At Future Unleashed event in Mumbai, Microsoft has announced partnerships with three e-commerce leaders in India – Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal and a special cloud initiative for start-ups aligned to smart cities. Microsoft also informed at the event that their latest flagship devices Lumia 950, 950X smartphones and Surface Pro 4 tablet will be coming to India in December 2015 and January, 2016.
Microsoft’s partnerships with JustDial, PayTm and Snapdeal will help these pioneers in creating new marketplaces, new services and new experiences for their customers. Justdial, Paytm and Snapdeal will use a range of cloud and mobile technologies from Microsoft including advanced cloud services such as machine learning, Bing, Skype and Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana, to drive business innovation and customer delight.
Justdial and Microsoft will explore the use of Bing and cloud-based analytics to provide and enhance customer experience. Paytm and Microsoft are working on three core areas of partnership. The companies will integrate the Paytm app and Paytm Wallet into Cortana to enable consumers to pay for their utility bills and carry out mobile transactions easily. Paytm will use Office 365 for their merchants’ inventory and account management. Lastly, Paytm will facilitate and support Microsoft service sales via their merchant network.
Snapdeal will work with Microsoft cloud platforms to create a digital automotive dealership that is expected to change the way customers make automotive buying decisions. Snapdeal and Microsoft will use Skype, Bing and Cortana to provide new engagement platforms for Snapdeal customers.
Microsoft has also launched a new initiative for local start-ups that are focused on delivering innovative solutions for smart cities. These start-ups can now apply for individual access up to USD 120,000 (INR 80 lakhs) worth of Azure computing to help India’s smart cities explore solutions and run smart city digital pilots. Cities can also apply for access to these services and solutions on Azure through a new portal which connects start-ups with cities and their needs. This initiative is anticipated to impact over 50 smart cities in the next year.
Keynoting at Future Unleashed, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, said, “At Microsoft, we strive to empower every Indian citizen and every business and government organization to achieve more. With the newly launched Microsoft Cloud and with Surface Pro 4, our customers here in India have the digital technology they need to seize incredible new growth and opportunity on a global scale.”
