Microsoft to create over 100 commercial apps in 6 months

 

Technology giant Microsoft today launched a contest for independent software vendors (ISVs) and technology start-ups in India to create over 100 applications (apps) and solutions for businesses and governments in the next six months.

The contest, Code for Honour, is supported by a panel of organisations including the National Informatics Centre(NIC), IT-ITeS industry body NASSCOM, TiE, Nokia, NokiaApp Campus, Intel and BarrierBreak.

Launching the contest, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said: "With the proliferation of devices and cloud-based services, governments, businesses and other organisations are seeking to interact with customers, partners and other stakeholders securely and reliably."

There is an opportunity to create commercial apps beyond the traditional ERP and other transactional systems, he added.

"Code for Honour will kick-start the creation of apps and solutions that are scalable, reliable and secure and that can be used over public, private and hybrid clouds," he said.

The contest, which will run for over six months, is open to over 5,000 ISVs and tech start-ups in India. Any Indian ISV or tech start-up that is less than eight years old is eligible to participate in the contest, Pramanik added.

The ISVs and start-ups can develop apps and solutions in four broad categories on enterprise apps and solutions (HR, Finance, Marketing, Sales etc), micro, small and medium enterprise apps and solutions, government enablement and citizen services.

On the revenue sharing model, Microsoft India Chief Evangelist and General Manager Joseph Landes said: "Till USD 25,000, 75 per cent revenue will be given to the developer and the rest will go to Microsoft and for over-USD 25,000 80 per cent will go to the developer and rest to Microsoft."

Over the last two years, developers and ISVs in India have contributed significantly to Windows and Windows Phone stores. The rich developer ecosystem in India makes it the ideal place for developing commercial applications, he added.

"The reality of multi-device, multi-screen experiences is reshaping how developers think, build and monetise apps for consumption across the world," Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief Evangelist Steve Guggenheimer said.

With the best-in-class guidance, Code for Honor contest will challenge developers to build apps that have large-scale impact both for India and the world, he added.

Social-media policies are slowly changing from risk management to breaking new opportunities

Social media present challenges for businesses, but also phenomenal new opportunities. So far, however, businesses have tended to focus on the potential downsides of social media, and their related policies often have concentrated on risk mitigation.

This appears to be changing, however, according to the findings of a study by Emmanuelle Vaast of McGill University in Montreal and Evgeny Kaganer of the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa at the University of Navarra in Spain, a study published recently in The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. As social media have become more ubiquitous, companies have started to perceive their benefits, and this has been reflected in subtle changes in their policies.

The authors studied how companies perceive and respond to their employees' use of social media. They examined 74 corporate-policy documents concerning the use of public social-media sites, analyzing the documents using the theory of "affordances" - the idea that, when people perceive an object, they see it in terms of its "opportunities for action" - put simply, what it can be used for.

How, then, do companies think that social media can be used?

Prior research has identified four main "affordances" of social media: 1) Visibility, meaning that behavior, knowledge, preferences and connections that once were invisible become visible, 2) persistence, meaning that, once created, content exists for an indefinite period of time, 3) editability, meaning that people can collaboratively amend, add to, revise and change content published on the Internet, and 4) association, referring to social ties, either between people or between people and the content they create.

While manifestations of all four affordances were present in the social-media policies analyzed, companies tended to concentrate on certain affordances more than others.

Visibility and persistence dominated the policies. The idea that people who were not your intended audience might read what you post, and that content you create will continue to exist for an open-ended period of time, were of particular concern. The policies tended to regard these as potential risks, focusing on the possibility of reputational damage.

Editability was muted. Where social media's editability was acknowledged, it was seen primarily as "editability by others." There was an interesting relationship between visibility and persistence, on the one hand, and editability, on the other,

in that the former seemed to overshadow and, to some extent, displace the latter. This was exemplified by the fact that "What not to post" was a far more common theme than "What to post."

Association also was interpreted through the lens of risk. The focus was on associations between employees and the company, with employees often being warned to use disclaimers clarifying that their views were personal, and not those of the company. The policies tended to ignore the potential for employees to use social media to collaborate or interact.

In general there were three overarching themes in companies' attempts to shape employees' use of social media.

First, many borrowed from existing policies that had been developed in other contexts, such as general communications and human-resources guidelines. These borrowings sometimes were complex and lacked relevance, which undermined their effectiveness.

Second, some attempted to produce new policies tailored for social media that acknowledged special features such as the blurring of work and off-hours roles, as well as providing advice on "what to post" and "what not to post." These, however, often remained underdeveloped and lacked specifics.

