iGate Patni

History of Patni

Narendra K. Patni first came to the US in 1964 on an MIT fellowship and in the early 1970s. He was appointed the president of Forrester Consulting Group, which advised companies and government agencies on technology issues.

While there, he became aware of the benefits of outsourcing during a project involving advance-level typesetting. "The best way to do it is where the labor is cheaper," he said, and so were born the first outsourcing companies in India.

The name of the company was initially "Data Conversion Inc" in 1972.

By late 1970s, the company had acquired enough foreign exchange to take the next step forward. Patni decided to import multi-user server systems and sell computer time. An agreement with US-based computer manufacturer Data General, to supply computer systems through satellite links, helped create Patni Computer Systems in 1978. The company was incorporated in India on 10 February 1978 under the Indian Companies Act, 1956.'

During the early 1990s the company was focused on its hardware market and did not take advantage of the growth of software opportunities. It was then that Naren Patni hired consulting group McKinsey to recommend how to scale up their business. The firm recommended massive restructuring of the organization into strategic business units, based on market segments and technological expertise supported by horizontal groups. From an 80-crore company in 1996, the company's revenues grew to $US656 million by 2009.