by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Markets, Technology
New Delhi : Various technologies at Microsoft that began transforming the lives of individuals and communities in India last year will gain further momentum in 2018, the company’s President Anant Maheshwari said on Tuesday.
In a mission statement, Maheshwari said he is proud to play a role in the transformation of India’s core pillars of education, health care, agriculture and governance, among others.
Today, about 25 per cent students drop out from grade 10 to grade 11.
“We have partnered with Andhra Pradesh government to see how machine learning can help educators foresee signs of a student being on the risk of dropping out and take preventive action. In 2017, the government expanded the rollout of the programme to all 13 districts in the state,” Maheshwari said.
Microsoft has also initiated “Project Sangam” that aims to upskill the workforce to prepare it for jobs that exist now and in the future.
“The learning modules are hosted on the Cloud and are coupled with the power of LinkedIn to enable candidates to find jobs,” he said.
Along with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Microsoft is using machine learning and historic weather data to predict the best time for sowing seeds and other stages of the farming process and pass on that information to farmers via SMS.
“In 2017, we not only increased the pilot to more farmers across additional states like Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, but also expanded the crops for which we can provide predictive information and saw increase in crop yields ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent,” Maheshwari informed.
Researchers at Microsoft India are also working on a project which uses low-cost ground-based sensors and aerial photography, along with data analysis systems that can provide even better predictive analysis for individual fields.
When it comes to health care, Telangana government is using Microsoft’s Cloud-based advanced analytics solution to screen children from birth to 18 years of age for major conditions affecting the health of children in the state.
“One of the insights from the screenings indicated that visual impairment was among the most prevalent health issues among children. This led Telangana government to adopt Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE), which was developed in partnership with LV Prasad Eye Institute,” Maheshwari said.
MINE uses machine learning and advanced analytics to predict regression rates for eye operations, enabling doctors to pinpoint the procedures needed to prevent and treat visual impairments.
While the rest of the world might be talking about self-driving cars, researchers at Microsoft India have devised ways on how low-cost tech can make drivers drive better.
“Project ‘HAMS’ uses a smartphone as an intelligent edge device that can track multiple events such as driver distraction, fatigue and gaze tracking, as well as vehicle ranging, which determines whether a safe separation distance is being maintained with the vehicles in front,” he added.
Researchers are now looking at Bollywood movie scripts to figure out how bots of the future will be able to understand how humans mix languages in a conversation.
“We are also breaking language barriers by adding more Indian languages in Microsoft Translator,” Maheshwari said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Technology
Tokyo : Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company Fujitsu and Microsoft on Saturday announced to build new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions that will transform the ways people work.
Based on the Microsoft 365 integrated cloud service, the new solutions will be powered by Fujitsu’s AI technology, Fujitsu Human Centric AI Zinrai, and Microsoft AI platform services on Azure.
“Expanding our collaboration with Fujitsu provides customers with yet another way to take advantage of the powerful and intelligent digital capabilities of our platform to drive more collaboration and creativity,” said Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Business at Microsoft.
The companies aim to make these new solutions available in the Japanese market from the second quarter of 2018 before a global rollout.
The two companies aim to develop a new $2 billion of new businesses in the global market by 2020.
“The collaboration with Microsoft in AI will bring our relationship into a new phase, and I believe it demonstrates the fruits of digital co-creation,” said Shingo Kagawa, CTO, Fujitsu Limited.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Marketing Basics, Markets, Technology
San Francisco : Microsoft has filed a patent for a foldable dual-screen notebook which is quite like the companys “Courier” concept — a booklet PC which was first reported in 2008 and then cancelled in 2010.
“It shows the now well described dual-screened device with a first and second ‘surface’ with the ‘self-regulating hinges’ which would allow the device to be positioned in a number of ways similar to a Lenovo Yoga but without any of the thickness associated with a regular hinge,” mspoweruser.com reported late on Friday.
The patent, filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), includes intricate details around how the hinge works. However, there are not much details about software for such a device.
Notably, Microsoft appears to have used the special hinge to solve the bezel problem of having two screens.
The design shows two edge-to-edge displays which are positioned such that they touch each other without any significant gap.
The company is also reportedly using gear-like cogs to create this adjustable hinge, allowing the device to hold in different positions.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Large Enterprise, Marketing Basics, Markets, Medium Enterprise, SMEs, Technology
By Nishant Arora,
Hyderabad : Microsoft will soon enable partners to work effectively with its rich network of government customers, helping them work around the countrys ega digital initiative, a top company executive said here on Thursday.
With a rich ecosystem of over 9,000 partners and nearly 102 million developers, Microsoft works with over 200,000 large, medium and small enterprises, 29 state governments and over 5,000 start-ups in the country.
“One out of nine of our partners today does business on the Cloud and, going forward, we will endeavour to bring all of them into the Cloud ecosystem. With Cloud awareness now reaching tier II and tier III markets, we will definitely have more reach in India in 2018,” Rajiv Sodhi, General Manager, Partner Ecosystem, Microsoft India, told IANS.
