 "Karan Bajwa")
Microsoft sees itself as both a consumer company and a commercial company, with strengths in the commercial space and a challenger mindset in the consumer space, Karan Bajwa tells Devina Joshi
On the enterprise hardware side, one talks of players like HCL, IBM and Oracle, and on the software spectrum we have Apple, Google and Amazon. Where does Microsoft fit in? What is its core area of focus ?
The core strategy for Microsoft today is to be a devices and services company from an on-premise software provider. The cloud is the enabling glue, the most important element to bring devices to life. That is the business we see ourselves in today. If I look at the enterprise commercial side of the business, the cloud is playing a crucial role in integrating the SMAC (social, mobile, analytics, cloud). In addition, the cloud itself is a fairly disruptive trend that is making businesses bring together the efficiencies for newer work scenarios as they emerge. The Microsoft ecosystem is unparalleled, both from a partner standpoint as well as a developer ecosystem standpoint. These offerings, put together, are what we would like to be known for.
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Someone once told me of a powerful statement, "The power of the 'and' versus the tyranny of the 'or'." So, really, 'and' is the approach for us today. We are a consumer company and we are a commercial company. We are a devices company and we are a services company. It is important to understand why. Users today expect their devices to do a whole lot of things at work and at play. The cloud is helping us bring the approach around 'and' to life with the services that both consumers and commercials are using. Microsoft has historically been offering 'off-the-cloud' consumer services - think Hotmail and OneDrive - for many years and it is that learning that we now bring into our cloud solutions.
The strength of Microsoft resides on both sides. When we talk of the consumerisation of IT, it is really about consumers entering the enterprise and expecting the same experience as they would have on the consumer side. They want social networking, mobility (enterprise applications on their mobile devices)... Bring your own device (BYOD), for instance, is a reality. Of course, you can't take away the fact that there will be hard-core enterprise offerings, data centres etc. However, the lines between the experiences that a person has at home and at work are fading.
What is the biggest challenge before Microsoft in the current context, when it comes to staying relevant in a digital landscape that is constantly changing?
Microsoft has been a very strong player in the PC space. The share that we had in the PC world is different from the share we have in the expanded devices world. We see ourselves as a challenger in this space, and we are making our way up strongly. The success of Windows phone through the Nokia Lumia range, for instance, is a great example.
In a world where devices and services are proliferating, we see ourselves working our way up to gain a fair share of the market. We have our strengths in the commercial space and a challenger mindset in the consumer space.
Microsoft once dominated the OS ecosystem with Windows but there is no denying intense competition in the space now. How does Microsoft plan to change?
We have a strong legacy in the commercial world, and we are a challenger in some parts of the consumer play, like tablets. A significant move exercised recently was the inclusion of the cross-platform strategy: bringing the strong Microsoft productivity experience across platforms - offering the Microsoft Office suite on iOS and Android ecosystems, having MS Office on the iPad. We are bringing the same experience to our management suite of products as well.
Second, there is a move towards Microsoft proliferating its devices on the Windows platform. It opens up a whole new ecosystem of hardware players to us. Third, it is part of our strategy to be a mobile-first, cloud-first company, as our global CEO announced recently. Cloud forms the core of our strategy and allows us to offer the '3x3' cloud, which is infrastructure, platform and software as services in the public cloud model, private cloud model, and the hybrid cloud model. This is a unique position for us vis-à-vis other cloud providers who tend to focus on a single model. For us, the strategy is, 'cloud on your terms'. If you are an on-premise user today wanting to go to the cloud, you need a hybrid approach and we allow you to manage that transition seamlessly with the management suite we have.
How has the Windows-based mobile and tablet ecosystem worked for Microsoft? How has the shift of the Windows ecosystem from the PC to the mobile happened?
The best devices, be it the Windows or non-Windows platform, built by first party devices (that we build) or by third party devices (with rich ecosystems), are on cloud. Not just the multinational OEMs - Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Asus - but even local players like Micromax, Xolo and Lava are showing confidence in the Windows ecosystem.
Then, of course, our strong ecosystem of developers gives us an edge. Today our app store is picking up speed with 2.4 lakh apps and counting, adding 500 a day to that list. The Windows store is becoming a cross-device one, and is present across multiple form factors from the phone, phablet, tablet, PC, laptop to the TV screen and X-BOX. This is really going to be a one-stop for people who use these services.
How serious is Microsoft about making the cloud work for enterprises in India?
We offer the most comprehensive cloud offering across the three models - public, private and hybrid. Office 365 is the fastest growing product line in Microsoft's history. Azure is growing over 200 per cent at a worldwide level year-on-year, and at the India level, it far exceeds 200 per cent. In India, we are adding almost 2,000 customers per month to our cloud platform. We have partners that are helping people migrate from on-premise solutions to adopting and deploying cloud solutions.
THE ENTERPRISE MAN
- Bajwa joined Microsoft India in November 2007 and after serving in senior leadership roles, was appointed MD of the sales and marketing operations of the subsidiary in 2013
- In his current capacity, his key responsibilities include growing the sales and marketing operations and driving strategic partnerships with global platform partners
- He has spent 25 years in the IT and telecom industry, working for organisations like Microsoft, Cisco and IBM
- Bajwa holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, with specialisation in Electronics from Guru Nanak Engineering College, Punjab University
