Source: www.business-standard.com

Following the lead set by Dell Corporation, Satyam and other IT majors, evincing an interest in Nagpur, software services and business solutions giant, Microsoft, too has decided to set up shop in Nagpur.

Functioning under its Mumbai module, the office of Microsoft Corporation of India Private Limited aims at strengthening direct sales infrastructure, besides undertaking other activities, as a part of Microsoft’s endeavour for increased penetration in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class cities apart from the metros.

Increasing presence to cover 33-markets under its hub, the coming months will see Microsoft come up with its business model for the sub-continent. Currently, with a count of seven offices, it will open five more at Indore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi and Coimbatore, besides the one at Nagpur, taking the office tally count to thirteen.

According to Microsoft India, an enhanced presence will give it more reach and also enable small and mid-market organisations to access its comprehensive portfolio of products and services, deploying customised solutions for customers and also offering better support either directly or through its trade channel partners.

Encouraging interaction with industry associations for the appreciation and addressal of local business challenges, channel engagement will be under the Microsoft Partner Programme (MSPP) framework.

Already, Microsoft has done a study of the region, calculating a need for over 36,000 small and medium businesses, a few big industries and numerous government organisations for the purpose.

It sees these businesses posting a good turnover and contributing to Maharashtra’s economy. The software major acknowledges that spending on information technology is growing and believes that there is a need for ‘proper guidance and hand holding from channels and vendors.‘ Microsoft hopes its direct presence in the city will help in partnering small and medium industries, while consolidating their growth trajectory.

As off-shoring / outsourcing and globalisation change the world, it is also changing the mindset of a billion Indians. The traditional Brahminical values of simplicity, restraint and Karma is being replaced with a leaf taken out of the cultural roots of a Kshatriya’s way of life, with the accent on extrinsic values of action, success, glory and heroism.

India’s economic transformation has also given way to a Karmic Transformation as its economy burgeons and grows, and the sub-continent becomes the world’s off-shoring / outsourcing hub for whatever you can name. Indians are no longer taking refuge in the traditional interpretation interpretation of Karma that our life is governed by fate, hence there is not much that can be done to change what is writ.

New India seeks to transform its Karma, as a new belief emerges that Karma is shaped by our actions and it is possible, therefore to transform one’s being; and to achieve a life that one desires than live out one’s destiny.

As visible is a larger cultural change, for instance, Indians are no longer content to sit back and wait for opportunity to knock on the door. On the contrary, they have begun to go out and knock on Opportunity’s doors!. Take for example, Bangalore city facing a genuine scarcity of chauffeurs. The reason, quite simple in fact! In general, the Southern states in India are more conversant with English as a language than Northern states. As such, most of the chauffeurs in a city like Bangalore can speak English more or less fluently. The boom in the services sector has meant, anyone who can speak English and is open to working hard, can get trained by the BPO industry. And, that is precisely what has happened. Taking notice of Opportunity knocking on their doors, many chauffeurs in Bangalore have joined the BPO industry at salaries four to five times higher than what they would be earning driving someone else’s car.

And, so as off-shoring / outsourcing projects and investments pour in, as India’s economy outperforms that of USA, Europe and others, the Indians are transforming their cultural and spiritual mindset, going in more for the brash, bold and independent individualism that so marked the developed world’s foray into heady materialism in the 20th century. While, the 21st century, no doubt, is going to be India’s century, it is only to be hoped that on its way to becoming a developed nation, it does not make the same mistakes the developed world made, such as, losing touch with nature, spirituality, families and friends, traditional and cultural roots, only to make materialism and ever-changing relationships their mainstay!

Otherwise, the transformation from a deep-rooted belief in Karmic inaction believing destiny will rule, to one that sees Indians grabbing the bull by the horns, changing whatever Fate may have in store for them, is a brilliant take, in so far as, there is a balance and harmony between both beliefs, as belief in Karma can often prevent a man from committing bad deeds!

And, as the world shrinks to a global village, India could well show how to keep spirituality and materialism, family values and individualism in perfect tandem, enjoying the material benefits of a burgeoning economy, while keeping spiritual faith alive, free spirited and independent, while reaping the rich harvest of a joint family system!