Instituted in 1993, the DATAQUEST Awards is Cyber Media’s attempt to recognize and laud individuals and corporate houses for their contribution in the information technology sector. And its not just a symbol of an individual’s professional success or testimony of corporate achievement, its the saga of how technology can impact the society. Its also the story of those who defy adversities to emerge as true leaders as well as those who have had the foresight and vision to create new opportunities for themselves and the country.

The DATAQUEST award is given each year in three categories—IT Man of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and Path Breaker.

The DATAQUEST IT Man of the Year Award: The IT Man of the Year award is conferred to corporate managers who have successfully steered their business ventures and in the process become leaders and role models for the industry. Past super-achievers include the likes of N Vittal, Ashok Soota, Shiv Nadar, Narayana N R Murthy, Dewang Mehta, R S Pawar, Azim Premji, and B Ramalinga Raju.

The DATAQUEST Lifetime Achievement Award: The Lifetime Achievement award is conferred to individuals whose exemplary contribution over the last 20 years to the technology and business of infotech has set India on the path to becoming an IT superpower. The distinguished club includes Mr. F C Kohli, N Seshagiri, Prof. V Rajaraman, Prof. H N Mahabala, Maj. Gen. A Balasubrahmaian and Dr. S Ramani.

The DATAQUEST Path Breaker Award: The Path Breaker award is conferred to an evangelist—organisation or individual, who has taken the road less traveled and with their vision created exciting opportunities and opened new doors for the Indian IT sector. While, Infosys was the path breaker for the year 1999, it was Ajit Balakrishnan of Rediff.com, who won the award last year for creating India's first global Internet brand.

Last years attendee list