In one of the first CNN interviews after the announcement of the passing on of Apple’s greatest icon, co-founder Steve Wozniac spoke poignantly of the genius that was Steve Jobs and commented that not since the deaths of Jack Kennedy and John Lennon had such a pall of gloom descended upon America. This may not be an exaggeration for each of them were cult figures in their own right. Kennedy set the imagination of a majority of Americans on fire with his boyish looks and confidence and the unforgettable “Ask what you can do for America not what America can do for you” speech. Lennon one of the most enigmatic of the “long haired lovers from Liverpool” enchanted more than a generation with his words and music and Steve Jobs of course must be one of the very first to create not one but three revolutions in one lifetime.

For many of us who witnessed the spectacular launch of the Mac with the girl in red blazing across television screens past an army of blue and grey marchers to announce a new phenomenon in the world of computing, the sequential exploits of the man and his companies – Next and Pixar, the iPhone iPod iPad iTunes and iCloud have been nothing short of breathtaking. While much has been said about his visionary thinking, elegant designs and superlative marketing which made generations of young people desire things that they had never expected could happen to their life and work!

In a sense this will be the true legacy of the man – that he could bring computing out from the grey walls of the corporation and make it aspirational for most people. The pride at which the aficionados including my daughter in the US flash their Macs and the joy of ownership shown by the Pod, Pad and Phone consumers are the true reflection of one man’s product Imagineering and marketing success, an ability Steve Jobs displayed that has multiple lessons for all us professing to be innovators in the industry. The question that is on every mind today, whether Apple Computer can continue on the track that their trail blazing founder has set for them will not be answered for a few years.

The institutionalization of the company that Steve did not quite achieve in his first entrepreneurial stint but has done beyond doubt in the last few years will provide the foundation for his successors to build on and while the consumers and the markets will be watching, the legacy of Steve Jobs is surely safe for some time to come! Our own industry has had its share of stalwarts that shone and passed on – Prem Shivdasani, Arun Kumar and the irreplaceable Dewang Mehta are just three names that come to mind! The good news is that the institutions they were part of have continued to make a difference to the industry and the world! So may it be with Apple Computer.

Dr Ganesh Natarajan is Vice Chairman & MD of Zensar Technologies Ltd and a member of NASSCOM’s Chairmen’s Council.