 

A third theme was the attempt to hedge against or reduce social-media risks that the company was unable to anticipate. Often this meant telling employees to check with someone in authority if they were unsure about their social-media behavior. However, the issue of whether or how those in authority were qualified for the task rarely was addressed.

What all this implied was that the social-media environment was a new and changing one, and could not adequately be governed by existing policies created for other purposes. To cope with this, companies attempted to develop new governance mechanisms and establish some means to deal with problems on a case-by-case basis.

Social-media policies are changing, however, as evidenced by the fact that more recent examples referred to dedicated social-media departments or teams, which suggests a professionalization of companies' relationship with social media. Also, while risk mitigation still was a prevalent theme in recent policies, they also tended to recognize the positive aspects of social media, such as their ability to foster transparency and build positive relationships with customers or partners. Worries about the blurring of the personal/professional boundary seemed to have slightly decreased, while the theme of "fostering community" had increased.

In short, it seems that companies are cautiously starting to see the positives of social media.

Isro makes its debut on Facebook, Twitter

Exactly 72 hours after Isro announced that it was initiating legal action against organizations which have created Facebook pages and Twitter accounts using the name of the space agency, department of space and Mangalyaan, the agency launched its own official social media pages on Thursday.

Isro has, for the first time in its 45-year-old history, started its own official Facebook page and Twitter account, which can be accessed at www.facebook.com/isroofficial and www.twitter.com/isroofficial. In the first eight hours following its launch, the new official Facebook page saw 5,233 hits.

According to Isro, the aim of these new pages is to maximize public outreach, provide mission updates and create public awareness about mission objectives and accomplishments of key programmes.One of the major announcements made on the accounts immediately after their launch was that the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) will be launched at Sriharikota at 4.18pm on January 5, 2014.

It was apparent that Isro finally felt the need to have its own official social media pages following the appearance of the fake ones. "It is ironic that something fake has encouraged Isro to go in, at last, for official social media pages and get the public involved in the missions," said a former Isro official.

Its first experiment in entering the social media arena was with theMars Orbiter Mission (facebook.com/isromom) on October 22, 2013. According to Isro it has proved immensely popular scoring nearly three lakhs hits in just two months and the number is going up steadily.

The MOM facebook states that the Indian Mars mission is among the five-most talked about topics in India on par with Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, I Phones and Raghuram Rajan.

Isro has warned that impersonation of the organisation is construed to be a seriousoffence and stern legal actions against these pages and their administratorsare being initiated from ISRO/department ofsSpace to bringthem to immediate closure.

Data knowledge crucial for successful implementation of master data management

With each organisation focusing on having structured data storing facilities, it’s crucial to look at the kind of skills required to take over this responsibility as well. Not everyone in the workforce is equipped with the right kind or amount of knowledge or skills to manage the organisation’s data. Besides being organised, one must possess configuration skills, project management skills, and data knowledge.

Some of these skills can be easily acquired through specialised courses on Master Data Management (MDM); while others can only be gained by continuous training and learning within an organisation. Though overwhelming at the beginning, with consistent practice one can easily master the art of data management.

The courses tailored for MDM ensure that by the end of it students understand the challenges experienced by businesses in terms of poor data quality and also have a fundamental understanding on how to address such issues. During the coursework, students usually get to work with MDM project plans, project charters and other aspects of conducting and implementing a MDM project – which no doubt comes handy when the same person wants to apply the skill on the job.

Microsoft woos Indian companies to take on Android

Indian smartphone market is dominated by Android. But, in 2014 this may change. Microsoft is working with Indian phone makers like Lava to launch Windows Phone(WP) devices that will take on the mainstream and low-cost Android phones. The WP devices sold by the local companies are likely to be available in the market in the first half of 2014. They will be powered by Windows Phone 8.1, the next version of Windows Phone.

Vishal Sehgal, co-founder and director of Xolo, a separate entity created by Lava for premium phones, said Microsoft was talking to his company for Windows Phones. "We will come out with a WP device next year. The plan is to launch with Windows Phone 8.1," he said.

The Windows Phone 8.1 is likely to fix several important issues like lack of notification centre that have so far kept consumers away from Microsoft's mobile operating system (OS).

Globally, Microsoft has found very little support from hardware companies for Windows Phone. Only Nokia, which doesn't makeAndroid phones, is pushing the OS. Samsung, HTC, Huawei have mostly focused on Android devices instead of their Windows Phone devices.

Microsoft is also talking to Micromax, the second biggest smartphone maker in India after Samsung. However, sources said a Windows Phone device from Micromax wasn't a certainty at this point of time.

