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Indian IT leaders in 2012: Who smiled and who winced

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Supriya Rai
New Update

BANGALORE, INDIA: This year has quite been a mixed bag for the technology leaders of the country. While many thrived under trying circumstances in 2012, some got the going tough from seemingly smooth phases.

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As it panned out, it was not an absolutely great year for the information technology (IT) sector in the country, with the dull global outlook bogging it down to an extent. So, both good and bad experiences, however, would have made the technocrats wiser than ever in their journey forward.

Let us look at how the big names associated with the world of technology in India fared this year.

Former Wipro veteran Suresh Vaswani was made the new president of Dell Inc's $8.3 billion software services and outsourcing business.

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In his new position, he would report directly to the founder Michael Dell, but has to be geared up to boost the company's growth in India, considering the market volatility in Europe and U.S., which might deter them from outsourcing jobs.

Azim Premji, at 67, is still going strong. In November, his Wipro Limited decided to demerge three non-IT divisions into a separate entity, while Premji still retaining his executive position in the IT business.

Besides that, he has been involved with a lot of philanthropic activities, including his ambitious Azim Premji Foundation, which works on improving the standards of education in the country. Premji has also time and again questioned the government on various policy issues and lack of initiatives from the Centre on several social issues.

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The outgoing managing director of SAP Labs India, V.R. Ferose, has seen a meteoric rise ever since taking over that position two years ago. Last month, the 38-year-old was elevated as the head of globalisation services of the organization.

Ferose has been actively championing the cause of the underprivileged, differently-abled children and other neglected sections of society. He is also on the Karnataka state panel of spotting young talents, apart from his involvement in other government initiatives.

Under Francisco D'Souza, chief executive officer, Cognizant Technology Solutions replaced in August Infosys Limited as the second largest software exporter from India. While Infosys ruled the IT world for over a decade-and-a-half, down the line after its establishment in 1981, Cognizant was founded just in 1994.

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Now, D'Souza has set his sights higher and is eyeing to take the top slot from TCS soon. In November, CTS for the second consecutive quarter has overtaken TCS and Infosys in quarterly revenues, probably an indicator for what is in store for future.

For S.D. Shibulal, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys, 2012 has been blowing hot and cold.

It was him who helmed Infy's Rs.1,818 crore acquisition of spanish consulting firm, Lodestone AG, which is the biggest till date in the company's history. The move was seen as a bold one, for an organization that has long been considered conservative.

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Shibulal, however, faced tough times, as Infosys couldn't meet guidances for consecutive quarters, leading to disappointment among investors.

Even as the word on the Unique Identification (UID) card scheme is slowly spreading, a lot of practical issues are plaguing the project headed by former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani.

As of now, he can breathe easy as the Centre and several states in the country are planning welfare initiatives revolving around the ambitious project. But, in the longer run, he has an onerous task in hand to prove that UID would really be as beneficial as projected and perceived.

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Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, Sam Pitroda, certainly has an illustrious public career. This year, he bet big on the Public Information Infrastructure (PII) for the National Knowledge Network (NKN).

"PII will transform India's 1.2 billion people into 1.2 billion opportunities. It will also include fibre connectivity to all 250,000 panchayats and the NKN would connect 1,500 nodes for universities, colleges, R&D labs and libraries, among others."

Pitroda has assured that all 250,000 panchayats would have fibre connectivity soon to ensure ubiquity. If the project, which was initiated under his mentorship, succeeds, then he will certainly be hailed as a visionary.

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Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy had a quiet year, mostly to do with guest addresses and receiving some recognitions, including the Hoover Medal, for his services to society.

This is not to say that he wouldn't be closely monitoring the growth of his organization, which no longer was the IT bellwether in the country.

Who else do you think fared well or disappeared from public glare this year?

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