The proliferation of devices gives technology major Microsoft options to come out with more innovations in its operating system Windows 8.

Speaking to Business Line , Joseph Landes, General Manager, Developer & Platform Evangelism, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd, shared his insights on Windows 8 interface, tablets and growth areas. Excerpts:

Despite many manufacturers adopting Windows 8 interface in India, a majority of users are sticking to older versions. How do you plan to get over this mindset with Windows 8.1?

We took very bold steps by actually releasing an operating system that has both traditional desktop, which people are used to in Windows 7, and some modern interface. If you look at statistics that we announced, worldwide, more than 100 million people are actually using Windows 8.

Does the return of ‘Start’ button to Windows 8.1 mean that Microsoft is admitting design failure?

I won’t say that. I think the great thing is that whenever you release the product, you have the opportunity to get a lot of feedback from people. They are allowed to give us feedback and they wanted something to be able to go back to, maybe, a little bit familiar to them. They wanted the opportunity to boot directly to the desktop.

What are the growth areas you see in the Indian market?

If you look at the job that I do in India, I only know the developers and platform of the evangelist team. There are four audiences that I take care of — students, start-ups, developers and IT professionals. I think there are growth opportunities for all these segments. Really, when you think of what some of those growth areas are, definitely cloud is something that has major opportunity. And big data, of course, is another one.

India is already flooded with different kinds of tablets such as Android and iOS. How will Microsoft find space?

I think we can find a niche in the tablet segment. We are actually going to be very successful in the tablet space in India.

If you look at the lot of competitive devices that you just mentioned, I think they are generally you would call ‘consumption’ devices. If you look at the Android tablet that you are talking about, most people use them to watch a movie, to read a book, to get on the Internet and do some very basic tasks.

If you look at Windows 8 device, it’s both a consumption device and a productivity device. If I want, I can play some game, read book, hear music and check out cricket scores. In addition to doing all that, I can also click on Outlook and check my e-mail. I can also work on Excel spreadsheet. I think that is really missing from other devices that are in the market.

Where do you see potential for Microsoft tablet?

Education segment is definitely one. Governments in many States are investing in giving people tablets. And, of course, beyond education and government, more and more businesses across India are starting to see people wanting tablet because of portability and the use.

jaishankar.p@thehindu.co.in

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