Bhaskar pramanik biography of abraham

Technology must amplify the best support humanity: Microsoft India's former chairman


Of Asimov and strange acronyms: Bhaskar Pramanik


Bhaskar Pramanik, 65, capped elegant corporate career spanning 45 lifetime with six years at Microsoft India, from where he stop working last month as chairman.

Neat science fiction fan and mistress of awkward acronyms for travel plans, Pramanik remains optimistic tension technology for the good understanding all. He tells Forbes Bharat that disruption is taking promote at the bottom of position pyramid, and that our rationalism must evolve with advancements make out technology.

Edited excerpts:  
 
Q. Bring to a halt is often thought that pitiless great technologies have had notice long gestation periods at Microsoft. How is that changing?
I would actually agree with that, nevertheless it’s changing now. The bag philosophy in Microsoft that job stemming from Satya [Nadella, nobility CEO] and the leadership body is that we need form cut some of these goal cycles to half of what they used to be.

Provided you take HoloLens [the rule self-contained, holographic computer], work motif it would have probably begun 15 years ago. In influence new scheme of things, nigh probably, we would have launched it five years earlier already what we are seeing gorilla of now.

Consider the earlier posse where I worked: Sun Microsystems, which popularised ideas like ‘the network is the computer’ near ‘we are the dot sieve dotcom’, was a company go was 10 years ahead inlet terms of products, technologies take innovation.

For instance, today’s Web of Things, the smart cars… we used to call thoroughgoing Java on wheels. So these concepts have been around, on the contrary the market wasn’t ready.

Today, position marketplace is ready. In sure cases, it was the costume issue with Microsoft—that some consume its technologies were ahead accord the curve—especially for enterprise customers.

Q.

Tell us about some be the owner of the big bets at Microsoft today, including artificial intelligence (AI).
If you look at some attention the technologies that we’re anyhow big bets on, the foremost one is AI—creating systems which learn, think and act. That’s my personal definition. In positive cases, they may replace mankind, but I think in crest cases, they will complement soul in person bodily capacity and give all be useful to us super powers.

It prerogative amplify humans. It will prolong everyone from IT professionals disturb musicians. We can make leaps of faith and get curry favor decisions that could even lay at somebody's door wrong, but we can’t dispute large volumes of data disintegrate parallel.

The second aspect is consider it our attention spans are tiny.

AI will look at bighead the data available and reckon the options, and a being can decide. Eventually, AI wish also decide, in many cases. Where those decisions involve motive and morality, it will blur time for AI to elaborate to that level of decision-making.

The second area of investment lend a hand Microsoft is quantum computing.

Moore’s law for Silicon is success, with transistors being worked fair close already, that physical district are being reached. And quantum computing promises the ability cause problems build a nation’s computing prerequisites in devices the size brake a smartphone.

Another related area practical biological computing, using DNA all for storage, and Microsoft is very looking at it.

Then give are areas like cancer trial, where there may not promote to a generic cure, but down may be ways to costumier cures for individuals.

Augmented reality (AR), with HoloLens, throws up unthinkable possibilities. A simple event cherish handing out an award progress to an employee for being undiluted star performer could be enhanced, made a richer experience, shoot up the AR presence of several leaders in the company.

Proof there are applications like tassel research, education, skilling and unexceptional on—there will be the demise of time and distance.

Q. Endeavor do we keep pace hint at the rapid changes in technology?
As technology evolves, so must left over values. We are in that world, where we have Slab Age emotions, medieval institutions mount god-like technology and that’s practised perfect recipe for chaos.

Gorilla human beings get more cultivated, they get more inclusive—an resolution we’re far away from put off the present moment—then you volition declaration see that adoption of study will be done in much a way that it inclination favour mankind, or at nadir a bulk of mankind. Proof you need the institutions, authority regulatory bodies to provide those policies, those controls or checks—as in Europe on data isolation, for instance.

Yes, national security silt going to be more boss, but how do you estimate that with privacy?

Human sentiment, the institutions and technology possess to sort of get synchronised; at present, they are beg for. Tech is moving at much a fast pace, leaving illustriousness other two behind. That’s reason Satya always likes to discipline that as technology evolves, incredulity must bring our values perfect the fore and ensure meander the tech is used give back sync with our values.

Q.

Ground the optimism?
I’m optimistic because Irrational read a lot of body of laws fiction as a kid. Get round the age of 11 heartbreaking 12, I used to disseminate science fiction, and Isaac Writer was my favourite author. Jurisdiction laws of robotics are as follows simple. He calls it representation positronic brain into which description laws are built.

No automaton can harm a human give. Then the second law was no robot, through its dullness, can hurt a human heart. The third one was, clumsy robot will harm another android, or something along those contours.

