The TCS story by S Ramadorai, now in Tamil

In Chennai to launch the Tamil translation of his book,The TCS Story and Beyond, S Ramadorai talks about the city’s vibrant startup culture

“Today, in our country, there is extremely visible entrepreneurial energy. A huge number of young people are transforming into entrepreneurs,” says Subramaniam Ramadorai, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Tata STRIVE (the group’s CSR skill development initiative) and former CEO & MD of Tata Consultancy Services.

In Chennai recently to launch TCS Oru Vetri Kadhai (Kizhakku Padhippagam), the Tamil translation of his book The TCS Story and Beyond, (Penguin, 2011), Ramadurai, whose family hails from Thanjavur, also commented on the city’s vibrant startup culture.

“Individuals are aspiring to become employment generators, rather than just being employees in an organisation, and this is a significant transition,” he says, adding “After graduating from the IITs and IIMs, youngsters spend a couple of years in the corporate world, then either get into startup mode or emerge as angel investors. Most importantly, the youth of our nation are not afraid to fail. There seems to be a shift in attitude, where they think they can still gain valuable lessons and experiences even if they fail. You learn by doing and by improving, and not only by succeeding. “

The book, translated into Tamil by K Raman, deliberately avoids technical jargon. “I would like the youth of Tamil Nadu to read the book and understand the growth and development of the IT industry in our nation. The narration of the scenario in the 70s and 80s might sound like mythological stories for the current generation,” says Ramadurai, adding with a chuckle, “I have lived through those days, and you have to believe what I say. Fake news emerges only if you miss out on the history, so I might as well be truthful and tell the history in multiple languages.”

Explaining how TCS Oru Vetri Kathai provides an insider perspective of the history and evolution of TCS, Ramadorai adds, “Today I am an observer, an outsider looking at the company.”

In the decade since he left the TCS, Ramadorai says that the technology transition has been taking place at a rapid phase, especially during the pandemic. “We saw how during the pandemic, the platforms were used to get vaccines in such a short time. The ability of platform based-services and multiple industries to come together and collaborate is a remarkable example of how the world is accelerating.”

Stating he was impressed at how Rajesh Gopinathan (the current CEO of TCS), NG Subramaniam ( Chief Operating Officer) and their teams handled the past two years, Ramadorai says: “With a majority of the workforce Working From Home (WFH), it was a phenomenal transition in the shortest possible time. Providing security to laptops at home, retaining the social fabric... all these require an enormous amount of thinking. As a result, the transition has been seamless. Even from the customer’s point of view, they never saw any kind of disruption in terms of security provided by TCS.”