Microsoft India to develop new data management technologies
Friday, 08 November 2002, 20:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
NEW DELHI: Software major Microsoft's Hyderabad based India Development Center is in expansion mode as it seeks to address multiple customer demand for increased security, data integrity and data protection. The center is setting up a group in addition to a team at the headquarters in Redmond, Washington, to create new technologies in the enterprise storage management area, according to a company statement Thursday. Microsoft had recently set up the Enterprise Storage Division that delivers technologies ranging from data protection to network attached storage (NAS) devices to multi site high availability. With enterprises rapidly acquiring more storage, Microsoft is developing software to manage and maintain the data. The endeavor is meant to address the multiple demand of enterprises for higher availability of data for their applications together with increased levels of security, data integrity and data protection. "To develop the technologies to solve these important problems, we created a team in our India Development Center, in addition to a team in Redmond," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Enterprise Storage Division. "Enterprise storage is a major focus area for Microsoft, and we are very excited to have our India development center play a critical role in driving the strategy and developing brand new technologies for this space," said Srini Koppolu, managing director of Microsoft India Development Center. The center is in the process of forming a big team that Koppolu said would "be a key contributor to the expansion of the center". The team expansion would see the strength of employees doubling from around 150 to 300 by December next year, said Koppolu. PwC-Microsoft target VAT market Accounting major PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and software giant Microsoft Corporation India have come together to provide online and offline application services for the Indian value added tax (VAT) market. The new initiative is called VAT.NET. The VAT market is expected to open up in April 2003, when the federal and state governments will adopt a new indirect tax regime in a bid to increase their revenue. VAT.NET will enable government, corporate houses and manufacturing units to better assess their taxes, said Rajiv Nair, president of Microsoft Corporation India. It will enable users process returns, assess and reassess taxes, register new taxpayers, track taxpayers and also help in resolving tax appeals, added PwC executive director S. Madhavan. "Microsoft is primarily a software tools company. We are using the domain expertise of PwC in taxation to market and create our application service," said Nair. Added PwC director Roopen Roy: "The solution built on the Microsoft platform will help us sell our core expertise like our knowledge pool of tax and business advisory services." The accounting firm has provided VAT application services to 120 countries and is hoping to replicate its global experience in India. The VAT initiative will be based on Microsoft's .NET software strategy to enable the application be accessed online, offline and on handheld devices like cell phones. However, it can only work in a 100 percent computerized environment. Microsoft and PwC are looking at various models of revenue sharing from the sale VAT.NET though nothing concrete has been fixed yet. The feel market demand and extent of usage would help in fixing the price of the service. Microsoft and PwC have an alliance worldwide and have already sold the Indian government a utilities billing package - EnLite. Bill Gates is also expected to announce a long-term strategic commitment to support India's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS during his visit to the country November 11-14. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that functions independently of Microsoft will fund the effort, company officials said. The foundation has already granted $25 million for a vaccination drive to prevent Hepatitis B among infants in Andhra Pradesh. The Partnership Project as it is called is a joint venture between the Children's Vaccine Program at PATH (Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health) and the state government.
Source: IANS
siliconindia