India’s main challenge is taking a technological solution developed locally to the global markets, Stefan Sjostrom, vice president (Public Sector) at Microsoft Asia said in an interview.
Citing an example, Mr. Sjostrom said he met some people in Bangalore during his recent visit to India, who had developed a cloud-based solution for diagnosis of “39 different types of cancer” at “ten times the speed,” while also bringing “the cost involved down to ₹500 from ₹3,000 and increasing the quality of accuracy from 60% to 95%.”
“Ultimately, that saves lives. This is as good a solution anywhere else in the world, not just in India. So, I think the challenge is how do we help orchestrate the conversation for those to reach the global market, beyond India,” he told The Hindu .
Mr. Sjostrom said it is not only about developing the solution, it is also about taking it to the market, building awareness for it and penetrating markets outside India. “The challenge is not in India, it is maybe how do you go beyond India, to draw value from your investments,” he added.
‘Talent powerhouse’
While India is a powerhouse in terms of talent available, he said it needs to be backed up right resources and curriculum for a “super bright” future.
Asked about his experience with the India government, Mr. Sjostrom said it was “very very positive”.
“I have been in this role for the past four years and I have seen a change in terms of the decisiveness, the ambition and the aspiration of Indian government moving faster and still think there is work to do but I think the appetite of the new government… there is a different sense of appreciation for technology,” Mr. Sjostrom said.
He added that an advantage that India has is that “you speak English” which gives the country “time to market” advantage over almost everybody.
A prohibitive factor, he said, sometimes maybe “…on the procurement side, bureaucracy can sometimes cause friction in terms of how quickly can you adopt the technology.”
He pointed out that some countries are very quick in doing things. “In Estonia, one can set up an Internet company within 18 minutes…That's a sense of time practicality, there should be as little friction as possible to get to market…first mover advantage is in the start-up world is very important.”
