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What are the partnerships Microsoft seeks in India for Windows Mobile 5.0?
Microsoft’s success has been, to a large extent, a result of our close collaboration with our partners – device manufacturers, mobile operators and application developers – to deliver key innovations to meet the demands of a growing global market.
We’re currently working with 47 device makers and 115 mobile operators in 55 countries, and are definitely keen to build strong relationships in India. An example of this is our recent announcement of a strategic marketing alliance with Bharti Airtel to launch Windows Mobile 5.0 for the first time in India. We have also tied up with HP and iMate to create the form factors on which this solution would be made available. As businesses and users see the benefits of staying connected, and enjoy access to information any time, anywhere, these partnerships will put us in a stronger position to deliver value to customers in India.
What kind of adoption is being seen worldwide for Windows Mobile?
Windows Mobile has seen tremendous success worldwide. Licenses for Windows Mobile-powered-devices grew at 90 percent overall for FY06 and 95 percent in Q4. We recorded a YoY growth in excess of 40 percent for the fifth consecutive quarter and achieved fiscal year operating profitability for the first time in FY06. We now have 47 device makers actively shipping Windows Mobile-powered devices to business customers through 115 mobile operators in 55 countries. There are more than 100 different Windows Mobile-powered devices available worldwide.
We have also seen great momentum in Asia Pacific region and our device maker partners in APAC have had a tremendous year. We’re working with all the key device makers and operators in the region and have more than 30 different models and form factors running on Windows Mobile 5.0.
We’ve also just finished our first phase of mobile messaging roll out in the key markets in Asia with all the leading operators including M1 in Singapore, AIS in Thailand, Celcom in Malaysia, SmarTone-Vodafone in Hong Kong, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan and Optus, Vodafone and Telstra in Australia.
What are your expectations from the Indian market?
We are confident of a positive response to Windows Mobile in the Indian market. Given the increasing demand for businesses to mobilize their employees, the benefits of adopting our platform are clear.
India is an important market for MED and we already have a wide number of Windows Mobile powered devices being sold in India including the i-mate KJam, i-mate Jamin, i-mate Smartflip, i-mate sp5, i-mate sp5m, i-mate Jasjar and HP iPAQs including hw 6900 and rw 6818, rw6828 and hw6960. Our recent partnership with Bharti-Airtel further reiterates our commitment to this market.
Going forward, you will see a more diverse range of applications available from Windows Mobile and key third-party developers, which will allow more functionality tailored to the personalized needs of both SMBs and mobile information workers.
One of the preconditions of using this service is that the company should have Exchange 2003. Are the Indian companies technologically geared up to utilize this service? What is the installed base of Exchange 2003 in India?
Exchange Server 2003 has a dominant market share in India and all Windows Mobile devices can communicate directly with Exchange Server 2003 without additional servers or middleware, thereby saving time and cost for enterprises to adopt mobile messaging. Microsoft’s messaging solution provides a unified device and server platform, which delivers a lower TCO (total cost of ownership) and greater scalability. This combination provides a comprehensive mobile experience that moves beyond email – from the server to the desktop to the device.
In cases where an enterprise does not have an Exchange Server 2003, Windows Mobile 5.0 can still be adopted by the mobile workforce as long as the enterprise has licensed Small Business Server or is operating on a hosted sever solution that is running on Exchange 2003.
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