Microsoft kicks off its 4-city 4G campaign

Microsoft India, in partnership with Trader's Asso­ciation of Informa­tion &
Technology (TAIT), initiated a new campaign entitled 4G for channel partners in
Lamington Road, Mumbai. This will also be carried out across key locations in
Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai in the coming months.

The initiative has been designed to empower and educate channel partners on
Windows 7, the soon to be launched operating system from Microsoft.

It will also focus on educating channel partners on the perils of piracy and
the benefits of selling genuine software.

The initiative kicked off with a two-day semi­nar in Mumbai, around 100 TAIT
mem­bers were provided information on the value of original software with a
focus on the support that Microsoft will provide on selling original Windows 7.
This is part of Microsoft's initia­tive to assist its channel partners in
understanding and addre­ssing customer queries on new products.

The four basic aspects or 4Gs that this seminar will address are:

• Go Genuine
• Go Windows 7
• Get Recognized
• Get Rewarded

“As we near the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft continues to make positive
traction, working closely with the partner ecosystem to provide the resources
they need to effectively get

ready for Windows 7 to collectively deliver a great customer experience. This
initiative will play a crucial role in gearing up the ecosystem for the launch
with the overarching objective to work together with channel associations and
bring down the piracy levels in IT-centric markets,” said Vipul Sant,
Director-Genuine Software Initiative, Microsoft Corporation India.

“We are doing a city based outreach program for 16 cities where we are
training channel beginning with Lamington Road in Mumbai. We have never
conducting dedicated outreach programs in the IT hubs. There is a latent
opportu­nity in these IT hubs, when it comes to kitting. So when they sell their
kits of components either to consumer or other channel, software gets attached
to it anyway. There is a genuine footfall of customers to buy fully assembled or
branded PCs the channel partners can do a good job of selling genuine software.
Success means that if we get a good audience, if our message lands well, if we
see better traction in business then we will follow it up in the other
cities.Tracking of these measureable will take a fair amount of time. So our
next event will take place in Delhi in mid-October. We are not measuring this in
unit sales for the immediate month, but maybe we will do it over the next
quarter,” added Sant.

Software piracy is an industry-wide problem that has significant impact on
the economy, and affects legitimate businesses that have to compete with those
selling counterfeit software. According to the Sixth Annual BSA and IDC Global
Software Piracy Study, piracy levels in India are pegged at 68 percent, down six
percentage points since 2003. The losses caused by software piracy increased by
35 percent, rising to $2.7 billion in 2008 compared to losses of $2 billion in
2007. Infact, according to a study by BSA, The Economic Benefits of Lowering PC
Software Piracy 2008 , a 10 point reduction in PC software piracy would deliver
an additional 44,000 new jobs, $200 million in tax revenues, and $3.1 billion in
economic growth in India. Consumers spend millions each year on counterfeit
copies, financing scammers who threaten the integrity of the software industry
and the security of home and business computers.

Forecasts from IDC indicate that the impact of Windows 7 will be significant
even in this challenging economic climate. Infact, the study outlines the fact
that in India, for every dollar of Microsoft revenue from Windows 7 during 2009
and the end of 2010, the ecosystem will generate $17.58 in revenue. That works
out to approxi­mately $12.47 for hard­ware makers, $2.09 for software makers and
$3 for services providers. By the end of 2010, Windows 7-related employment will
account for nearly 2.35 lakh jobs or 19 percent of all IT employment in the
country.

Concerns for revenues aside, piracy has a very real impact on customers. KPMG
in a recent report ' An Inconvenient Reality—The unaccounted conse­quences of
non genuine software usage' outlines the threats from non-genuine software. Some
aspects highlighted by the study are:

39 percent of organi­zations reported security incident of non-genuine
software detection in their IT environment.

Five percent organiza­tions cited 'readily available' as a reason for
employees to use non-genuine software.