Newsmaker: R Ramaraj

The Internet evangelist

R Ramaraj

July has proved to be an eventful month for Sify. Even as the company's first quarter profits jumped 200 per cent, its managing director and CEO R Ramaraj resigned on that high note.

Now no longer with the companies he co-founded, Sify and Satyam, Ramaraj will work with leading venture capital firms to identify, fund, mentor and nurture select start-ups and companies in their early stages. This is said to be his first priority.

A flashback to April 2002 will put his other plan "" that of enabling socio-economic development by empowering small businesses through micro-credit "" in perspective.

He was quoted then as saying, "Digital technology is not a luxury item. It gives even the underprivileged an opportunity to participate in the new economy of the 21st century. Solutions that bridge the world's digital divides offer the next set of opportunities." It's no wonder that Ramaraj is currently a board member of Microcredit Foundation of India, a non-profit organisation.

On that measure, his thought processes are much in line with those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, even NR Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji. Not surprising, though, since Ramaraj was always something of a tech visionary.

A BTech in chemical engineering from the University of Madras, and an alumni of IIM-Calcutta, he started with building a company that would provide innovative Internet services in India.

The company became India's first and largest private Internet Service Provider (ISP) and also the first Indian Internet company to be listed on Nasdaq. Of course, by then he already had many firsts to his credit. In 1984-85, he had pioneered the retail marketing of computers in India by setting up Computer Point, a retail chain.

Later, he co-founded Microland, a pioneering company in networking. At Sterling Cellular, he successfully bid for the Delhi circle license when mobile telephony was first introduced in India.

It's easy to note that his focus has always been on the launch of businesses using new technologies, innovative products and services, and in building and mentoring highly effective teams to build successful businesses. In this context, it did come as a surprise to many when in 1999, Satyam bought out Rajesh Jain's Indiaworld website.

The Rs 499-crore deal did attract criticism for being "overpriced", especially after the dotcom bust that followed. However, later events vindicated the stand.

Ramaraj was voted "The IT person of the Year 2000" by CNET readers. He was awarded the Golden Mouse Award for the "Web evangelist of the Year 2000".

In 2004-05, he was invited by the UN to be a member of their Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), and contributed to developing a recommendation for Internet governance.

Ramaraj had led the company from the day of its founding to its present size, profitability and stature, as well as technology leadership.

Incidentally, he's also working with Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone and the Gold Quest Foundation to nurture athletes to win an Olympic gold for India. If there's an innovative way "" and, truth be told, there might well be many ways "" to do this, he will probably find it.