At Future Unleashed, its largest ever customer conference in India, Microsoft has announced a slew of partnerships, programs and products that will help Indian organizations and Governments to explore unchartered business areas, enrich customer and citizen experiences, and catalyze digital transformation with the newly launched local Microsoft cloud and new devices.
Microsoft announced partnerships with three e-commerce pioneers in India – Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal, a special cloud initiative for start-ups aligned to smart cities, and availability of its flagship devices – Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL, and Microsoft Surface Pro 4 in December and January, respectively. Microsoft also showcased the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 at the event.
Keynoting at Future Unleashed, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, said, “At Microsoft, we strive to empower every Indian citizen and every business and government organization to achieve more. With the newly launched Microsoft Cloud and with Surface Pro 4, our customers here in India have the digital technology they need to seize incredible new growth and opportunity on a global scale.”
Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Cloud and mobile technologies are already galvanizing Indian industry. At Future Unleashed, we will share these stories through our customers, solution partners and ISVs. We will demonstrate that technology in the hands of brilliant people can create magic. That innovation is as much what you do with technology as the invention of the technology itself.”
E-commerce companies innovate with the cloud
To drive innovation in the fast-evolving e-commerce industry, Microsoft has entered into broad-ranging agreements with JustDial, PayTm and Snapdeal. Microsoft will partner these e-commerce leaders in creating new marketplaces, new services and new experiences for their customers.
Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal will use a range of cloud and mobile technologies from Microsoft including advanced cloud services such as machine learning, Bing, Skype and Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, to drive business innovation and customer delight.
Justdial and Microsoft will explore the use of Bing and cloud-based analytics to provide and enhance customer experience.
Paytm and Microsoft are working on three core areas of partnership. The companies will integrate the Paytm app and Paytm Wallet into Cortana to enable consumers to pay for their utility bills and carry out mobile transactions easily. Paytm will use Office 365 for their merchants’ inventory and account management. Lastly, Paytm will facilitate and support Microsoft service sales via their merchant network.
Snapdeal will work with Microsoft cloud platforms to create a digital automotive dealership that is expected to change the way customers make automotive buying decisions. Snapdeal and Microsoft will use Skype, Bing and Cortana to provide new engagement platforms for Snapdeal customers.
Start-ups innovate for modern cities
To help empower modern Indian cities, Microsoft has launched a new initiative for local start-ups that are focused on delivering innovative solutions for smart cities. Working with start-up accelerators, these start-ups can now apply for individual access up to USD 120,000 (INR 80 lakhs) worth of Azure computing to help India’s smart cities explore solutions and run smart city digital pilots.
Cities can also apply for access to these services and solutions on Azure through a new portal which connects start-ups with cities and their needs. This initiative is anticipated to impact over 50 smart cities in the next year through a catalog of over 50 start-ups and ISV solutions.
Future Unleashed
Future Unleashed is Microsoft’s largest customer conference in India which brings together over 3,000 customers, business leaders, IT industry professionals, start-ups and developers in Mumbai. Another 100,000 are expected to attend the event virtually.
At the conference, companies from Manufacturing, Automotive, e-commerce, Entertainment, BFSI and Retail sectors will demonstrate the breadth and depth of new technology.
