Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella arrived at the India Today Conclave Next on Tuesday to talk about digital technology and its application on the Indian landscape. He also spoke about the importance Microsoft is giving to AI, Mixed Reality and other services that look to help business and consumers.
Nadella expressed that the company wants to empower people with technology. It is important to ensure that the technology introduced is inclusive and without any bias. There is also a need toto build trust – in business models, in bringing government, people and businesses together. The mission of Microsoft is to use technology in creating surplus and societal progress, Nadella says.
“We are In the midst of an amazing change.” Cloud and mobile revolution is already taking place, but more than that there is intelligent edge and intelligent cloud. “No computer experience is going to be bound to a single computing device.” Nadella here is talking about the Internet of Things. Smart speakers, touchscreens and apps will all be connected and infused with AI. This will drive the way to more computing power and will eventually lead to an efficient way of communicating and reaching the customer.
Microsoft is essentially focusing on four key solution areas that are ingredients that act as agents of change, as the CEO says. Modern workplace is the first where investing in people is of paramount importance. To unlock creativity. To this end, Microsoft is working on ways to unlock creativity. Creativity, teamwork, security, simplicity at a lower cost. The company’s Office 365 aims to bring services needed for workplaces to open up creativity and build a collaborative space.
Kaizala is inspired by India and the work in the country. The product was launched back in June as a solution for an easier way for organisations to communicate, collaborate and complete tasks seamlessly. Kaizala is a product of Digital India and is a made for India product to bring together mobile-only messaging apps and a digitally integrated modern workplace and to bring convenience to the people that can use Kaizala across various sectors.
Nadell also talks about Mixed Reality as the next step in technological evolution that mixes reality with the virtual and augmented sphere. It removes the notion of working in front of a computer, but instead putting the computing power right in front of your eyes. He invited Dr. Anthony Vipin Das on stage to talk about how L V Prasad Eye Institute is using Mixed Reality in in medicine. Artificial Intelligence is also being used for diagnosis and predictive analysis.
LinkedIn also came into focus next as a service to help connect people across sectors. The social platform has over 45 million users in India, Nadella said. WIth this he moved on to business applications as the second solution area. He spoke about the necessity to increasing digitization to better interact with customers. Intelligent systems are being introduced to help business understand how they are progressing with the help of products like Dynamic 365.
Lastly, Nadella spoke about Azure, the company’s cloud platform that aims to improve productivity and security of data for consumers and businesses in general. AI is part of Microsoft’s larger picture to make services smarter and to be able to incorporate it in various aspects of your daily life. He stressed on the possibilities of AI and reiterated that the company is dedicated in empowering people through technology.
