Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft Ventures and iSPIRT hosted SaaSx, a platform for SaaS (Software as a Service) entrepreneurs to share, learn and grow their business into million dollar Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) models. Ravi Narayan, Managing Director, Microsoft Ventures in India, said, “While SaaS is fast becoming a viable model for product start-ups in India, scaling it up rapidly is a bottleneck every mature SaaS start-up encounters. SaaSx, like our other initiatives with iSPIRT, is aimed at getting these start-ups the traction that will turn them into a global success.”

Rosetta Stone, the language-teaching software company has announced that it has worked with Microsoft to launch a new app for the Xbox One. The new app is designed to allow users to use a new immersive simulation to get the info they need to learn either English or Spanish.

Microsoft is methodically launching new services and adding features to Azure to make the platform more competitive and a better fit for different applications. With the new 1023GB limit, migrating virtual machines where apps and data residing on the OS drive exceed the previous ceiling becomes more straightforward, Microsoft’s Guy Bowerman, Senior Program Manager, Azure Compute Runtime, said.

iBall has announced two new additions iBall Slide WQ149i and WQ149R among its Windows-based 2-in-1 Tablet PCs. Developed in collaboration with the Intel and Microsoft, the 10.1-inch tablet PC runs on the latest Windows 8.1 operating system. Priced at a best buy of just Rs.18,499/- (Wi-Fi Version) and 19,999/- (3G Version), it comes packed with several free licenses, including the Microsoft Office 365 license with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage for one year.

According to research firm Gartner, India’s share of the enterprise software market in Asia-Pacific is expected to reach $6.8 billion by 2018. Samik Roy, Director – Dynamics, Microsoft India, believes that the rapid advances in cloud and mobility, along with rising customer aspirations of rapid implementation and user adoption, are fuelling the demand for business agility.

Microsoft Ventures and iSPIRT hosted SaaSx – a platform for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) entrepreneurs to share, learn and grow their business into million dollar Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) models. “While SaaS is fast becoming a viable model for product startups in India, scaling it up rapidly is a bottleneck every mature SaaS startup encounters. SaaSx, like our other initiatives with iSPIRT, is aimed at getting these startups the traction that will turn them into a global success,” said Ravi Narayan, MD, Microsoft Ventures, India.

As part of its mobile-first, cloud-first strategy, Microsoft has announced the launched of Azure App Service. The cloud service enables developers to build web and mobile apps for any platform and any device. “App Service is an integrated solution that streamlines development while enabling easy integration with on-premises and SaaS systems while providing the ability to quickly automate business processes,” Bill Staples, Corporate Vice President, App Platform, Microsoft Azure, said.

With a new integrated set of Azure-based services, Microsoft wants to help ease the process of developing applications that run in the cloud. “We’re hearing that developers want more simplicity. They’re challenged with having to build apps that target a variety of platforms and devices,” said Omar Khan, Microsoft partner director of program management.

Microsoft detailed the roles of Internet Explorer and Project Spartan browsers in the upcoming Windows 10 operating system. The company also announced that “major Web entities” will contribute to its platform, and announced Adobe’s Web Platform Team as its first partner.