Made in India

Are heights of achievement in matters of computing possible

only in the West? Or at best for those who’ve opted to cross the seven seas? Can

world-class products come out of this country? If you think the answer to that is in the

negative, read on, for we have some surprises for you.

Param



If you won’t sell us a Cray, we’ll build our own supercomputer. And did we build
it? The Param is more than just another supercomputer. The Param proved to the world that

we could beat them at their own game, and at a fraction of the cost. Param machines today

run a variety of applications–including weather forecasting, seismic data processing,

structural mechanics, medical imaging, and research. And if things go as planned, the

Param could well drive the national information infrastructure in the country. Obviously,

no history of computing in India can even begin without giving pride of place to the

Param.

E-x



E-x from TCS was the first Indian software package to be sold as a mass-market product.
And was the first Indian shrink-wrapped product to make a dent in the market. And it was

probably the first Indian software product to be nationally advertised. Years before you

had glitzy do’s showcasing product launches, E-x was launched with a show that made

the headlines.

So, what’s E-x? E-x is an accounting package that in

the days when computing was still to catch on, was positioned as a non-IT product,

particularly for small businesses, and mom and pop shows.

Gist



Gist’s claim to fame is that it enabled Indian language computing.

Way back, during the time when DOS was king, and Lotus 1-2-3 and dBase ruled the

application space, the Gist card could give you application menus in Indian languages. You

could also enter your data in these languages. Gist technology also found application in

television, when it enabled different regions in the country to receive subtitles

simultaneously in different languages. With the advent of Windows, the Gist card more or

less lost its relevance with PCs, and C-DAC struck back with its Leap range of products

for that platform.

Tally



This is perhaps the most popular Indian software package of all times.

Spot Quiz: Who makes Tally? Caught you there? The name Tally is today a lot more familiar

than the name of its developer. Tally is also about the only Indian package to offer the

same functionality on more than one operating system. Tally from Peutronics, Bangalore is

currently in version 5.4 and is available for Win 95/NT, Win 3.x, OS/2, and the Power Mac.

Marshall



Who’re the big names in ERP software? SAP, Peoplesoft, Baan… Marshall. Marshall
who? Starting out as a maintenance management software for its own cement plants, Ramco

has built Marshall into a world-class ERP package, capable of competing with the best.

NC’s operating system



Many are the internationally branded products that are actually developed

in India. The operating system for Oracle’s network computers is one such. It was

developed by Oracle India Development Center at Bangalore. Simplicity of installation and

operation were its major USPs. However, the concept of network computers failed to pull in

the crowds, and the NC operating system missed its slot in history.



At the time of going to press, we learnt that Oracle is going to make a renewed attempt at
getting NC into the mainstream. Perhaps, the NC operating system will get one more try at

making history.

Genius and Busybee



Long before the multinationals came in, there were two Indian brands that became
synonymous with PCs–The Genius from Wipro and the Busybee from HCL. HCL later tied up

with HP, and Wipro with Acer. Subsequently, both tie-ups came to an end, and the brands

Super Genius and Busybee continue as perhaps the longest-surviving PC brands in the

country.

SearchPad




This Web-search application was developed by Satyam Computers in 1997. It was the first

Internet search tool that could look through the databases of more than one search engine

(11 at that time) and carry out searches for keywords or e-mail. With

SearchPad, it’s

also possible to personalize your searches, and distribute search results amongst more

than one user. SearchPad is a priced product, and so, though it’s still alive, it

could never really compete with the free offerings from others.

Clock IT! 2000



Clock IT! 2000 from TCC Datatech, Mumbai, is a novel way to test the BIOS and RTC of your
PC for Y2k compliance. It’s the only software fix for the Real Time Clock for the

millennium rollover in case the BIOS is non-flashable.






Makess on the Web


Sun is making waves with its plans to put up a portal on the Web, where you can share and
rent applications. The StarPortal–based on StarOffice that Sun recently

acquired–is to go online soon. But a relatively small Indian company has already been

there and done that. Eastern Software Systems–makers of the Makess ERP

package–has made the package available on the Web at www.makess.eth.com.