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Microsoft, the American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, has been testing its <keyword id="3203839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="White-Space-technology">White Space technology</keyword> to provide Internet connectivity in India. However, it can probably face a roadblock over the issue of free spectrum. 
 
White Space technology refers to utilising the unused space in terrestrial TV spectrum, which can provide cheap Internet connectivity to remote areas. 
 <keyword id="28250" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Microsoft-India">Microsoft India</keyword> states that that the spectrum required for 'White-Fi' should be made available to them free of cost, so that it can roll out the technology on a mass scale. It also said that it carries no intention of becoming a service provider and that it will empower local entrepreneurs to offer last-mile connectivity in areas that are far off, and hence out of the reach for telecom service providers. 
 
However, the plan might not go down well with the government. 
 Union minister for communications and IT, <keyword id="6354886" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ravi-Shankar-Prasad">Ravi Shankar Prasad</keyword>, told ET that spectrum shall be provided only through the usual auction process and no exceptions will be made. 
 
"The government will not provide any spectrum without auction and the only exception will be for the defence and the security establishments," said Prasad. He, however, said that the government is looking into the matter of Microsoft's proposal. 
 
The government has set up a committee to draft a policy on white space technology, which would be evaluating the possibility of deploying White-Fi to connect rural areas. 
 
"There is a policy coming soon. It will be good for everybody, for the telecom players, for Digital India, for everybody," a member of the committee told ET on the condition of anonymity. He however confirmed that nothing would be made free for anyone. 
 Microsoft India chairman <keyword id="276812" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhaskar-Pramanik">Bhaskar Pramanik</keyword>, however, argued that there is nothing wrong in free spectrum because the technology will be bringing internet services to 60-70% of the country. 
 
"The point is that spectrum belongs to the nation, its custodian is the government, so it is for the government to decide. But, to use the argument that the rest of the spectrum was sold and auctioned and we paid huge amounts of money... I don't see that cutting ice," he told ET. 
 
<a href="https://wetechnologylovers.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/assunzioni-in-microsoft.jpg">Image source</a>

Microsoft's White Space technology might remain a dream for India over ‘free spectrum’ issues

Microsoft is not keen to set up a manufacturing unit in India for now, but is ready to source its handsets from the country, company senior official in the country told the Economic Times. 
 Manufacturing phones in India based on a change in duty structure is an unsustainable strategy, <keyword id="28250" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft-India">Microsoft India</keyword> chairman <keyword id="276812" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bhaskar-Pramanik">Bhaskar Pramanik</keyword> told the financial daily in an interview, just over a year after the company completed its acquisition of <keyword id="6354716" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nokia">Nokia</keyword>'s devices business globally. 

	A firm can set up a manufacturing unit in India only if it is strategically important and the company can actually make profit or money, he said.
 "A function of duty differentiation can change overnight, leaving you with huge <keyword id="483537" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="capital-investment">capital investment</keyword>," Pramanik said. 

	However, he did not specify what Microsoft would source from India. But experts are view that components and accessories such as batteries and chargers made locally by third-party vendors could be sourced by the company. 
 

	Most of the key components of phones aren't made in India. Sourcing locally is considered a pre-cursor to contract manufacturing, where a third party's facility may be used for assembling instead of the company setting up its own plant. 
 Imported phones have become more costly than locally produced ones after their duty structure was changed in this year's budget, prompting <keyword id="5565" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="South-Korea">South Korea</keyword>'s <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> Electronics to talk about expanding its manufacturing unit in India and Xiaomi, <keyword id="71696" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Micromax">Micromax</keyword>, <keyword id="16129" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="HTC">HTC</keyword> and Lenovo to plan for producing handsets locally. 

	"I don't think there's anything under active consideration for the moment," Pramanik said, referring to local manufacturing.
 

