The Bible of the IT industry marches on

Hello Friends!

It’s really a pleasure to talk to you on the occasion of CyberMedia turning 40 years old along with our first product Dataquest. It’s such a privilege to have watched the entire industry, to have chronicled it, to have created a very strong influence through the various kinds of activities that we did in DQ.

I remember when we started, the industry was a fledgeling one. The entire industry was `100 crores. Today we are talking of more than $200 billion in business with so many established players.

I think the role we have played in ensuring that it was a very robust journey is something that I am very proud of. We took up different kinds of issues right from the beginning. We nurtured the entire industry. We became the source of all variety of data for the industry. DQ Top 20 was the source that was used by the people to look at what was happening in the industry.

We played a role in terms of picking up issues. We were the first to take up software anti-piracy and computers in the classroom. We talked about broadband, Wi-Fi and networking as it was coming. We looked at whether the PC or the Internet was going to be at the centre of the universe and the mobile revolution that followed.

Because of the role that CyberMedia and Dataquest played, it is referred to as the Bible of the IT Industry. It catalogued, it chronicled, it drove the direction of the industry and that is something that we will continue to do as we go ahead in the future.

The other products from CyberMedia shaped the industry in their own manner, like PCQuest through its reviews and CD-ROMs. The entire developer community and young people who were coming up at that time were bred on PCQ. Voice & Data played the transformational role in terms of ensuring that the telecom revolution in this country happened.

We have taken up the issue of disability in a very serious manner. We have created a special section this year in the magazines on our 40th year to ensure that we dedicate one year to assistive technology. We think there should be inclusivity in terms of growth for all.

Another very influential thing that DQ did was to recognize the stalwarts of the industry. The Dataquest Person of the Year, the Dataquest Lifetime Achievement Award and the Pathbreaker Award were very aspirational. They were often referred to as the Oscars of the IT industry. They chronicled the entire growth that was happening in different kind of sectors: Hardware, software exporters, product companies, those associated with the Internet revolution, the startup ecosystem and so on. It was a chronicling of the evolution of the industry.

We have now taken the theme of India@2047. In the next 25 years we will be celebrating 100 years of India’s Independence and DQ will continue to play that role to ensure that India becomes Tech Nation No. 1. That should be our goal for 2047 and we will there as partners of that particular journey. I hope to again share what all we have achieved when we reach that particular milestone.

As we celebrate our Ruby Anniversary, once again friends, it’s been a very exciting journey but much more excitement lies ahead of us. CyberMedia and Dataquest will continue to be there with you and for you.

Pradeep Gupta

Chairman & Managing Director