1. My Experience with Olive
HUD HUD Cyclone
For urban software developers, touching generally involves fingers on a keyboard and mouse, interaction
which involves talking to a screen for many hours. However, on October 17, a team from Olive Technology
experienced human interaction on a personal basis. What happened will affect their view of the world
for a long time to come.
Cyclone “HUDHUD” hit the neighboring districts of
Andhra Pradesh with catastrophic damages. Beyond
the death toll, 3 million families 4,484 villages and
41,269 households were devastated. In a mainly
agricultural community, a vast area of farm land is
now in ruins and reports say that the food grains and
cash crops damages run into millions of rupees again
in damages.
Not uncommon at Olive where community service is
the norm, a call went out for volunteers to assist.
The employees of Olive came forward to help those
affected by this cyclone. Arriving with rice, lentils,
water and cooking oil, the team was overwhelmed with the devastation.
“In the cyclone affected area there was no power, water supply and minimum amenities. Trees uprooted
and fields now stripped bare. Telecommunications were out. It was a mixed feeling for all of us who
visited Vizag, as we saw the devastating state of the people, yet felt happy that we could contribute our
little for a greater cause. We took food, materials and medicines and distributed them to around 150-
200 families”
“Before our arrival, their suffering was just something I read about. Seeing them made the loss real.
Most of the people lived in huts and small houses. The winds destroyed it all. Without food and shelter,
our efforts almost seemed paltry, yet they were happy for minimum supplies. As people shared their
struggles, emotions and experiences I was unable to hold back my tears.”
“They were affected so badly that most of them
didn’t even have anything to eat. They needed a
helping hand. It was a great initiative by Olive. I'm
glad I was a part of it and I hope to be able to
participate in other relief efforts.”
Emmanuel, who lead the team says, “I feel
privileged serving them, we are busy in our work and
taking time to serve in an area of need is a great
thing. It is so hard to see the pain and struggle first-
hand and very difficult to meet all the needs of all
the people, but our effort will definitely make a
difference in the life of the Gajuwaka people.”

2. Emmanuel Raju Gunthoti
Like several other staff members, Emmanuel is a member of the Olive
Team, who found Olive to be more than an employment opportunity, he
found family. He started his professional journey as a programmer in
2007 for a year. After a two year break to further his education,
Emmanuel returned to Olive in 2011 as a Marketing Associate. Three
years later he serves Olive as a Software Quality Analyst. In this role,
Emmanuel is responsible for monitoring the principles and practices of
quality assurance like ISO 27001, ISO 9001 activities, QMS, ISMS
Processes & Policies, Information Risk Management, IT Audit &
Compliance Management and Security Incident Response Programs. Each
of these programs are subject to external audits which can be grueling,
but Emmanuel seems to take them in stride.
“Olive is like one big family, and is an extremely great place to grow. The company has made me
versatile and adaptable throughout my career. In addition to all the professional learning and growth
associated, the leadership at Olive promotes a friendly environment which nurtures various personal
aspects of life.
I have played multiple roles in this journey from Intern to Marketing Associate and Lead Generator. My
work in marketing taught me about competition for business and making proposals that meet client
needs. Later as a Project Coordinator I developed the skills to turn proposals into completed
projects. I enjoyed my work in Human Resources learning how to recruit, train and retain a highly
mobile staff. Now in QA, I make sure we run the processes to test and install final packages to the
client. We sign off on all our software with the pride that comes with excellence.”
At Olive we have found that the staff members who see Olive as a family, contribute to making it that
way. Emmanuel plays a major role in conducting social gatherings and special events like celebrating
monthly birthday parties, and encouraging employees to become involved in community social causes.
For his part Emmanuel, along with his team, works for a project called “India Gateway” a free service
helping ministries to create and service web applications.
At home, more accurately two homes, Emmanuel and his new bride Prashanthi face the challenges of
many couples who live in two different cities for employment. Emmanuel commutes back home every
weekend to be with his wife.