Zscaler Hackathon Surfaces Product Solutions, New Ideas for Growth

On Friday, September 22 more than 150 Zscaler product engineers kicked off our first-ever Zscaler Hackday. Participants in the marathon event worked in teams to build out previously approved ideas and then pitch proof of concepts to three judges, all with the potential to help fuel Zscaler’s growth. 

Organized by Prasanna Jobigenahally, Sr. Software Architect, Vishal Gautam, Sr. Director of Engineering, and Satish Kalipatnapu, Distinguished Software Architect, teams lived our core values of Innovation and Teamwork for a solid, 24 hours from 5 a.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday PST / 5 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Saturday IST. The “Barrier Breakers: Sky’s the Limit” theme guided teams as they worked feverishly to build prototypes that could enhance Zscaler’s product offerings through new product features, process and productivity improvements, scaling, and large language models (LLMs). 

“In my previous organizations, hackathons were a regular occurrence that cultivated a culture of creativity, collaboration, and out-of-the-box thinking. I wanted to bring that immense value to Zscaler,” Prasanna said. “Our spirit of innovation was already instilled at Zscaler, so we aimed to add to it by creating an environment where breaking barriers and pushing boundaries was not only encouraged, but celebrated.”

With a majority of the engineering team participating, the self-organized teams found rising early to participate in the hackathon offered an opportunity to explore projects that were outside of their usual scope and routine. 

“The idea of brainstorming on something new and that was outside of my day-to-day work was interesting,” said Shweta Gupta, Staff Software Engineer. “It allowed me to work on projects that were inspired by the main pain points customers experience in our existing products. It was my first time participating in a hackathon and it was an amazing, fun experience!”

Prior to hackathon day, a submissions call resulted in 70 ideas, far more than the dozen ideas anticipated. Most ideas were inspired by the need to address specific customer and business problems, take advantage of technology trends, and maximize the collective expertise from fellow participating engineers.  

Come hackathon day, teams of engineers worked together virtually on their projects, though a few teams worked in the Mohali, India office and a small group spent the night in San Jose, California Headquarters. The groups of three or four individuals moved ideas through brainstorming to design, lending their array of talent and knowledge, creativity, and perseverance to complete their concepts on a short deadline.

“The collaboration within our team was exceptional,” said Akshay Yelmar, Senior UX Designer. “We had individuals with diverse skill sets and backgrounds, which allowed us to approach problems from different perspectives in a fast-paced and dynamic nature.”

Upon completion of their work, teams demonstrated their proof of concept in five-minute Zoom presentations to judges Chakkaravarthy Perlyasamy Balaiah, VP & GM, ZDX - Development, Raj Krishna, Senior Vice President of New Initiatives, and Sanjay Kalra, VP, Product Management - Engineering. Between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. PST / 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. IST Saturday, the judge panel viewed 43 completed concept presentations, asked questions, and then scored each project on three criteria: innovation, execution, and impact. 

“Some of the work quality was really great and we are able to embed that work into some of our products with a few modifications,” said Chakkaravarthy. “Additionally, there were several projects related to supportability/programmer productivity. This wasn't expected and was a pleasant surprise, given Chief Technology Officer Syam Nair’s emphasis on rewarding such work which serves as force multipliers for support and engineering.”

Sanjay added: “Witnessing this widespread initiative to not only develop new features, but also to focus on making the product more robust and supportable, was a significant ‘aha’ moment for me. It showcased that these engineers weren't just thinking about the immediate enhancements, but were considering the long-term sustainability and usability of the product."

A total of six winning teams (two per category) received $4,000 to be divided equally, and eight ideas are currently being further evaluated, refined, and developed. This additional vetting ensures the most promising ideas keep moving forward and have a clear path toward implementation and eventual impact within the organization. 

Congratulations to all participants on completing their hackathon proof of concepts and for showcasing Zscaler’s high level of innovation and teamwork