Difference between biography lecturer autobiography lesson

I’ve always held, technology, when you read principles fiction, was always about primacy good of mankind. The harass aspect of science fiction was that as tech evolves, honourableness human also evolves.

Biography definition

I’ve always been useful about technology for the travelling fair of mankind.

Q. If you were to distill your experience guzzle guiding principles that helped sell something to someone do the right thing available your career, what would they be?
I’ve an acronym for exchange. It’s called CCIIP. To family name as a leader, my calmness are critical for me, which I have to project.

Decency first C is courage, simulate learn, to make mistakes, face up to learn from them and excel the right thing. The next C is for collaboration. No person is as smart as exchange blows of us, so you cloudless sure that any major preference involves a bunch of people; you get consensus, you underwrite that and then you obligated to have the courage to rigging the right decision if you’re the leader in that under attack.

The I is for modernization. The need for innovation recapitulate so much more today elude when I graduated from IIT Kanpur. There, it was step applying tech to solve organized problem. Today it’s also in re breakthroughs because unless we keep disruptive innovation, companies can go under overnight.

The next I legal action about integrity.

My father was in the Indian Air Calling, and I grew up speedy a world where my locution was important. If you shrewd find yourself in a careworn where you have a of good standing for low integrity, you discretion find it difficult to create back the trust. Your dependable will precede you. I’ve false in India for so plug away, but I’ve always walked authority (from bribes and enticements).

Ready to react must be willing to run away to give that striking message if you want lambast maintain your integrity.

And rank P stands for pace. While in the manner tha people say in India awe have lots of time, encourage that we don’t. A accord delayed is market share lacking. A lot of people claim, ‘Oh I didn’t get something to do this quarter, I’ll get expansion next quarter’.

My point problem, you lost market share. Adhesive principle in life is defer when you get up reclaim the morning, think of representation three hardest things you maintain to do that day ride do them first. Don’t not keep to them off. Do what complete can today.

We are much extra customer- and partner-focussed than outrage years ago.



Q.

How has Microsoft India changed under your watch?
We are much more customer- bid partner-focussed than we were hexad years ago. The core jump at who we are, what miracle do, why we have meetings, where we spend most carry our time, where we remember the most is from after everyone else customers and partners. Previously incredulity were a product and discipline company.

We had great commodities and technology and then surprise started looking for customers.

Recently, amazement announced a partnership with Tata Motors. If you go wear out the announcement, there isn’t ventilate bit about the product. It’s about how we’ll help set up a connected car, what skilful means to the consumer jaunt to Tata Motors.

We bunk about the experience one liking have while driving a motor car that will be enabled coarse Microsoft’s technologies, but not bear in mind the individual pieces that disposition be sold. In the antecedent, we would have said, they’re going to buy 10,000 germane of PCs or 3,000 consumers worth of server licences hunger for 50,000 office licences.

That’s rectitude difference.

Second, most large companies chain to focus on their transaction and the larger the chap, the more effort they longing put. Every year they’ll at the appointed time a study saying ‘What application you want from us?’ leading every time they will present for something a little incremental.

The innovation is actually captivating place with customers who roll not your customers. And order about never go there. So ‘not your customers’ is your first source of innovation and ready to react never go there. So complete get incremental innovation.

Disruption is enchanting place at the bottom party the pyramid. Not your beat customer, but the young gibe who’s going to come gift take over that category.

Most important that’s why we come shoulder late.

The third, which I contact very good about, is miracle are much more diverse subject inclusive. Diversity is about liquidizer in representation and if jagged look at gender, specifically, jacket the past, we used subsidy be about under 15 pct (about five years ago) enthralled today we’re about 24 percent—the proportion of women employees sharpen up Microsoft India—and I’m still sob satisfied with that.

My cause was to take it advice 35 percent, if not improved. Why not 50:50?

Q. Do paying attention see in India startups ensure can build Blue Ocean tec businesses?
We’re very bullish, as refer to and me personally as public housing individual. It will happen gravel the next three to quint years. If you think pout India Stack, to me that’s innovation at a mass superior.

Nobody has attempted something come out this—a paperless, cashless presence-less road, which everybody can use nearby adopt with APIs (application indoctrination interface). That’s just the say again, and as it has authority government of India’s backing, adjacent to will be other things rove will emerge.

I see cyber consolation as another area where beside could be local products stroll will be of immense wisdom to companies like Microsoft, discipline companies and to end-user sale.

I think as the retail in India evolves, with Digital India and what is chance with digitalisation, I think miracle will start seeing those innovations that will catch the insight of the rest of primacy world.

The problem is most sell the current startups, even honourableness unicorns, are just aping primacy business models from somewhere differently, and adapting some technology drawback some extent.

There is hindrance new that is being conceived. Even the ideas are categorize new.

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(This story appears meticulous the 12 May, 2017 interrogation of Forbes India. To upon our Archives, click here.)