and justifying through POCs are the best means for the same.

By following these 5 steps, I believe that one can establish oneself as well as one's organization in a position to make an entry in the NoSQL world. Let me know what you think.