When “snake charmers” also developed great software

When I was asked by the current Editor of Dataquest to write about the early days of DQ and its influence, the first thought was: Why? What, if any, is the relevance of something that happened 40 years ago?

In my present avatar I am a leadership and executive coach with clients like BCG, Deloitte, Accenture, Mastercard, HSBC and others. I work with tech savvy 40 something leaders. They are aware and informed growth-oriented people. They are always looking to the future. One of challenges that I have is sharing with them what I did in my previous avatar. They cannot comprehend the challenges of Information Technology 40 years back. Some of them were not even born then. And in the intervening years so much has changed. Sometimes I get through. Sometimes I give up with a rueful smile.

So, what could be the purpose of an article like this? How would it be relatable?

One reason to look at history is to try and figure out what made such amazing innovations and change possible at the society level. Because the same forces, the same motivations, the same convictions are playing a role today also – and will do so for the next 40 years.

I believe, from empirical evidence collected over years that we also encouraged many young people to take up this field as a career option – in many cases against the wishes and beliefs of society in general.

The mid-1980s were interesting times for IT in India. Microsoft was about 10 years old. Dell was a just born toddler. And Accenture was yet to be born. The HCL group was a decade old. IBM in contrast was about 60 years old. But the first Personal Computer introduced by it (IBM 5150) had been around only for 3-4 years. The first PC, the Altair, had been around for about 10 years. And the size of the IT industry was maybe about Rs 100 crores. About US$ 12 million. As per a NASSCOM survey last year it was over US$ 200 billion.

The role that DQ played was to support, cheer, inform – and at some places even lead the industry.

The first role was obviously to inform the participants in the industry about what was happening elsewhere. It helped them to keep abreast of opportunities, take encouragement from others, compete with them and grow. The annual surveys of the IT industry (DQ Top 20) became the single most important source of information that lent direction. And help set new targets.

The second role was to inform the outside world about this nascent but powerful force which would change lives forever. There was cynicism, fear and disbelief in what computers could do in many places. The banks, for instance. So much so that the initial computers supplied were called Advanced Ledger Processing Machines. The word computer would have invited strikes. Constant sharing of what was happening in the world and success stories from there helped.

The third role was to lead and facilitate new policies that would aid the growth of the industry – and more particularly use of computers. So DQ published and advocated new software policies. It formed panel discussions and focus groups to help define these. It formed many bridges between the Government, the Department of Electronics, the industry and the users.

Copies of the magazine were sent abroad – to as many locations as possible. All embassies were provided subscriptions. It was needed to tell the world that snake charmers also developed great software! Slowly the world started believing it. And companies either bought from India or set up shop here.

I believe, from empirical evidence collected over years that we also encouraged many young people to take up this field as a career option – in many cases against the wishes and beliefs of society in general. A decade later that work force would lead the explosive growth of the infotech industry. In fact such was the need for people that the largest number of ad pages in DQ would often be the appointment ads: 40 or 50 pages in each issue. There was simply no other better source to find people.

There were more roles played over these four decades by DQ.

More important were the underlying forces and motivations which it nurtured and supported. It kept faith and hope alive by providing encouraging, balanced and vetted editorial content. It published experiences, knowledge, visions of the pioneers – to help others become pioneers themselves. It fuelled the desire amongst users and entrepreneurs to the agents of change in their organisations. It pushed people to take risks. It provided support for innovation.

Some of this was by design. Some happened because opportunities came our way. And we had a great team which was willing to learn and grow – all the time.

The same support is needed today for new industries and technologies. This is even more critical today.

I believe that DQ played a role that all great media vehicles are expected to and can play in contributing to development. Provided they stay the course. I feel humbled and happy that there was a role that the DQ and Cyber Media team could play a role on this stage.

By Shyam Malhotra

Shyam Malhotra was the Editor in Chief and Executive Director of Cyber Media publications from 1985 till 2012. He is now an Executive Coach who is happy to share experience, ideas, knowledge with the new leaders.

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in