| | DECEMBER 20238INDIAN TECH CRITICAL TO MICROSOFT FOR AI: MICROSOFT ASIA PRESIDENTMicrosoft regards the Indian IT environment as critical to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Microsoft collaborates with Indian IT service providers as a client, seller, and project partner, and is enthused about future joint ventures, according to Ahmed Mazhari, President, Microsoft Asia.In Asia, Microsoft has engagements with global system integrators(SI) in two regions, Japan -with the likes of Fujitsu, NEC and Hitachi, and India- with the likes of Infosys, TCS, and others. "We have a very deep relationship that has been built over the last two decades, and we do a lot of work with these players. These relationships are 360 relationships, and serve us in many ways," Mazhari added.Microsoft has a threefold relationship with IT services players - being customers of certain services, selling to others, and collaborating with entities like banks, public utilities, or hospitals on platform implementations, particularly within the Microsoft IT services framework prevalent in India, as per thehindubusinessline."We see the tech ecosystem as supercritical to enablement of AI and they will play a very important role," Mazhari said. Infosys for instance is one of the largest ITeS companies using GitHub and is driving productivity at scale, he notes. Microsoft is also committed to enabling implementation of services by focusing on improving the talent base, by their upskilling programs and certification courses. When it comes to enterprise adoption in India, Mazhari observes that Indian businesses are increasingly looking at integrating sophisticated technologies and AI. Indigo's AI chatbot, for example, uses the Microsoft OpenAI platform to purchase tickets. Air India successfully moved its data center to the Azure cloud as part of this technological adoption. He emphasizes the importance of significant projects, such as Apollo's AI-powered risk APIs for cardiovascular health. NCS and Google Cloud have established a strategic agreement to drive AI-led change for public and commercial sector organizations in Singapore, Australia, and rest of Asia Pacific.NCS has also integrated its Google Cloud expertise across its service offerings and teams. This enables APAC clients to harness AI and cloud technologies to transform and innovate at greater speed and scale. Clients can tap into NCS' extensive experience and capabilities and its 100-strong APAC Google Cloud team to confidently navigate the full spectrum of innovation, security, and AI transformation, as per economic timesThe strategic relationship, led by Tom Bernadou, Global Google Alliance Lead at NCS, marks a new milestone in the two companies' engagement. Organizations may now expedite their digital transformation by combining Google Cloud's capabilities with NCS' end-to-end services, bridging the gap between AI and cloud technologies. The integrated service will assist organizations in identifying new possibilities, improving processes, and staying competitive in a continuously changing market. They will also be able to implement AI capabilities for data-driven decision making, with the cloud offering the infrastructure to handle large-scale AI applications.Howie Lau, Managing Partner, Corporate Development and Partnerships, NCS, said, "We are seeing a revolution in digital experiences and innovation led by the convergence of AI with cloud computing. By combining NCS' end-to-end system integration expertise with Google Cloud's trusted AI and cloud technologies, we are empowering our clients to harness the transformative potential of AI and cloud. Together, we will co-create the next generation of resilient and secure AI-powered applications that our clients need to advance their businesses and the communities they serve. Our partnership with Google Cloud will not only accelerate innovation and expedite time-to-market but also enable our clients to leverage the growth of AI in the APAC region". IN FOCUSNCS & GOOGLE CLOUD JOIN HANDS TO ADVANCE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
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