Microsoft’s the latest rider on the pebble-laden village roads
‘At a crossroads’ is a term compelling
enough to explicate the current mindset of all and one waiting to strike gold on the Indian sub-continent. Clearly, ‘rural India’ is the next battlefield... with potent names like Coca-Cola, HUL, P&G, Intel, Bharti Airtel, Nokia, AMD, ITC, LG, BSNL et al, hovering above the Indian rural skies and standing testimony to this diversion.
But then, questions can be raised concerning the payback received for all such efforts... However, the focus certainly appears to be ‘long-term’ – a truth justified by the fact that despite the current calm, the investing giants are going ga ga about their master ‘rural India’ plan; with the latest being Microsoft.
It wasn’t long ago, when in the month of June 2007, the giant had announced its initiative termed ‘Microsoft Unlimited Potential’ on a worldwide scale (first in China, followed by India). Most importantly, its announcement to launch a low-priced sub-Rs.20,000 PC (for which it would tie-up with AMD) came as a good tiding to the Indian masses. However, there are still concerns regarding this strategy as Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India revealed exclusively to 4Ps B&M as, “The growth of IT penetration in India, currently, might be rapid, but not rapid enough. Affordability is critical and goes far beyond just provision of low cost hardware.” Hence the message is clear – it’s sustained offering which is what the companies have to necessarily look at.
Moreover, at a time when even laptop manufacturers are looking for the sub-Rs.20,000 segment, Microsoft will have to necessarily look beyond just a low-priced PC...However, this is not the only challenge staring at Microsoft. The company also plans to ramp up its urban presence from just 12 cities at present to 33 cities across India, which only means increased investments and rising headcount – adding “a couple of thousand” employees in India, as per Jean Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft’s International operations – in urban India. Then follows its September 27 announcement to offer an on-demand software (called SaaS), whereby the customer is given the freedom to rent only a solution and which is delivered to him remotely thus helping in reduce costs for the customer & curb piracy. Justifying this move, Ravi asserts, “We need to use creative ways to deliver technology, through different devices, access models or financing options; all making Microsoft different...”
‘At a crossroads’ is a term compelling
enough to explicate the current mindset of all and one waiting to strike gold on the Indian sub-continent. Clearly, ‘rural India’ is the next battlefield... with potent names like Coca-Cola, HUL, P&G, Intel, Bharti Airtel, Nokia, AMD, ITC, LG, BSNL et al, hovering above the Indian rural skies and standing testimony to this diversion.But then, questions can be raised concerning the payback received for all such efforts... However, the focus certainly appears to be ‘long-term’ – a truth justified by the fact that despite the current calm, the investing giants are going ga ga about their master ‘rural India’ plan; with the latest being Microsoft.
It wasn’t long ago, when in the month of June 2007, the giant had announced its initiative termed ‘Microsoft Unlimited Potential’ on a worldwide scale (first in China, followed by India). Most importantly, its announcement to launch a low-priced sub-Rs.20,000 PC (for which it would tie-up with AMD) came as a good tiding to the Indian masses. However, there are still concerns regarding this strategy as Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India revealed exclusively to 4Ps B&M as, “The growth of IT penetration in India, currently, might be rapid, but not rapid enough. Affordability is critical and goes far beyond just provision of low cost hardware.” Hence the message is clear – it’s sustained offering which is what the companies have to necessarily look at.
Moreover, at a time when even laptop manufacturers are looking for the sub-Rs.20,000 segment, Microsoft will have to necessarily look beyond just a low-priced PC...However, this is not the only challenge staring at Microsoft. The company also plans to ramp up its urban presence from just 12 cities at present to 33 cities across India, which only means increased investments and rising headcount – adding “a couple of thousand” employees in India, as per Jean Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft’s International operations – in urban India. Then follows its September 27 announcement to offer an on-demand software (called SaaS), whereby the customer is given the freedom to rent only a solution and which is delivered to him remotely thus helping in reduce costs for the customer & curb piracy. Justifying this move, Ravi asserts, “We need to use creative ways to deliver technology, through different devices, access models or financing options; all making Microsoft different...”
