Microsoft launches 14 innovation centres

To tap the growing developer’s ecosystem in India, Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited has launched 14 Microsoft Innovation Centres (MICs) in partnership with technical institutions across four states.

The company, which runs 75 such centres globally, plans to set up 100 such centres over the next two years in the country. “India is a key market for us. With more than 1 million developers in the country, the developer’s ecosystem is unique compared to other countries as people here develop apps professionally and also as part of their hobby,” Joseph Landes, general manager of DPE (developer platform evangelist), Microsoft India, told Business Standard.

Developers would be encouraged to innovate across key technology focus areas that are driving growth, including mobility (Windows Phone), cloud (Windows Azure), accessibility and healthcare. Besides, there would be a wider ambit for solving problems with focus on India, he said.

MICs are state-of-the-art technology facilities located at educational institutes, start-up villages and other state departments. It provides incubation and hands-on support on Microsoft technology innovation, research, and software solutions, involving a combination of government, academic and industry participants, he said.

Each MIC will act as an innovation hub for five other neighbouring colleges and will operate in a hub-spoke model.

The first 14 centres have come up in cities including Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Khammam (Andhra Pradesh), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and Trichy and Salem in Tamil Nadu.

The thrust will be on four major areas - innovation, entrepreneurship, employment and education. MIC will act as a platform for students where they can learn about the company’s technology and develop the developer’s ecosystem, said Phani Kondepudi, director of academic programmes (DPE), Microsoft India.

MICs will impact over 500,000 students, certifying 100,000 students on Microsoft technologies. It will also help build a product-based software economy by supporting product development and over 500 start-ups.

Microsoft has similar programs such as DreamSpark, BizSpark and Imagine Cup that encourage students to develop businesses and create applications on its platforms.