Mumbai: Narendra Patni, a pioneer in Indian computer technology and co-founder of Patni Computer Systems (PCS) in 1978, passed away in the US on June 3 at the age of 71. A graduate of Roorkee Engineering College and an MTech as well as a management graduate from MIT, Patni started PCS with his two brothers Ashok and Gajendra - one of the firsts indigenous computer makers in India - and the company where N R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S Gopalakrishnan and others worked before they left to start Infosys. In fact Narendra and his wife started their small IT services firm in the US in 1972 and then moved to Pune to create an offshore centre, long before the outsourcing model became global practice.
In 2011 Patni Computers was acquired by the much smaller iGate and the name was removed from the masthead a year later, in a move by then iGate CEO Phaneesh Murthy, that was widely criticised by those with a sense for India's IT history.
Prof. S Sadagopan, Director, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore writes: Narendra Patni had a very special role in the IT Services sector growth of this country; a direct role in servicing US clients from India, and creating what is perhaps the first outsourced IT Services company in the form of Patni Computer Services; and an indirect role of employing all the seven founders of Infosys.
Source: India Tech Online
