It was my privilege to have had an extraordinary relationship with Dewang. NASSCOM brought us together, and gave us the foundation for a growing friendship that ended too soon. Like all friends, we had our fair share of liking, respect and disagreement.
I am one of the few who have seen Dewang rise from relative obscurity to a stature others twice his age with many more resources would find difficult to achieve. I was close enough to see both – his tremendous abilities, and his human frailties and faults. However, one thing I know for certain. There is a need to understand how and why he gained the success he did. I am sharing my observations. If this inspires young Indians to follow in his footsteps, I will feel I have done justice to his memory.
He is a shining example of beating the system with attitude. He refused to allow the system to cow him down or make him cynical. Instead, he explored every possible democratic process to find his way around bottlenecks.
Dewang, NASSCOM and Indian Software Industry shared a relationship rather like one between an accomplished actor and a challenging script. They grew in a symbiotic cycle, complementing each other’s accomplishments.
Dewang promoted the concept of India as a software superpower, building on the fact when software exports crossed the $ 1 billion mark.
He generated a national aspiration to multiply that many times over. He creatively positioned the industry by stating that software and software services export was to India what oil was to the Middle East.
He tirelessly championed the allied concept of smart out-sourcing, which created a whole new industry segment. It blends on-site effort with offshore development to create a unique value proposition superior to any alternative system. The benefits accrue to both contracting parties and suppliers. It was not Dewang’s idea, but he marketed it in a way only he could. It is an outstanding example of how he generated win-win situations, which have become the hallmark of the software services business.
Dewang’s emphasis on bandwidth was not only to benefit the Indian software sector. Availability of bandwidth percolates the benefits of IT to everyone – including small & medium entrepreneurs, professionals, and the masses.
This is one of the ways Dewang broadened NASSCOM’s agenda, and gave it a quantum jump in its natural growth rate. He brought the perception shift towards the primacy of the PC and the emergence of the Internet as an important opportunity. In a single stroke, he roped in issues relevant to ISPs, Internet technology, telecom infrastructure and e-commerce.