"Talks are on but we need to agree on how we can do that. One of the contentious issues is the licence fee that has to be paid to Microsoft for using Windows Phone. Android on the other hand is free," said a Micromax official. "Given the tough competition, margins are low. If we also pay licence fee, it may make the device too costly for consumers".

Shashin Devsare, executive director of Karbonn, refused to confirm or deny that his company was in talks with Microsoft. But he added Karbonn was a hardware and software agnostic company. "Currently, all our smartphones are powered by Android. But we are talking with other companies and evaluating if their software will help us provide a different experience to consumers," he said.

According to IDC, Karbonn, Micromax and Lava had a combined share of 32% in the smartphone market in Q3, 2013. In total, local phone companies have a market share of over 50%. In comparison, Nokia, which makes Lumia phones powered by Windows Phone, had a market share of just 5%.

One of the factors that make Android, which according to IDC has a market share of around 90% in India, so successful is its adoption by local phone makers. And one of the reasons behind high adoption of Android is that it is free to use. Local phone companies are asking Microsoft to waive the licence fee if it wants them to use Windows Phone for their devices but so far Microsoft is yet to commit to the free OS.

A Microsoft spokesperson refused to confirm or deny that the company was talking to Indian phone companies. However, sources said the company was interested in strengthening Windows Phone ecosystem and was looking for ways to introduce the OS into more phones, especially in the mainstream and low-end segment.

BlackBerry Messenger to come pre-installed on LG smartphones

 BlackBerry Ltd said on Wednesday that its popular messaging platform BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will soon be coming pre-installed on LG Electronics Inc smartphones.

Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry said the G Pro Lite, an Android-based smartphone, will be the first LG device to offer BBM out-of-the-box.

The announcement comes less than two months after BlackBerry began to roll out its BBM service to users ofAndroid and iPhone devices.

Cognizant gives shares, HCL Mercs to top performers

Well-performing IT companies are showering their top executives with phenomenal rewards. HCL Technologies has just given Mercedes Benz cars to about 50 of its top performers, and Cognizant has rewarded some in its top management with significant stock grants.

HCL's top performers have received the luxury hatchback A-Class , the base model of which is priced at Rs 25 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). "We continuously innovate on ways to recognize people. The top performers are invited to be a part of the HCL CEO Club, and employees who cross a certain threshold of performance are rewarded. The CEO Club programme recognizes high performers who impact business strategy," says HCL's HR head Prithvi Shergill. He declined to comment on how many Mercs were given.

Eberhard Kern, managing director of Mercedes-Benz India, says: "We were always confident that India is ready for compact luxury as is the trend globally. We are happy that companies in India are buying A-Class for rewarding their best talent."

In 2009, the Religare Group had given close to 30 luxury cars, including BMW and Mercedes Benz, to some of its top managers. Such novel perks, a common practice before the 2008 slowdown. seem to be making a comeback. Among other rewards are retention bonuses and education programmes.

Cognizant gives stock units worth crores
Earlier this month, Cognizant granted restricted stock units (RSUs) to five executive vice-presidents (EVPs) and other associates promoted to the EVP level. Debashis Chatterjee, EVP and president of technology solutions, and Sumitra Gomatam, EVP and president of industry solutions , were granted 4,000 RSUs (at today's price, valued at Rs 2.3 crore) on December 3 under the Cognizant Technology Solutions 2009 Incentive Compensation Plan.

The RSUs vest in equal quarterly installments over 12 quarters beginning March 3, 2014, so the stock units will fully vest on December 3, 2016.

Krish Venkat, EVP and president of healthcare and life sciences , Prasad Chintamaneni, EVP and president of banking and financial services, and D K Sinha, EVP, president of client servicing, have received 6,000 RSUs each (at today's price, valued at Rs 3.5 crore) that will be fully vested on December 3, 2016.

"The grants were made to all of our associates who were promoted to the EVP level which is part of our compensation package for our senior leaders," says aCognizant spokesperson.

Some IT and technology companies are giving retention bonuses of Rs 20 lakh and more to top executives. "Some energy and construction firms offer fully sponsored Master's programmes in Europe, US and top B-schools in India. Employees have the option of taking a sabbatical to pursue these courses and join their parent company back at a higher level or take up a different role. Some pharma companies work with global HR firms to help place spouses of senior leaders in relevant positions in other companies," says Moorthy K Uppaluri, CEO of Randstad India.

Ronesh Puri, MD in executive search firm Executive Access , says it has become uncommon for companies to offer innovative perks as many of them are grappling with cost pressures. "A common practice loses efficacy while some novel perks create a feel-good factor for employees when they don't see too much of those in the current market."