An entrepreneur finds little difference between an obstacle and an opportunity because he converts both to his advantages. And B. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India, belongs to that rare group of talented entrepreneurs who have transformed challenging IT opportunities into a global success story. It's no wonder, Satyam today is a global systems integrator with more than 15,000 people working for it in 45 countries across six continents. And the man who scripted this success story is none but Ramalinga Raju, who is also the founding chairman of Satyam Computer Services.

A man who programmes his business strategies as fast as computers, Ramalinga has always carried the dream of making India an IT superpower close to his bosom. And the world can now vouch-he is fast inching towards making his dreams come true. An MBA from Ohio University, Ramalinga has burned his midnight oil to take Satyam where it is today. In fact, Satyam's reach could very well be gauged from the fact that it has expertise in almost all areas of software development ranging from ERP solutions, systems integration, consulting, product development, and electronic commerce to Internet-based services. It has development centers located in almost all major countries including the USA, Japan, Singapore, UAE, Australia, the UK and India and operates in diverse industry segments like banking, financial services, healthcare, transportation, insurance, telecom, manufacturing and retail.

Known for his acumen, vision and flawless IT strategies, Ramalinga has turned Satyam Computers into a global IT force which could stand shoulder to shoulder with global giants like IBM Global, Accenture, and EDS. Today, Satyam has 350 global firms, including 109 Fortune and 500 corporations in its coffer. In India too, its growth has been phenomenal - SIFY, one of the largest Internet Service providers in India is an associate of Satyam and is the first Indian company to be listed in NASDAQ. The latest feather to his cap was added in March 2007 when he signed a five-year contract worth $200 million (nearly Rs.880 crores) with US-based Applied Materials Inc, a global leader in Nanomanufacturing technology for providing application development, maintenance and support services. For Applied Materials, a supplier of technology for semiconductor companies worldwide, Satyam has created a dedicated development centre, which will be part of its Electronic City campus at Bangalore. In fact, Satyam is engaged with Applied Materials for over five years now, but the nature and scope of the engagement has become lot bigger and diversified. As a part of this major deal, which would generate about $40 million (Rs.180 crore) per annum in revenues for Satyam, the mandate is to provide application development, maintenance and support (ADMS) plus business transformation through a managed services delivery model.

Ramalinga, who has attended the President course at Harvard, has many global accolades to his credit. He is among the few Indians to have won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Services in 1999. He also won the CNBC's Asian Business Leader- Corporate Citizen of the year award in 2002 and Dataquest IT Man of the Year in 2000. A member of Executive Council of NASSCOM, National Council of CII and Board of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Raju is also a member of International Advisory Panel of Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor. But despite the awards, accolades and recognition, Ramalinga remains a simple man who loves spending time with family and friends. A private man, Raju's brilliance nevertheless, shines like the sun in the global IT world.