ITWeb's Kathryn McConnachie recently sat down for a one-on-one with Microsoft's corporate VP for the Middle East and Africa, Ali Faramawy, to discuss the company's latest innovations and African strategy.
ITWeb: Microsoft as a brand is currently in a phase of rejuvenation, with its renewed focus on consumer technology. It has been working its way back into the conversation in mature markets, but what would you say the current consumer perception of the brand is in Africa? Are you seeing a shift at all?
Ali Faramawy (AF): I think, from a consumer perspective, and for quite some time, I believe that Microsoft has been a very friendly brand in Africa. This is because the main interaction point is usually through a personal computer (usually through a Windows-based personal computer) and the fact that, in many places in Africa, let's say the “copyright issues” and so on, were not necessarily implemented. So usually their interaction with Microsoft was through a free version of Microsoft Windows, Office and Internet Explorer and so on.
So, for many people, Microsoft was a way for them to get a grip on technology in general and to learn how to publish and interact. Obviously, in a world where we are talking about different ways of interactions for consumers on different types of devices, we see African consumers using a variety of devices. So I would say that, like in other markets, I think the same syndromes happen. We were affected badly by being late in certain things, and I don't think that Africa would be any different.
We're not talking about Africa being behind - in every country there's an affluent portion of the population who will get the latest and greatest devices from anywhere in the world. But I think the real issue is how can you reach the masses; how can you have technology that is easy to acquire and easy to deploy and use, and easy on the pocket. Not the cheapest, but still affordable.
The other thing is also how do you use technology in general, not just as a point of access or productivity tool, but rather how do you make it an integral part of society and country development. That would touch on many things, such as the content industry such as education, entertainment, government services, commercial services, e-commerce and so on.
So I don't think we're going to spend a lot of time thinking of the separate market segments. I think a more general view of information technology as a whole is key for the development of Africa and Africans, and therefore we need to address all elements of this kind of development.
ITWeb: Companies like Google have a very well publicised African strategy and multiple projects to uplift the local technology industry. Other companies like Apple are still struggling to figure it out. Microsoft has been criticised for lacking a specifically African strategy - does the company have specific plans for the region?
AF: It's interesting that people would say Microsoft doesn't have a clear African strategy, because I actually think that Microsoft is the best represented IT company in Africa. And it's not lumped with emerging markets or anything because we actually don't have an emerging-market unit.
We have three units that operate in Africa, we have Microsoft SA and Microsoft West, East and Central Africa, and we also have Microsoft in North Africa. We also have more than 30 offices on the continent and more than 1 000 people. So, in terms of representation, we have a presence in a number of countries and we have a dedicated channel in Africa and a very comprehensive capacity-building plan and a comprehensive network-building plan with NGOs and donor organisations - so we do stuff that is beyond the normal scope of our commercial business.
In a way, maybe we are guilty of not making it visible enough or talking about it enough. And maybe I'm the biggest culprit there because I believe that the work should speak for itself, as opposed to the company making a lot of noisy waves around it. But I can claim that our work in Africa has probably encouraged others to come in, and to possibly think of doing similar things.
Having said that, our aspirations for Africa, and the responsibilities that we have in order to contribute to making Africa a better place, are bigger than ever. Previously we were thinking primarily of the Millennium Development Goals. Now, the World Bank has done a lot of research into what can be done to turn the young workforce into a real asset for countries. They're called the 'Four I's for Africa', which include advanced infrastructure, institutional capability, innovation and the investment climate. We're trying to group ourselves and our investments in ways that we can actually boost each one of those. At the same time, the work we are doing in education and community development will continue.
ITWeb: Following from that, in order for Windows 8 to succeed as a platform, developer support will be essential. Is Microsoft doing anything to encourage and nurture local developers to adopt the platform?
AF: Yes, big time. Lots of stuff done by Africans for Africa. Lots of our projects are much bigger than just Windows 8. This is a continent with incredible diversity and I know that the world looks at it first as a combination of challenges and opportunities, but I see it as opportunities and responsibilities.
There are incredible things that can be done for Africa by Africa, and it is indeed our responsibility to help Africa reach its potential in all of those areas I previously mentioned.
The exciting thing is that change in our product, or enrichment of our product cycle, gives us more and more opportunity to turn all of those aspirations and intentions that we have into real work. So there's stuff that we can do with very sophisticated developers, but there's also stuff we can do with casual developers - there's room to bring in a business school person with an idea, with a developer and a venture capitalist. All of this can happen. So stay tuned.
ITWeb: Do you think Windows 8 has what it takes to really give the competition a run for its money and to challenge the status quo?
AF: Windows 8 is a very different thing because it's the first and only really true, no-compromise story between the kind of performance and manageability standards that you need in the enterprise and the kind of flexibility that you need for consumers.
There's no other platform that can give you this. The work that has been done on the different working scenarios is absolutely amazing and the reception from the market has been really great. The Windows ecosystem stands to be the largest, and much broader than any offering from any other company.
As you know, there are 300 million to 400 million PCs sold every year, and I think that opens up incredible opportunities for developers in Africa and other parts of the world because you would be writing applications potentially for a 300 to 400 million-device market. So it's very exciting and it's a true game-changer. I'm happy to be at this point, and to be with Microsoft while we're doing this. We'll do our best to make it available to people everywhere as soon as possible.
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