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With thousands of contributors, Snowflake’s Community is one of the platform’s best help and training resources. We spoke to the Community’s top-ranked contributor and experienced Data Superhero, Rajiv Gupta, to find out what drives his dedication.

The Snowflake Community offers highly accessible training and resources that no amount of documentation can provide. Why? Because behind every blog post, video walkthrough, and forum discussion lies a dedicated Snowflake user whose sole aim is to help everyone get the most out of the platform. 

One of these people is Rajiv Gupta. And if you’re already familiar with Snowflake’s Community and its Data Superheroes, you’ll have already heard of him. Gupta is Snowflake’s top-ranked Data Superhero, amassing more than 173,000 Community points in just under two years. And as a Senior Architect and Senior Manager at Cognizant, he’s already helped the company become Snowflake’s most SnowPro-Certified customer through a concerted certification drive. 

To find out more about what inspires Gupta to blaze trails in the Snowflake Community, we recently caught up with him—between his day job and Data Superhero blogging, of course. 

It all started with a blog

Having worked the best part of his career using Oracle MySQL, Gupta reached a crossroads where he realized the need to shift his expertise away from on-premises databases to the cloud. And while he wasn’t sure which technology to build his skills in at first, his SQL experience made Snowflake the clear choice. 

After achieving an enviable 90% in his first Snowflake certification exam, Gupta saw a significant opportunity not just to share his knowledge with others, but also give something back to the Snowflake Community that had helped him build his knowledge. 

“The first blog I wrote for the Snowflake Community was on how to get Snowflake certified in just two weeks,” said Gupta. “I got so much enjoyment from publishing it and helping other people that it spurred me on to give back more to the Snowflake Community—I didn’t want anyone to struggle with their certifications. So, I created an Excel sheet to help people evaluate their Snowflake skills, assess their readiness for certification, and identify any knowledge gaps. For me, it was all about making Snowflake accessible for first-time users.” 

If this wasn’t enough, Gupta also created a help sheet for certification exams, and thanks to the expertise he’s amassed, he now even helps write Snowflake’s certification exam questions. 

Giving back to the community has wide-ranging benefits

Gupta’s tireless efforts to distill heavily technical documentation, stay abreast of the latest product releases, and provide timely answers to Snowflake users’ questions haven’t gone unnoticed in the community. “People regularly tell me my resources helped them pass their certifications because it saved them lots of time wading through extensive documentation,” said Gupta. “The truth is, Snowflake is way too big for any one person to be an expert across everything. So, I’m glad my content—including new product demonstrations—is helping people get the most out of the platform.” 

And it’s not just recognition from Snowflake’s Community that Gupta benefits from. As a Data Superhero, he now has advanced access to upcoming resources and product previews before most other Snowflake customers—allowing him to produce resources for the Snowflake Community ahead of time, giving users the best possible chance of success. 

While Gupta is now the number one contributor to the Snowflake Community, his reputation as a Data Superhero has also had a significant positive impact on his role at Cognizant. “My colleagues from across Cognizant now come to me for help and advice—wherever they are in the world,” said Gupta. “I also help our clients implement Snowflake’s Data Cloud and even provide Snowflake training to the Cognizant Academy.” 

Given the combination of Gupta’s expertise and his dedication to entrenching Snowflake at Cognizant, it’s little wonder why the company now boasts more than 300 Snowflake-certified professionals across its organization. 

The sky’s the limit for Data Superheroes

Never keen to rest on his laurels, Gupta naturally has lots of plans for the future, with several exciting new content pieces in the works. But like any committed Data Superhero, he’s keeping most of his ideas a surprise for his avid followers. 

And for any aspiring Data Superheroes looking to get started in the Snowflake Community, Gupta has this advice: “Start thinking about how to give back to the Snowflake Community in any way you can. It’ll benefit everyone—not least yourself,” he said.

Learn more about the Snowflake Data Super Heroes Community, and see how you can get involved. 

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Originally posted on August 30, 2022 @ 2:27 am