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Hot Seat
A doctor’s prescription for IT users
Dr Nitin Paranjape is the only Indian among 15 global
professionals who have received the Microsoft Most Valued Professional for 2005
award. He reveals to Shivani Shinde why he switched over from gynaecology
to IT.
We all come across people who have ventured into a profession
which has nothing to do with their educational background. For instance, an
Arts graduate writing for a science magazine or vice versa or an engineer getting
a management degree, etc. But there are very few who take the risk of shifting
from an established profession to a field where they have no vocational backup
of the same and yet manage to gain the respect from their peers. One such person
is Dr Nitin Paranjape who after finishing his MD in gynaecology pursued a career
in IT due to his passion for learning new technologies and leveraging this knowledge
to benefit business. He has proved to be a successful businessman, as the Chairman
and Managing Director of Maestros Mediline Systems. Maestros is one of the most
preferred partner of Microsoft in India and a leader in providing IT services.
His plunge into the field of technology is best described by the doctor himself
as a profession based on hobby. His interest in technology started with the
games that he played during his student days in medical college. “While
I was studying I tried to understand how those games were written. I tried to
learn the language and realised that apart from playing games something useful
can also be done and ended up writing software which would help in patient management,
reduce crowd in OPD, getting results of tests faster, etc.” says Paranjape.
This happened in 1985-86.
While Paranjape was completing his studies at Nair Hospital he started using
the software that he had developed. When others came to know about it they showed
a keen interest. This became his entry point into IT. This was also the time
when PCs were just entering India and thus were expensive. Before he could graduate
he had already worked with many of his colleagues, the Unicef, some NGOs, the
municipal corporation to name a few. “Thus, by the time I finished my education,
I had a sizable number of customers in my hand and I had orders too. I thought
why not try this out, if this doesn’t work then I can always go back to
my medical practice,” explains Paranjape.
The decision to shift base to IT was equally supported by his wife and family.
“I was already a good doctor before I finished MD and had a good number
of clients. But my family realised that after putting many hours a day of work
in medicine, I was still spending another eight hours of work in IT. They allowed
me to go ahead.” The deal though with the family was that he would be allowed
to test waters for a year and if not successful go back to the medical field.
Things did not materialise as was anticipated but there were no losses either.
The year’s deadline was extended and the rest is history.
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Till I was interacting with people from the medical
field it was fine, but people in the IT industry wondered what was a doctor
doing in their field
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On being a self-learner he says, “I feel that learning itself has become
a core part of my business. The difference between medicine and IT is that things
in medicine do not change. The old does not get phased out that fast whereas
in IT whatever comes in eventually gets phased out in some time,” he adds.
Despite the success, he has had his share of challenges too. Initially, he had
to convince everyone about his credentials.
“Till I was interacting with people from the medical field it was fine
but people in the IT industry wondered what was a doctor doing in their field,”
says Paranjape. Consequently, he later stopped using the doctor’s initial
before his name.
The other problem that he faced was his lack of business instincts. He explains,
“In medicine you are never taught to be a businessman. Almost nine years
of your life are dedicated in learning. By that time your non-medical friends
are already established and you are nowhere. Besides, if you notice all doctors
are typically trained to run a one man show. They do not have any concept of
team-work, no corporatisation or customer management or money management sense.”
To ensure that his company Maestros Mediline Systems runs excellently, Paranjape
takes care of the technology part of his company, while his brother-in-law manages
the business part.
Another factor that got him the desired acceptance in the field was his habit
of writing on various new technologies and how one could improve office productivity.
He has to his credit more than 700 articles published in various IT magazines
and other publications.
Paranjape started in 1991 with medical software as the focus area and continued
in the same segment for the next two years.
In 1994, he got into medical electronics and in the IT services. “At that
time we realised that medical software skills should not be the only thing that
we should deal in. If we had to be ahead of the time, we would have to venture
in areas that required software development. And thus we went into corporate
software development,” adds Paranjape.
He recently got the Microsoft Most Valued Professional for 2005 award and is
the only Indian among the 15 global professionals with this certification. “Award
is a recognition, an acknowledgement of what one does,” remarks Parnajape.
What matters to him is the reaction that he gets in his sessions.
“There have been instances when at the end of the sessions people have
cried. They realise the opportunities that they have lost and the potential
that they see after the sessions,” says Paranjape.
From a doctor to a techie, ask him about his inspiration and pat comes the reply,
“It’s something like an amplifier effect. I learn something once and
can invite others to learn the same without extra cost.” Though his greatest
achievement, he feels, would be when his thinking (which he plans to pen down)
becomes as indispensable as The Bible or the Geeta.
shivani@expresscomputeronline.com
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