Helping India’s startups scale-up

Born in office cafeterias, garages, a Bangalore pub or a Delhi barsati; startups have been the darling of the Indian economy in the recent years. India has the third highest number of startups in the world – an estimated 4,200 to 4,400*. India also has the youngest entrepreneurs of them all. Most of the founders – almost three out of every four – are under the age of 35. Startup entrepreneurship in India is bringing innovations, new jobs, and competitive dynamics into the business environment. It’s the rise of India as a startup nation, and Microsoft is happy to play a key role in empowering the new dynamic.

*Source: Nasscom report

An idea is born

Mumbai-based ZingHR may not have been born out of a garage or have a romanticized beginning. It was, however, born out of a real need – mobility-based HR solutions. If you could do your taxes or banking or cab ordering from your mobile, why not your HR management! Having been in the Human Capital Management (HCM) industry for a decade, Prasad Rajappan, saw an opportunity in it, so he developed a solution that gave customers the simplicity of social media on an HCM automation app. The Zing factor! This was the dawn of ZingHR, a cloud-based HCM Software Solution Company. With its hire-to-retire approach to automated HCM, it brought in a powerful, relevant product that has met a unique need – and very comprehensively at that.

ZingHR realized that by leveraging cloud, they could address all the demands of their clients. They could provide solutions and services that were highly flexible, scalable, mobile, and economical. And when a partnership with a major cloud provider in the market proved fruitless with a lack of support and guidance, it was time to move on and find someone who would work with more than just a cloud solution. Enter Microsoft!

Adding that bit of Zing

What Microsoft brought to the table was way more than just the cloud. It was a platform that could complement ZingHR’s strengths in many ways including mentorship and technology – driving 5X growth in customers – from 20 to 100 in just a year.

Microsoft also stood by ZingHR during their transition to the cloud, providing them with vital support combined with a partnership approach at every stage. This enabled ZingHR to focus on creating applications that are truly mobile and give their clients the HR mobility that they truly deserved.

Mobility

By hosting and deploying their applications on Azure, ZingHR has ensured that their applications conform to the high mobility standards today’s employees are expecting.

Automation

ZingHR pioneered high levels of automation in several of the HCM processes, this has helped their clients drive efficiencies like reducing time and human errors by a considerable margin

Substantial cost reduction

Going cloud meant that the solutions come with a pay-as-you-go subscription model, hence reducing the cost of ownership severely.

Global reach

The global presence of Microsoft Azure also meant that ZingHR could now target seamless global expansion. Data residency or data security concerns will no longer worry their clients.

Substantial cost reduction

Best-in-class 128 bit SSL encrypted, firewalled data connections with the office network devices. Add Azure to the mix and what you get is a solution that is without equal in its security capabilities.

Insights

By examining data and looking for patterns, Machine learning with Azure helps Zing HR unlock powerful, actionable insights that can drive transformational benefits including intelligent predictions and greater efficiencies.

Microsoft and the startup industry

Microsoft helps startups grow in all stages of funding, whether they’re bootstrapping, crowdfunding, talking to angels or going through their first Series A. With free access to Azure, startups have a secure, reliable, open-source-friendly platform to deploy apps, store data and create virtual machines as they develop their solutions.

And go-to-market support and networking with Microsoft customers help startups grow around the world and navigate a funding landscape that’s changed over the years. Gone are the days when startups went directly from friends and family to venture capitalists. These days, startups have access to many more funding types, with accelerators, crowdfunding platforms, angel investors and angel groups.

Depending on scale, requirement, and stage of a start-up, Microsoft has various channels to empower startups:

Accelerator: A global initiative empowering entrepreneurs around the world on their journey to build great companies. We provide later-stage startups with the tools, resources, connections, knowledge and expertise they need to become successful companies.

BizSpark: A premier program offered exclusively through select accelerators designed to help startups succeed by giving free access to Microsoft Azure cloud services, software, and support. Eligible startups are able to scale their business with up to $120,000 of Azure cloud services per year.

Ventures: Microsoft Ventures focuses on start-up investments. It is an active, strategic partner at key stages of a startup’s growth, typically investing between Series A and D. It focuses on technologies enabling a mobile-first, cloud-first future, spanning business SaaS, productivity applications, security, AI & machine learning, and cloud infrastructure, among others

Startups to watch out for

Starting for the global arena

Working with startups is a key component of Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization on this planet to achieve more. As a trusted startup partner, Microsoft bridges the gap between innovation and security concerns. Our work with startups supports the government’s Digital India vision-a vision that believes in digital inclusion and empowering lives with technology and the Make in India initiative. It is a historic juncture for India’s tech startups as they are poised to take their ideas not just to India, but the world at large.