Dont Overestimate the Value of Numbers

That is a terrible thing to tell you at the end of an issue that is twice the

size of regular Dataquest issues in terms of number of pages. And most of those

pages are packed with tables, pies and bar graphs filled with numbers,

occasionally disturbed by some text, which again is generously sprinkled with

more numbers.

To tell you to not give too much importance to numbers at the end of such an

issue may look like those time management exercises, where the last sentence

tells you to ignore all the above instructions.

The only problem is: it is not a time management exercise. All those numbers

are compiled by us and analyzed by us for sure. But they are not generated by

us. They are generated by you, working through out the year. If you are part of

the industry, that is a scorecard of your performance. If you are a user of IT,

it is the money that you invest in IT that adds up to those numbers.

You know DQ Top 20; many of you know it for a far longer period than I do. It

is a one-of-a-kind exercise, available anywhere in the world, primarily because

India is base to a huge export services industry that is part of this study.

Yet, DQ Top 20 does not contain much information about companies that did

innovative work, grew rapidly but have revenues that are below Rs 36 crore (the

cut-off for DQ 200).

DQ Top 20 does not provide you the details at the level you want in many of

the segments. In some cases, because we do not have access to information at

that level, but in most cases, we do not have enough number of pages. Some of my

colleagues get so excited about the segments that they come to me asking for

more pages. I myself felt like doing that for my analysis on engineering

services, as I felt four pages do not do justice to such a booming industry

segment. Most of the Indian IT industry is growing and is passing through a very

exciting period.

Shyamanuja Das

DQ Top 20, despite having more than 30 different segments (new segments get

added almost every year) and sub-segments, still misses some, as is pointed out

passionately by players in those segments. Many of them feel those are the most

interesting segments to analyze. And I fully understand the passion involved.

DQ Top 20 does not give an idea of the depth of IT services work that happen

in India; it does not give you an analysis of the level of research and

development that is happening out of India, except some passing mentions in some

cases.

DQ Top 20 does not give you a report card on the pioneering efforts in

corporate social responsibly by IT companies.

DQ Top 20 does not give you many such things that you want us to include.

Most of those stories cannot be captured through numbers. Does it mean that

they are not important? Of course, all of us know the answer.

Yes, we do stories and reports on many of these throughout the year. But many

of you argue non-inclusion in DQ Top 20 means we do not give enough importance

to those areas.

I was touched by a comment from an industry executive who said entering a

particular ranking bracket by the company that he works for has been his

personal dream for close to a decade. The ranking is a number. The sense of

achievement that people like him derive out of that number is the value behind

it.

And many of you will agree with me that often appraisals depend on those

numbers; customers shortlists depend on those numbers; and investment decisions

depend on those numbers.

So, while it is true that theres life beyond numbers and one should not

overestimate their value, dont underestimate them either.