Tuesday comprised a full day of meetings with the ex-SeeBeyond organization in Hyderabad. Dale and I talked with each of the functional groups: about the group membership; what they were doing; the major issues that they faced (strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities); and how the integration into Sun was going to affect them. After that, we sat down with all of the managers and team leads in order to answer a few more questions and go over some final points: the key milestones of the integration plans; some thoughts about how and when some of Sun’s engineering and product practices will be introduced; and how the Hyderabad operation fits into Sun’s global plans. The whole day felt very positive.

At the end of the day Sunil took Dale and me out to a traditional South Indian restaurant (“Our Place”). The food was excellent, although I ate a little more than I really should have…. We then went back to the Sheraton to pack and prepare for an early departure to Bangalore. It turned out that a government minister (or some similar dignitary) was staying in the hotel, and security was really tight. All the cars were being searched and checked underneath with mirrors, there were portable metal detectors set up in several places, and uniformed men were wandering around brandishing various firearms, ancient and modern (from state-of-the-art assault weapons to antique 303 Lee-Enfield rifles).

I successfully negotiated the security, retired to my room, packed, brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, turned on the English-language television news, and was confronted with pictures of severe flooding in Bangalore. “And the deluge is expected to continue for 48 hours,” said the newscaster, excitedly. What on earth was I letting myself in for?