alessandro.spadoni/profile is the SCN Member of the Month for January 2014. He's an ABAP developer and SAP NetWeaver consultant from Italy who likes keeping up with the latest trends and sharing what he learns on SCN. A lot of his spare time is dedicated to SAP and the community, which means he's probably an addict like some of you 😉 Check out his blogs Excel -like custom grid control in SAPUI5 #OpenUI5 and BSP mobile logon screen using jQuery Mobile.
I spoke with Alessandro on Epiphany day (January 6). I learned that the day is a holiday in Italy as it is in other parts of Europe. In France, we eat a nice almond cake with a lot of butter in it with a "fève" (porcelain bean) hidden in it. Whoever gets the piece with the "fève" becomes the "King" or "Queen" and gets to pick a "Queen" or "King". It's a nice tradition, despite a slight risk of breaking a tooth. Alessandro got on the phone with me from his parents' home (sorry, no video!) and I'm sure he had a good day and that good food was involved. For sure he was happy to be the member of the month. Read on.
Ciao Alessandro! Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you live, who you work for, and other things you would like to share with the community (hobbies, fun facts)?
My name is Alessandro and I live in Rome. It's a city I love, full of history. I've been in SAP technical support for 10 years, mainly working on ABAP. I develop new apps, connecting Java with ERP. I have experience with Javascript and other web technologies such as AJAX. On a personal level, I like to listen to electronic music and watch movies. I used to produce electronic music until 2008, but not anymore. All my spare time is now dedicated to SAP and development.
You recently changed jobs and joined Techedge as a consultant. Is it a big career change for you to be a consultant after working as a developer for several years?
It wasn't a decision difficult to take. Techedge is a good company, with offices across the world, and a strong reputation in the Italian market.
sergio.ferrari2 and ivan.femia are the two SAP Mentors from Italy and they work there! patrizia.rossi2 and I joined the company at the same time, she was in the same company as me before and now we took this big step together. She’s also on SCN, and together we participated in events and organized some of them together. Usually they are in Milan where the SAP office is, but we started organizing events in Rome.
The Italians are like the French, they could talk about food forever, right 😉 What’s your favorite Italian dish?
What I like here in Italy is that every region has special dishes, you have to try them. There's even different kinds of pasta as well. In my Blog It Forward post I shared about the specialty in my region "amatriciana".
When did you become a member of SCN and what brought you to this community?
I joined SCN in 2008, at the time I was following discussion forums. SCN was – and still is – the best resource on the web. Then I signed up to start answering questions and write blogs. Every ABAPer who tries to learn gets to SCN. Today I spend less time answering questions, I prefer writing blogs because I like sharing cool stuff with the community. In a blog you have more opportunities to write about a topic and share an idea or opinion. I still read discussions though, because you can learn different perspectives or areas that you're just discovering, such as SAPUI5.
How do you find the time to contribute on SCN?
It’s not easy to find the time. It depends on my workload. Every week is different. If I have an idea for a new blog, I keep it in mind and try to write is as soon as possible. I sometimes write blogs that have several parts. But recently with my new job I haven't been able to find the time.
I’ve seen that you share content on “hot stuff” such as SAPUI5, HANA Cloud Platform, node.js, etc. Do you like keeping track of new technologies?
I can’t tell if it’s hot stuff 😉 But I like to be up to date, there are cool platforms that I can use to develop on Javascript. All technologies are linked together. I like JQUERY, HANA, and a JS client that makes a connection with the HANA database. I don't know if it's generally available or a beta version... I heard about it at TechEd recently.
You know, you have to keep your mind open and learn new things. Understand the overall context and identify opportunities for growth. For example, with the HANA Cloud Platform the front end technology is SAPUI5. If I learn about it I can use it for ABAP and also HANA.
Did you go to TechEd?
No I didn’t, but I followed the tweets and discussions during the event. I've never been to a TechEd actually.
Note from Laure: Hopefully with your new company you'll have the chance to go this year!
If this is something you particularly like to do - learn about new technologies - Can you tell us about what you recently learned? And what technology recently had you most enthusiastic about? It doesn’t have to be related to SAP.
Yes, SAPUI5 and node.js are things I’m very excited about.
Also, recently in the SAP course with Thomas Jung I learned about XS Engine, a web application server inside HANA. That sounds interesting as well.
And a Norwegian company called Neptune Software launched a product called Neptune Application Designer. It's been certified by SAP and allows ABAP developers to build mobile applications inside the ABAP stack. They don’t need Javascript anymore to do that. It's a cool product.
I contributed on Code Exchange for a project and now that code is on github I need to learn about it.
If a new member came to you and asked for your advice on how to be an active and respected member of SCN, what would you say?
There isn’t only one way to be active and successful. SCN is wide. You can contribute the way you want to, there’s plenty of opportunities. Do what you prefer and feel comfortable with. The recognition program is there to encourage you. I like the gamification – badges and missions – I recently go the SAP Inside Track speaker badge and it’s cool 🙂
Is there an SCN member you admire (OK… you can name a few)? And for what reason?
Definitely. ivan.femia and sergio.ferrari2of course.
patrizia.rossi2 and rui.nogueira who organized CodeJam for HANA Cloud Platfom.
dj.adams who shares stuff about SAPUI5. His deep knowledge of the ABAP stack is interesting.
se38 who is knowledged about the ABAP library.
thomas.jung of course. I attended an SAP course where he presented and it was wonderful. He has an innate ability to teach things.
Easy question: Mac/iOS or Windows? Or Android?
I use Windows every day at work. I have an iPhone and iPad and iPod Touch. Don’t have a Mac but I’m a fan of Apple’s mobile devices.
Are you on Twitter?
Yes, I'm @alespad. I follow you and I think you follow me 😉
I mainly share technical stuff on Twitter, whether it’s SAP or not SAP related. I retweet things I find interesting.
I also use it as a feed of SCN blogs. I do log in on SCN because I want to monitor my content, respond, etc, but Twitter is the entry point for new blogs.
Every month, a member of the SAP Community Network is recognized for exemplary behavior: sharing knowledge with peers, being helpful and taking on additional tasks to support community engagement. See the list of previous SCN Members of the Month.
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