Q & A

In India, Microsoft Services has been in existence for more than a decade. The division offers a complete portfolio of services ranging from IT Architecture and Planning services, Optimization offerings, Business Applications offerings, Industry offerings to Premier support on the Microsoft Platform. Vikas Arora, Director – Microsoft Services, Microsoft India spoke to Network Computing on how the Services division works with customers and partners in the country to deploy solutions based on cutting edge technologies.

What was the rationale for Microsoft to start a services division?
Many of our customers are very keen to adopt new Microsoft technology or applying it in ways that are new to their market or organization. They need to get deep skills and leading edge expertise from Microsoft to help them in their endeavors. They need to have deep relationships with Microsoft so that we can help them with IT Architecture & Planning and efficient product support. Our partners need enablement with expertise directly from Microsoft so that they can build successful businesses on our technology. Microsoft Services helps our customers and partners do exactly that.
We provide deepest expertise and best practices regarding leading edge adoption and productive use of Microsoft technology. This is enabled through deep collaboration internally with Microsoft product groups, Microsoft IT and early technology adoption programs. And through use of methodologies, architecture (e.g. SOA, Core Infrastructure, Business and Application platform optimization) and processes for effective support of technology systems.

How do classify your service offerings?
Microsoft Services has three different types of offerings:

1. Architecture and Planning: Microsoft Services’ Architecture & Planning offerings help CIOs align IT to organizational strategies and initiatives while empowering them to make IT decisions that can reduce risk and maximize value.
   
2. Technology Consulting: Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) helps customers align IT to organizational strategies and initiatives.  Determining what applications and infrastructure can best fill those needs efficiently and cost effectively can significantly reduce time to value. These services include Core Infrastructure Management and Optimization Services Offerings to deploy, manage and secure server, device and desktop environments.
   In addition these services address the Business Productivity Platform and help Implement, manage and streamline communications, collaboration, content and data environments. Furthermore these services include Design, development, integration and management of connected, flexible and secure applications including implementation of Microsoft Dynamics business solutions.
   
3. Support: Microsoft’s Health and Support offerings provide customers who have significant investments in Microsoft technology customized and pre-packaged support that can provide proactive services to improve IT Health, reactive services when issues arise, and various levels of Support Account Management. 

What are the typical pain points or challenges that you help enterprises resolve?
Microsoft Enterprise Services can help customers understand where they are in their use of IT and what the optimization journey looks like. To make management and deployment of IT infrastructure in an organization more systematic, Microsoft Enterprise Services then works towards making the entire lifecycle of implementing technology easier for our customers by collaborating with customers, partners, and teams across Microsoft to provide the greatest impact of solutions, services, and support. This division helps in driving maximum business results to our clients by offering:

• Complete lifecycle services with end-to-end capability
  
• World class experience utilizing proven best practices
  
• Flexibility to need specific needs
  
• Expertise from the source
  
• Innovative and responsive service

Are the services restricted to the Microsoft systems environment?
Yes, our offerings are focused on Microsoft platforms, as that is where our expertise lies.  Our services cover all Microsoft platforms/solutions used by the Enterprise.
One of the most important charters for Microsoft Services is to deploy solutions based on cutting edge technologies, and to enable our partner ecosystem to develop skills and competencies on next generation products. For example, we are already driving Technology Adoption Programs in India for products that form the next wave of innovation at Microsoft like Windows Server 2008 “Longhorn”.

How does a typical client engagement start? Do external partners have a role in these engagements?
A typical client engagement can start in a variety of ways

• In certain cases, we engage directly with the customer, wherein we go in and recommend the solution based on Microsoft platform and then partner with an SI / ISV basis for the actual deployment. In most cases, these are large enterprises who are adopting new Microsoft technology
  
  
• In other cases, the customer could be directly engaged with one of our partners, and we work closely with partners to provide them with expertise to deliver the solution successfully through activities like design and architecture reviews, readiness etc. In many cases, customers engage us to deliver Premier support – our offering to provide them with high-end reactive and proactive support on Microsoft technology deployed in their environments.

We work with partners and engage with them closely in each of the deployments undertaken by Microsoft Services. To give you a recent example, with the objective of attracting more broadband subscribers and to boost consumption in India, VSNL sought to deploy PC Video On Demand (PC VOD) to deliver high quality and secure multimedia content to its customers. On consultation with Microsoft Services and with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tech Mahindra as partners - VSNL implemented Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 and successfully managed to achieve higher operational efficiency, better content management and an enhanced customer base – while delivering their services faster and with lower development costs. When Airports Authority of India decided to go with Microsoft Project Server 2003 based solution for Online Project Management, they partnered with us because they believed that we had core strengths in project management that would add value while delivering an Online Project Monitoring System. Other big success stories include Cognizant and ICICI.