Microsoft, Accenture ally to scale up Indian start-ups

January 12, 2018 08:59 pm | Updated 11:30 pm IST - BENGALURU

FILE - This April 12, 2016, file photo shows the Microsoft logo in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, France. Consumer Reports said Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, that it can no longer recommend multiple Microsoft laptops or tablets because of poor reliability compared to other brands. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE - This April 12, 2016, file photo shows the Microsoft logo in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, France. Consumer Reports said Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, that it can no longer recommend multiple Microsoft laptops or tablets because of poor reliability compared to other brands. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, and technology-consulting giant Accenture are joining forces to support Indian start-ups as well as tap their innovations. Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures on Friday announced a new 'ecosystem partnership' that aims to strengthen the start-ups in the country.

The two companies will help late-stage technology business-to-business firms boost their enterprise readiness and go-to-market strategy. They would also help them achieve scale in national and international markets.

“The crux is going to be about how to do they (start-ups) scale, build their valuation and exits,” said Bala Girisaballa, managing director, Microsoft Accelerator at its flagship event, ThinkNext 2018 here. The event was attended by more than 400 business and industry thought leaders, start-up founders and venture capitalists.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures will support firms specialising in areas such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented reality and virtual reality. The other areas include blockchain, financial technology, big data and cybersecurity.

 

“We are trying to help our clients to rotate to the new world which they are looking at,” said Avnish Sabharwal, managing director, Accenture Ventures, India. “Sitting in India I can access any start-up from Israel, Silicon Valley and London for my Indian or global clients,” he added.

Under the new ecosystem partnership, the young firms would be provided access to global clients and network of Accenture and Microsoft. “It is quite complex for a small start-up to actually go and reach out to a large audience especially when you are looking at opportunities across different industries,” said Mohit Singh, head of business at vPhrase. The firm, which has received mentoring from Accenture and Microsoft, helps companies understand their data better by explaining the insights in ‘words’, using AI.

The partnership would also help such firms to deploy solutions in large India and global client environments and improvise on their business model. One such company Knolskape which provides talent transformation technologies is “co-developing products along with Accenture,” said Rajiv Jayaraman, founder and CEO of Knolskape. The firm also went through a structured programme under Microsoft where it received insights from various experts to scale the company. “As a start-up person you go through the grind and you don’t get the time to reflect,” added Mr.Jayaraman.

These firms stand to gain by developing innovative solutions for enterprise use cases created out of the synergy between Microsoft Accelerator and Accenture Ventures. This includes the shared innovation ecosystems consisting of tech firms, venture capitalists, universities and corporate research and development labs.

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