Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and application integration services. Sify Technologies Limited played a role during the early spread of Internet and e-commerce in India. It has been listed on NASDAQ as SIFY since October 1999. Merrill Lynch was the underwriter for Sify's IPO on the NASDAQ. Sify was founded and led to IPO by R. Ramaraj.
History
In November 1999, Sify paid ₹122.2 crore for a 24.5% stake in IndiaWorld Communications. It acquired the remaining shares for ₹325.4 crore on 30 June 2000.
In 2000, Sify sponsored the India Olympics team. In January 2002, Sify announced prizes for most emails sent under a 6-week contest called "Sify Greenmail," promoting emails as an eco-friendly way of communication. In March 2002, Sify made an agreement with Makemytrip to run Sify's travel portal.
Sify used to run the i-Way chain of Internet cafes. In 2002, Sify introduced wireless last mile connections with speeds up to 256 kbit/s. By August 2003, it had over 1,000 i-Way cyber cafes in India. In December 2003, Sify launched video-conferencing facilities in its Internet cafes.
In 2004, Sify, with Level Up! Games, launched an MMORPG. In June 2004, the Supreme Court of India set a legal precedent regarding domain names in the Satyam Infoway Ltd. v. Sifynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. lawsuit.
In November 2005, Satyam Computer Services sold its remaining 31.61% shares in Sify to Infinity Capital Ventures, which is owned by Raju Vegesna, for US$62.62 million.