	Microsoft has a very low share of the smartphone market in India, mainly due to intense competition from both international and local companies.
 "From an operating system perspective, we are No. 2 — we sell more units than Apple. But from a vendor perspective, our share is small. There are a few companies in the 20s and 30s (<keyword id="34527" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="market-share">market share</keyword>) and then everybody else is in the 5% or 6%. We are in the undifferentiated latter category, but it's an opportunity," he said. 

	Microsoft's strength lies in mid-segment, where it has a 16% to 17% market share and the company is looking at opportunities to extend its smartphone offerings to both higher and lower price points, alluding to the premium and affordable segments.
 

	"We believe that in India, a lot of the applications and services will be 'mobile only'. That's the opportunity. The three data centres in India at the time of launch, which will be some time in the last quarter of this calendar year, will have more server storage networks capacity than the entire central and state governments put together," Pramanik said. 
 

	He expects Microsoft's growth to leapfrog after the recent global restructuring where devices have been merged with the engineering group under Terry Myerson. 
 

	Part of the opportunity also comes from the Windows 10 operating system, free upgrades of which will kick into effect July 29 onwards globally and in India — first for tablets and personal computers, followed by smartphones — except for those whose operating systems are towards end of life or pirated. On issues hurting the IT sector, Pramanik said the government's stand to make open source mandatory for IT companies was 'challenging' and 'incorrect'.

	 
	(Image: Reuters)

Microsoft is not keen about ‘Make in India’ yet?

In October 2013, Microsoft put an end to the <keyword id="2875197" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bell-curve-system">Bell Curve system</keyword> of appraisals to curb the bureaucratic, political culture that undercut its people’s ability to compete and was also responsible for killing innovation and teamwork in the company. The move was soon followed by other companies such as Cisco too. 
 

	Economic Times spoke to some top professionals from these organization to know about the system and the reasons why they doing away with it and here is what they had to share. 
 <keyword id="276812" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bhaskar-Pramanik">Bhaskar Pramanik</keyword>, Chairman, Microsoft India 

	The relative grading system in engineering schools is based on the principle that the marks scored by the students in any test will follow a bell curve. The mean score may be high or low depending on the difficulty of the test, but there will be a standard deviation, with a small cluster of students with scores markedly higher than the mean and a cluster far lower than the mean. 
	 
	It's a system that works well in exams, which are individual focused, but it has its limitations in an organisational setting, where teamwork is involved. "Today, a person is appraised not just on individual impact, but on teamwork," says Pramanik. "To succeed, you have to be smart, you have to be collaborative and you have to develop yourself based on feedback." 
 <keyword id="1324005" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Seema-Nair">Seema Nair</keyword> Director HR, Cisco Sytems, India &amp; <keyword id="8470" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="SAARC">SAARC</keyword> The main feature of Microsoft's new system is the stress it lays on continuous feedback. The appraiser and appraisee are required to do at least four "connects" every year, where the discussion is around what was achieved in the past quarter, what is planned in the next quarter and what could have been done better. "The discussion is both on what has been achieved as well as how it has been achieved," says <keyword id="2873445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Microsoft-India-Human-Resources">Microsoft India Human Resources</keyword> head <keyword id="922603" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rohit-Thakur">Rohit Thakur</keyword>. "For example, one of the issues discussed is how you have reached out and helped others. It's helping people get a sense of what success looks like." Before Microsoft, Thakur spent 12 years with <keyword id="45528" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="GE">GE</keyword>, the original champion of the bell curve. Today, he's responsible for eliminating all the vocabulary associated with the concept. "We no longer label a person as "star" or "non-performer." Every individual has bad years and good years. The key measure now is impact. That's the basis on which everyone is rewarded." he says. One of the problems with the bell curve system is the direct link it creates between its five categories and salary hikes. 
	 
	At Microsoft, salary hikes are now left to team managers, who must take a call on how to distribute the sum budgeted to them. A manager can divide this equally amongst his team, but most would recognize this to be a recipe for disaster in the long run. The managers know they need to differentiate and ensure higher rewards to those who have greater impact. Else they will be left with a low performing team.
 

