The last two years have witnessed massive technology transformations across industries. The profound impact of technology in everything that we do is much deeper and broader today than ever before.
Today, on Day 1 of Future Ready – Microsoft’s flagship event, industry leaders exchanged perspectives on the trends that will define India’s next normal.
Speaking at the session “Growth Enablers for a Hybrid Reality”, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, shared his thoughts on how tech led innovation can improve the lives of people and organizations while driving growth for India to sustain its unprecedented digital momentum.
Here are some takeaways and excerpts:
Tech to emerge as the driver of a new hybrid reality: The future of work is hybrid. We are no longer bound to traditional notions of space and time for how, when and where we work. All of us are collectively learning and innovating on how we will shape the future of work in India. Cloud readiness, digital business processes, and a zero trust security architecture will be key enablers in adapting to the new hybrid reality.
A robust digital consumer economy will scale to become a $800 billion market by 2030 : The pandemic and the last two years have accelerated the leadership of tech in leading all industries — health tech, fintech tech for citizen services, GovTech, logistics-tech, game-tech and entertainment & edu-tech. And the list goes on. A digitally native customer is a trend line that will reshape all industries. It is estimated that India’s consumer digital economy, which was expected at a sizable $85 to $90 billion in calendar year 2020 is now expected to be ten times more to become a $800 billion market by 2030.
India’s newfound tech-access, innovation prowess and large developer population to play key role in growth: Innovation in India is now accelerating through the third largest startup ecosystem. We are seeing the largest scale of unicorns being created at a pace that is unprecedented…India’s unique strength is its large developer population. Every company is digital and that is powered by software that is created by this ecosystem. Rapidly adding to it now is the low code and no code platforms that are democratizing digital asset creation. With the power of India’s large young population that is natively connected and mobile, India can scale the creation of digital assets without necessarily knowing how to code software.
Microsoft leading the way to a sustainable future: In the last two years, the cracks in our growth became sharper as we saw some of the most vulnerable people affected, low-income groups and women. It reiterated to me the power of tech in bridging social and economic gaps as well as fostering innovation. A great example of AI for Good is how SEEDS, a non-profit company is protecting vulnerable communities from the effects of climate change with AI.
Microsoft is committed to being carbon negative, water positive and waste negative. The Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability is designed to provide near real-time visibility into emission metrics for organizations and help them manage sustainability goals and reduce their carbon emission and reach net zero.
As India steps into a digital-first world, individuals, communities, organizations, and governments are partnering with the tech ecosystem. Microsoft is working closely with the government, industry, and civil society partners on several initiatives to empower Indians to achieve more.
