Microsoft Malaysia managing director Ananth Lazarus shares his views and outlook on the year ahead.

TEFD: What are your expectations for 2012, for your company and your industry?
Lazarus: The year 2012 is certainly going to be an exciting one. Foremost on everyone’s mind is the state of the world economy which, based on current indicators, points to a challenging year ahead. The slow economic recovery in the US coupled with the ongoing eurozone sovereign debt crisis certainly gives rise to concerns for individuals and businesses in 2012.

Yet, against a backdrop of these worldwide economic concerns, the advances in technology and innovation along with the attendant benefits continue to march on unabated. It is imperative that we all realise this fact and, more importantly, actively leverage the opportunities therein.

Lazarus: We will continue to focus on 'Transforming Malaysia Together' through three key priorities: transforming education, transforming businesses and transforming lives.

In fact, information and communications technology (ICT) continues to be recognised as a major enabler of the Malaysian economy, with both the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the Digital Malaysia master plans set in place to advance the workforce and accelerate Malaysia’s transformation into an innovative and competitive nation.

The effective use of technology and innovation certainly helps address and mitigate some of the concerns of a potentially challenging 2012.

For example, the way cloud computing continues to transform how IT capabilities are delivered and utilised by organisations, and revolutionises the way companies look at addressing the complexities as well as costs of managing their IT investments and infrastructure.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s state of cloud computing in Malaysia 2011 report, 34% of organisations are making cloud computing their number one priority, with one-third of respondents already deploying some form of it.

In this regard, I’d like to say that “the stars are aligned” for more organisations to get onto the cloud. The confluence of the government’s continued efforts to increase broadband penetration and wireless connectivity; the proliferation of web-enabled smart devices; an increasingly mobile, digital lifestyle; as well as the ready availability of simple, convenient and cost-effective solutions all point towards a prime opportunity for Malaysian organisations to enjoy some of the most cutting-edge IT resources in the world, while streamlining costs, increasing efficiency and enhancing global competitiveness.

It is no wonder the government has identified cloud computing as a key deliverable in achieving the RM17.3 billion incremental gross national income by 2020 under the ETP.

At the same time, on the consumer front, technology — through countless ways — is transforming the way people live. Today’s technological advancements allow us to reach out, to connect and collaborate, and to communicate with each other in more meaningful and convenient ways than ever before.

That is why we at Microsoft take our responsibility to help people understand how they can get the most out of technology quite seriously so they can become more productive, while also making their lives simpler and more meaningful.

In light of all this, our product pipeline for 2012 is certainly going to be an exciting one across all our customer segments — whether for consumers, small to medium businesses, or even large enterprises.

We have already seen good reviews of our Windows Phone devices in the region and expect the momentum to continue here in Malaysia. We have also seen positive reception to our cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite and increasing interest in our solutions for businesses and enterprises.

With the rest of the major product announcements we have in store for 2012, even with the challenges this year, it’s going to be an exciting year for Microsoft!

What impact, if any, do you expect from the euro crisis?
The eurozone debt crisis is certainly a concern as it could end up hedging the IT investments of many companies during slower economic times. Malaysia, however, is expected to demonstrate resilience though restrained economic performance. Therefore, we anticipate even more interest in moving towards adopting cloud computing solutions as businesses and organisations work at streamlining their business operations and maximise their IT investments.

What are the main challenges for the company?
I think one of the main challenges Microsoft Malaysia faces is how to effectively communicate the breadth and depth of our offerings to our customers.

No other IT company in the world has established such strong credible offerings that meet the needs of the largest enterprises down to the individual home user. From a company that developed operating systems and applications software, we are today a company whose technology spans the entire software spectrum, from browsers and search engines to business productivity tools and phones, and more.

So, even though the one thing that hasn’t changed at Microsoft is the fact that people are at the core of everything we do. It certainly is a challenge to fully articulate all that we do across our extremely diverse audience segments. We will continue to forge on in helping people, companies and organisations realise their full potential through technology and to provide continuous cloud services to every business and every individual.

What are the company’s plans and focus for 2012?
At Microsoft Malaysia, we will continue to focus on “Transforming Malaysia Together” through three key priorities: transforming education, transforming businesses and transforming lives.

This is a statement of our commitment and ownership of the role that we play as a corporate citizen in Malaysia, to contribute in a meaningful and concrete way as a catalyst for growth in alignment with the country’s national agenda.

You can see this in the many things that we have done to date. For example, Microsoft has the largest local partner ecosystem in Malaysia today with over 5,000 partners to create “Made in Malaysia” IP solutions.

Our Unlimited Potential (UP) programme is dedicated to improving individuals’ job skills and workforce opportunities by focusing on providing technology-related skills through community technology learning centres (CTLCs). Not only that, since 2004, Microsoft has given cash and software grants of more than RM13.5 million to deserving organisations in Malaysia.

Our various SPARK programmes, such as BizSpark which aims to help build capacity and accelerate growth among Malaysian start-ups, support over 120 companies as well as 250 member developers. Our recent partnership announcements with the Multimedia Development Corp, SMECorp Malaysia, and Telekom Malaysia Bhd will further enable Malaysian businesses become strong GDP contributors.

Microsoft Malaysia will continue to partner the government in economic initiatives to ensure state-of-the-art public service delivery; to transform education by expanding quality and accessibility using technology; and to drive business transformation through new technologies and workforce development.

We believe that these are great engines of growth for the country to leverage on and Microsoft Malaysia would like to play a role in ensuring our collective vision of a better, brighter Malaysia becomes a reality.

What is your personal wish list for 2012?
Having spent 13 years at Microsoft, I remain convinced that technology can change the world and improve people’s lives — this is why I still love doing what I do! This belief is perhaps even more relevant today as technology has evolved to the point that it’s woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. Thus, it is my personal hope that all of us — whether individuals, businesses or organisations — will fully leverage on the power of technology to become more effective at work, more creative at play, and especially more in touch with the people who matter to us.

The 2012 CEO Outlook series started on Dec 19, 2011 and will run every day through January. Among those TEFD has interviewed are Geoffrey Briscoe of BMW Malaysia, Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank Bhd, Jeffrey Chew of OCBC Bank (M) Bhd, Osman Morad of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Yvonne Chia of Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian of Kuala Lumpur-Kepong Bhd, among many others. If you’ve missed any of these, please read our back issues on iPad for free.