	Rohit Thakur Hr Head, Microsoft India
 Compare this to the earlier process described in Microsoft's Lost Decade, where managers would gather in one room during appraisal time to haggle over where their people should be put in the department's bell curve. Microsoft engineers who were clued in understood it was not just enough to impress their own boss, but bosses of other teams as well, which meant making time to "schmooze as many managers as possible." <keyword id="194500" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rajiv-Kaul">Rajiv Kaul</keyword>, now vice chairman of <keyword id="194502" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="CMS-Info-Systems">CMS Info Systems</keyword>, was Microsoft India's first country head. He says: "The bell curve appraisal is an unnecessarily aggressive American invention that damages human relationships. In large organisations, politics takes over. I've seen how it worked, so I never used it in CMS." Another large organisation to recently axe the bell curve is Cisco, which announced the decision in November 2014. Since then, Seema Nair, Director of HR, has been busy training the 900 managers who appraise <keyword id="244727" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cisco-India">Cisco India</keyword>'s 10,000 employees on the nuances of the new system, which are in many ways similar to Microsoft's. "Abandoning the bell curve is a bold move and it sent shock waves through the organisation," she says. "The senior leaders intuitively get it and they're the early adopters. But there will be some resistance down the ranks, as there is with any major change." 
	 

	Nair's biggest challenge is to get the quarterly 'sync up' conversations between appraisers and appraisees running smoothly (similar to Microsoft's 'Connect'). The bell curve system also mandated open conversations, but they never actually happened. "In a ranking system, employees would just be interested in knowing their rank. They would tune out to the rest," says Nair. 
	 

	This disinterest in feedback has always been a characteristic of the Indian workplace and bell curve appraisals have failed to address the problem. The new appraisal systems being implemented by Microsoft and Cisco are taking the issue of feedback head on. 
	 
	"Indian managers are hesitant to give feedback to their employees because they're afraid of confrontation," says Mohinish Sinha, head of leadership and talent practice at Hay Group. "While appraising their people, managers tend to focus on results rather than how the results were achieved. So you end up celebrating bad behaviour." The Hay Group has been advising several clients interested in moving away from bell curve appraisals, but none of them have yet taken the plunge. "They're flirting with the idea but they're afraid of where it will take them. It's basically a change management issue. We tell them to take courage," says Sinha. 
	 
	(Image: Reuters)

Know why Microsoft, Cisco do away with the Bell Curve appraisal tool

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiBhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, speaks during an event in Mumbai, India, November 5, 2015.</div></div></div>Microsoft's plan to bring the internet to India using TV airwaves may have hit a roadblock, <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/microsofts-white-space-technology-may-hit-a-dark-patch-in-india-over-free-spectrum/articleshow/50539835.cms">according to a report from The Economic Times</a>. White Space, the name Microsoft has given the project, uses the available space on the terrestrial TV spectrum to deliver Wi-Fi to remote areas of India. Microsoft is planning on making the access free, according to The Economic Times, as it does not want to become a telecom company. The Indian authorities may block the plan, however. Union minister for communications and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, told The Economic Times that "[t]he government will not provide any spectrum without auction and the only exception will be for the defence and the security establishments." Essentially, Microsoft's plan to use the unused space on terrestrial TV spectrum must be opened up to bidders - and Microsoft could lose the bidding war. The Indian government has set up a committee to look at using White Space for internet access. "There is a policy coming soon," a person on the committee told The Economic Times. "It will be good for everybody." The person did, however, note that "nothing will be free." Microsoft has trialed White Space in two areas of India with success, according to the company. "We have never had the intention to be the service provider," said Bhaskar Pramanik, the chairman of Microsoft India. "Our goal is very simple: we want to empower entrepreneurs." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/playstation-vr-headset-video-2015-12">PlayStation's virtual reality device looks incredible</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="U2bTNodjo3PGWdekHZGoCCJk7NpqyxgZ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Microsoft's plan to use TV to bring internet to India could have hit a roadblock