Another area that Sodhi, who is driving the overall strategy and general management of the cloud and server business for Microsoft India, will focus on in 2018 is bringing more effective Cloud solutions to the market.
“The focus will be on modern workplace, business applications, more data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate efficient analytics for businesses. We will make sure partners are taking advantage of our Next-Gen Cloud offerings,” Sodhi added.
One area Sodhi is excited about is to help CIOs/CEOs shun the legacy infrastructure and join the Cloud journey.
“Most of the top company people I interact with are concerned about how to get out of the legacy infrastructure era. With our unique License Mobility through Software Assurance, we can bring customers running Windows and SQL (database management system) with existing licenses seamlessly on to the Cloud,” Sodhi informed.
Microsoft on Wednesday launched Azure Stack for India which is an extension of the company’s Azure Cloud platform. Azure Stack brings the agile and fast-paced Cloud computing to on-premises environments and enables new Hybrid Cloud scenarios.
“Microsoft is clear that hybrid is a key differentiator and is helping Indian enterprises move faster on to Cloud,” Sodhi said.
When it comes to the partner ecosystem both globally and in India, Microsoft has an enormous range.
Tata Motors has partnered with Microsoft India to redefine connected and personalised driving experiences for Indian customers. It is leveraging Microsoft’s connected vehicle technologies that bring together AI, advanced machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities on the global hyper-scale Azure Cloud.
Another example is Ramco Systems, the global HCM and Payroll software provider on Cloud and Mobile. The firm has been building cutting-edge applications on top of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality (MR) headset HoloLens for its enterprise customers.
It has created 3D models of jet turbines converted into detailed holograms and rendered on HoloLens, resulting in an immersive training experience, simulating every scenario engineers might encounter as part of their operational responsibilities.
The tech giant’s Gold Partner Sonata has a Microsoft Centre of Excellence, covering technologies like Dynamics AX, CRM, Office 365, and Azure.
“When it comes to Cloud transformation, no industry is behind and the transformation is happening fast across industry verticals. New Microsoft Cloud solutions are helping businesses lower the cost, ease the barrier and bring in more productivity,” Sodhi told IANS.
“Cloud opportunity is very real. When it comes to serving 51 million SMBs in India, our robust local channel eco-system is helping them. Our partners are building solutions for SMBs who now have more receptivity towards Cloud,” he added.
Earlier this week, global data centre maintenance firm Park Place Technologies became the first company to fully deploy Microsoft enterprise Cloud services, including Dynamics 365 and Office 365, along with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to help enterprises drive digital transformation.
“I see a great opportunity in India on Office 365- LinkedIn integration. Our partners and customers are very excited about this unique combination which can result in better sales, talent management, rich people analytics and talent retention. Lots of use cases are coming from India on this,” Sodhi informed.
(Nishant Arora is at Microsoft’s Hyderabad campus on an invitation. He can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Technology
San Francisco : Announcing its plan to broaden the AI for Earth programme, Microsoft has pledged $50 million over the next five years to put artificial intelligence technology in the hands of those who are working to mitigate climate change.
Microsoft rolled out the AI for Earth programme six months ago with an aim to put the power of artificial intelligence towards tackling environmental challenges.
“At Microsoft, we believe artificial intelligence is a game changer. Our approach as a company is focused on democratising AI so its features and capabilities can be put to use by individuals and organisations around the world to improve real-world outcomes,” Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith wrote in a blog post on Monday.
The announcement came on the eve of the second anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
AI can be very useful in monitoring, modelling and managingthe Earth’s natural systems.
Data can speak volumes about the health of our home planet, including the conditions of air, water, land and the well-being of our wildlife.
“But we need technology’s help to capture this vast amount of data and convert it into actionable intelligence. AI can be trained to classify raw data from sensors on the ground, in the sky or in space into categories that both humans and computers understand,” Smith said.
“Fundamentally, AI can accelerate our ability to observe environmental systems and how they are changing at a global scale, convert the data into useful information and apply that information to take concrete steps to better manage our natural resources,” he added.
Over the past six months, Microsoft has awarded over 35 grants in more than 10 countries for access to Microsoft Azure and AI technology.
Microsoft said its AI for Earth could be a force multiplier for groups and individuals who are creating sustainable solutions.
“That’s why we’re not just putting more resources into this effort, but also coupling this with a long-term commitment to applying AI to grow and scale in four key areas – climate, water, agriculture and biodiversity,” Smith said.
Microsoft wants to do it in three ways. First, it plans to expand seed grants around the world to create and test new AI applications.
“We will also provide universities, nongovernmental organisations and others with advanced training to put AI to its best use,” Smith said.
Next, Microsoft will identify the projects that show the most promise and make larger investments to help bring them to scale.
“Finally, as these projects advance, we’ll identify and pursue opportunities to incorporate new AI advances into platform-level services so that others can use them for their own sustainability initiatives,” Smith said.
—IANS
