Orlando Ayala
Senior Vice President
Unlimited Potential Group
Microsoft Corporation
| Most experts would agree that information and communications technology (ICT) is crucial to economic growth and development. Every day, we can see its impact on innovation, business productivity and job creation—and in the lives of millions of people who have benefited from its transformative power. Computers and software have tremendous potential to connect people and communities, overcome barriers to development, and facilitate healthy, sustainable economic and social growth. Yet, the vast majority of the world’s population still has no access to the opportunities technology offers. For technology to make genuine, sustainable contributions on a broad scale, it needs to be applied strategically and thoughtfully, in a way that suits each country’s unique needs. And the business models and development approaches of today’s ICT industry may not be adequate to address the diverse conditions in emerging markets around the world.
Today, the bulk of the technology industry’s revenue comes from businesses, consumers and governments in the developed world. Most customers pay the full price upfront for PCs and packaged software. Most applications and online services are designed for use on computers, PDAs, mobile phones and other devices they own exclusively. And the industry’s products are priced to appeal to people with significant disposable income, or to businesses with the resources to make large and ongoing investments in technology.
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Although this business model works well for the roughly 1 billion people living near the top of the economic pyramid, it leaves out the 5 billion people living in underserved communities around the world, in both developed and developing countries. More than 30 years ago, Microsoft was founded with a vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home.” That’s now a reality for the nearly 1 billion people who use PCs today, but what about the majority of the world’s population who haven’t yet benefited from ICT? Or, for that matter, electricity or any other convenience of modern society?
To better reach the rest of the economic pyramid, the ICT industry needs to dramatically revise its assumptions about what customers need, and the economic models that support sales and use. The industry also needs to evolve its business approach to better address the unique needs of underserved communities.
One way to start is by building on technologies and business models that already work well in the developing world. For example, the technology industry’s approach to licensing software can evolve from the pay-upfront model common today into more flexible subscription and installment plans that work better for people and businesses with little upfront capital or less predictable cash flow—such as those used to acquire mobile phones today. Advertising-supported software can lower costs for customers, while also creating new opportunities in local markets. And the industry can embrace shared access in its products and business strategies, such as through solutions that enable students, families and communities to share costly or limited technology resources.
Through Microsoft Unlimited Potential, our company’s commitment to bring the benefits of ICT to the 5 billion people who are underserved today, we are taking a new approach to technology, services and business strategies built around three fundamental principles:
Relevance: Technologies and services that work well in the developed world may not always be appropriate elsewhere. We offer our software and services in people’s local languages and dialects, and adapt our products to their culture. Our
solutions aim to address the social and economic needs that are central to underserved communities, such as helping improve children’s educational opportunities, helping adults build up their skills and find rewarding work, and enhancing communication with far-flung friends and family.
Access: Ensuring that every individual has their own computer is just one of the many ways to bring the benefits of technology to everyone. For instance, shared access through Internet cafés, libraries, schools and community centers is already common in many areas. By helping make it easier for students, families and communities to use technology together, the technology industry can help lower costs and provide additional value from shared computing resources.
 | Affordability: The technology industry must work harder to reduce the cost of technology and create flexible, sustainable business models that make it available and affordable to everyone. This includes lowering the cost of hardware by developing new, inexpensive devices, and re-using the tens of millions of donated and refurbished PCs that the developed world sets aside every year. This also includes addressing the needs of people with little disposable income or access to credit, through flexible payment methods such as installment plans, pay-as-you-go cards, and subscriptions. However, a different approach to technology can only go so far in reaching the 5 billion people who are underserved today. Achieving this goal also requires a deep commitment to communities and partnerships. The technology industry’s role should be to deliver solutions and use its strengths to catalyze the efforts of many stakeholders to find new ways to achieve sustainable development. This means having an ongoing dialogue with partners, and tapping into the knowledge and unique capabilities of governments and developmental organizations that have a deep understanding of local needs and practices.
Technology is a powerful amplifier for people’s ideas and imagination. Although it is just one piece of the solution to economic growth in emerging markets, it supports nearly every other aspect of development, and is a critical investment for any country seeking to nurture growth and create new opportunities. Microsoft is working with governments, educators, developmental organizations and IT industry partners through Unlimited Potential to provide access to transformational technologies, and has set the year 2015 as its first major milestone to reach the one billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology.
The company aims to do this by addressing three foundational drivers of economic opportunity: transforming education, fostering local innovation and enabling jobs and opportunities. In doing so, we believe that we can put our insight and expertise to work to create a virtuous cycle of sustained social and economic development. |
More information on Unlimited Potential and Microsoft’s efforts in emerging segments is available at http://www.microsoft.com/unlimitedpotential
Join Orlando Ayala and other high-level IT visionaries in the Emerging Markets Plenary on "Emerging Markets: Is there a Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid? " at the Third Global Knowledge Conference, GKP Event On The Future .
On the software issues, take a look at GKP itself that presented itself as too complicated and too academic/industrious, and hence are not reaching the actual group it's trying to help. Without getting sufficient views from these people themselves, how would we to know how to best help them. Why continue to make education and technologies as tools for the elites, for the highly educated (developed?) ones, when they should be presented to people of all backgrounds and origin? Specifically, GKP's websites and discussion platforms aren't appealing and friendly enough that most people can't use these technologies properly. I even had a difficulty in posting this very comment earlier, which however had been fixed after I reported the problem to the site administrator - but consider that most computer users would have no idea what to do when encountering bugs at the websites. Marketing is another. The way people interact with websites today are different than the way they did ten years ago. Consider implementing more Web 2.0 features to gain more participations. Otherwise, the podcasts and the articles, despite being of higher qualities would only reach very small audience (no more than 100 per media!).