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.</div></div></div>The chairman of Microsoft India has said Facebook should not "muddy" its Free Basics service by equating it with net neutrality, <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/net-neutrality-microsoft-snubs-facebooks-plan/articleshow/50317628.cms">according to The Economic Times</a>."I don't think what Facebook is doing is about net neutrality," said Bhaskar Pramanik. "It is about helping first-time users get on the Internet and they should call it that. But to muddy it and say that it is also net neutral doesn't make sense."Free Basics is part of Internet.org, the initiative that wants to get users around the world online. Facebook is working with Indian mobile networks to deliver lightweight internet access to people at a reduced cost, opening up the web to a new set of users. However, some are worried that Facebook has too much control over Free Basics and the services that it provides. India's telecom regulatory body <a href="http://qz.com/580884/india-has-hit-the-brakes-on-facebooks-free-internet-service/">ordered network operators to block access to Internet.org services</a> while it figures out whether the pricing is fair. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href="http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-edit-page/free-basics-protects-net-neutrality/">penned a letter</a> on December 28 criticizing the decision. "Instead of wanting to give people access to some basic internet services for free, critics of the program continue to spread false claims," he said. "Instead of recognizing the fact that Free Basics is opening up the whole internet, they continue to claim - falsely - that this will make the internet more like a walled garden." Essentially, people are concerned that by bringing people online, Facebook and Internet.org then has control over what they see."If [users] are going to be charged more for a certain set of applications of their choice and directed only to the certain set because the operator says I will give you those for free, then where is there net neutrality?" said Pramanik. "Somebody is paying for it. And the problem then is that if the operator or a service provider has the right to pay for it, then it limits smaller or any other organisation," he said. "I think we need to be very clear that net neutrality means that everybody has the same advantages or disadvantages." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-advanced-technology-might-replace-iphone-gene-munster-2015-12"> Apple wants to replace the iPhone with this advanced technology</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="h0Y3VpeTpbz7ksQXWbEaIv9BYvg3y9up" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Microsoft criticised Mark Zuckerberg's plan to give away cheap internet in India

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Microsoft">Microsoft</a> launched its first flagship <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Windows+10">Windows 10</a> smartphones in India <keyword id="2961014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lumia-950">Lumia 950</keyword> and <keyword id="2961015" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lumia-950-XL">Lumia 950 XL</keyword> . 
 The company expects the premium devices, priced at Rs 43,699 and Rs 49,399 to aggregate the adoption of <keyword id="6423476" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="windows-10">Windows 10</keyword>. 
 
"We see our phones as driver of our strategy and an integral part of growing the Windows ecosystem," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Microsoft">Microsoft</a> India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said. 
 
The LTE enabled Lumia 950 comes with a 5.2-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor, and 3GB of RAM, and shares other features like 20-megapixel rear camera with triple-LED flash, 4K video recording capabilities, 5-megapixel selfie camera, 3,340mAh battery with Wireless Charging and Qualcomm's QuickCharge support, with its larger variant Lumia 950 XL. 
 
The phones will be available for pre-ordet beginning today on Amazon.in and will be up for sale from December 11 through major retail chains including Croma, Sangeetha and Reliance. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Microsoft launches Windows 10 smartphones in India

In a big to strengthen it’s cloud foothold in India, Microsoft has decided to take its cloud services and offer their services via local data centers. Ever since Satya Nadella took over the reins at Microsoft earlier this year, Microsoft has taken a refined mobile first, cloud first philosophy. “India has more than 250 million internet connected devices that offers us the chance to supply our channel of cloud services in the form of Azure and Office 365, Nadella said speaking in front of the media. 
 Microsoft claims to have garnered 100 percent growth in revenue over the past year and with its decision to localize the availability of Azure and Office 365, they are looking to take it a notch further. “With our cloud services, Microsoft is fully committed on its path to make Digital India which can become a reality in the future,” said Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman of <keyword id="28250" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft-India">Microsoft India</keyword>. 
 
