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Satyam Infoway: Ahead Of The Crowd

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DQI Bureau
New Update

Five years back, the predominant business model was to tap the software exports market and be involved in ERP implementation projects. But

Hyderabad-based Satyam Computers was busy envisioning a digital business age where organizations would use the networked environment to efficiently do business. Simply put, its mission was to ‘enable business over a wire.’ And it planned to spin off a company to make this concept of a ‘wired community’ a reality. In 1997 Satyam Infoway Ltd was established–a company that was to focus on internet and ecommerce businesses in India. 

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However, the going was not easy. First, the Government kept the ISP Policy in abeyance for nearly a year even though the clearance for privatization of the ISPs was granted in principle–a dampener to the kick-start of Satyam’s ISP business. Satyam Infoway had to find other ways of getting along with its mission while still waiting for the ISP policy to be announced. The company’s strategic tie-ups with Sterling Commerce, Open Markets and CompuServe Networks helped it position itself as a network service provider offering internet and ecommerce services. It steadily built its corporate customers. In the meantime, the company also built its TCP/IP network across 12 nodes in the country to support the ISP business.

There has been no looking back since. The company has been in the limelight all through and has been recognized for several ‘firsts.’ With the announcement of the ISP Policy in 1998, Satyam Infoway jumped onto the internet bandwagon to become the first private ISP in India. The company now spans 33 locations and has a subscriber base of 118,000 in the internet access business. Again, it became the first Indian internet company to be listed on

Nasdaq. Its ADS issue was oversubscribed by 27 times, making it the largest ever over-subscription among Indian ADR offerings. 

The company’s strategy to address the internet and ecommerce has been through its 3C formula–of graduating from connectivity to content to commerce.

While the ISP business takes care of connectivity, Satyam Infoway is building up its content on the net through a heavy focus on portals. The company has a wide spectrum of channels such as movies, music, shopping, finance, chats and discussions, which was further strengthened with the much talked about acquisition of Indiaworld.com at a staggering Rs500

crore. Now Satyam Infoway is actively planning its ecommerce and community building strategies. It is focusing on strengthening its infrastructure with its own gateway, portals and security feature for electronic transactions. With so much happening, Satyam Infoway has become a ‘company to watch out for’ in the new millennium. 

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