The fact that Indian government realises the need to adopt e-governance methods, with the possibility of other avenues like healthcare and education being in the frame. All this can lead to a scenario wherein cloud services take precedence. 
 
From a business front, Microsoft is sure to benefit from consumers adopting cloud technology; be it private or public. The company is already said to have a 10,000+ partner base that comprises of independent software vendors (ISV), hosters etc. All this form part of Microsoft’s AccelerateIndia initiative which will be majorly focusing on the education sector.

Microsoft enhances cloud set up in India with local
datacenters

Here is how the Indian IT and Mobile industry reacted after yesterday’s session of Budget announcement 2014. 
 
Sunil Lalvani, Managing Director, <keyword id="6354356" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="BlackBerry">BlackBerry</keyword>, India “The budget is prudent and cautious even while it aims to address key sectoral concerns and brings in vital initiatives to spur growth especially in critical sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, education, skill development and infrastructure as well as assuring a stable tax and regulatory regime that is expected to incentivize <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword>. The budget also has significant focus in rolling out measures for rural development. From a consumer sentiment standpoint, the budget brings some relief around IT exemptions and is expected to accelerate savings that may fuel economic growth and consumer spending. Further impetus to innovation, entrepreneurship and focused development of industrial corridors will drive domestic employment generation and economic upliftment. Fostering growth and reducing fiscal deficit have been the cornerstone for this year’s budget. 
 
With technology as a key component for delivery of government services, mobile will be a key enabler. M2M technologies will be vital to realize the government’s vision of 100 smart cities, as well enhancing the delivery of healthcare and education services. We believe these are positive signs that will transform the standard of healthcare, education and urban living, as IoT becomes a reality. 
 
Further, domestic manufacturing will receive likely boost as the government enhances focus on this sector. Overall a progressive budget that aims to instill investor confidence and propel economic growth.” 
 
Bhaskar Pramanik, <keyword id="6364480" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Chairman">Chairman</keyword>, <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> India 
“There were five specific priorities that I was looking for to be addressed in this maiden budget by the new Government - ubiquitous use of technology for inclusive growth, enhancing the education ecosystem, promoting a tax regime that is stable and growth oriented, focus on the start-up ecosystem and greater impetus to the manufacturing sector. It is heartening to note that the budget has provided the right direction on these. 
 
India’s transformation has to be powered by technology - this is well recognized by the Government and has been articulated in the various initiatives in the Budget. I see this budget setting the stage for higher growth on strong fundamentals of manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, built on the backbone of technology.” 
 
Sanjay Rohatgi, President - Sales, India, <keyword id="111839" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Symantec">Symantec</keyword> “The <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> has presented a forward-looking budget. 'Technology for Governance' seems to be the new mantra here. This has instilled a great deal of excitement in the technology sector with an array of opportunities. We are particularly thrilled with the Government’s all-encompassing initiative themed ‘Digital India’ which clearly enunciates a clear action plan for last mile internet connectivity, better access to services, as well as IT skills development of local talent. This is being further reinforced with outstanding proposals for massive investments in greenfield infrastructure projects such as smart cities; youth-focused programs like establishing new IITs and developing a conducive environment for entrepreneurship. These are extremely positive and encouraging steps and we sense that a protected and secure information infrastructure will be the backbone for inclusive growth and development. It’s an environment Symantec will look forward to work and partner in.”

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Microsoft's White Space technology might remain a dream for India over ‘free spectrum’ issues

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Microsoft criticised Mark Zuckerberg's plan to give away cheap internet in India

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Budget 2014 Reactions By The Indian Mobile And IT Industry - BlackBerry, Microsoft And Symantec

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