http://www.yahoo.com/s/264285

Quote :

"NEW DELHI - Microsoft plans to nearly double its work force in India over the next four years, investing $1.7 billion and adding 3,000 jobs in a vote of confidence in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. ADVERTISEMENT The investment would be among the largest an information technology company has made in this country of 1 billion people that Microsoft Corp. has long viewed as having huge potential in human capital and for sales. "We are keen to grow Microsoft activities in India," Bill Gates, the company's chairman and co-founder, told reporters. "The growth in employment for Microsoft will be more in India than the United States." A substantial part of the money would go to creating a Windows operating system designed specifically for India and available in nine Indian languages. That could help Microsoft fend off challenges from cheaper open-source operating systems led by Linux, which has made deep inroads in India. Half the money would go to improving Microsoft's research and development capabilities, including the creation of a new facility in the southern city of Bangalore, India's technology hub, the company said. On a previous visit to India in 2002, Gates announced similar plans for $400 million in investments. On Wednesday, he called the company's progress since then "fantastic," and said, "that's part of the reason we are able to make such a strong and increased commitment." Gates' announcement was the latest in a string of recently announced investments in India by American technology firms. On Monday, chipmaker Intel Corp. said it planned to invest more than $1 billion over the next five years to expand its operations in India and invest in local technology companies. Cisco Systems Inc. said in October that it plans to spend $1.1 billion in India over the next three years. Earlier this year, Microsoft opened a research center in the southern city of Hyderabad, its fourth such facility worldwide. The Bangalore center is to be opened next month. The expansion plans will nearly double Microsoft's work force in India by adding 3,000 jobs over the next three years to its existing pool of 4,000, Gates told business leaders on Wednesday. Microsoft's efforts in India are aimed at narrowing the digital divide by creating products that are not only affordable for the poor but also address their "unique needs," he said. One idea Gates raised has long been a holy grail in computing: developing thinking machines that respond to speech — in various languages — and thus render keyboards unnecessary. "India is a place where breakthroughs like these are necessary and will take place," Gates said. Microsoft also said Wednesday that it plans to put aside funds for computer education and training, including adopting 100 schools for computer education, and support an Indian program to offer computers and training at 100,000 centers across the country. Gates' visit comes at a time when many Indian companies are increasingly turning toward open source operating systems, particularly Linux, as a low-cost alternative to Windows. Open source operating systems allow users to copy, distribute and modify the program's code, and are relatively cheap compared to proprietary systems like Windows, which does not allow users to modify its secret code. U.S. computer firm Red Hat Inc., a distributor of the Linux software, announced Wednesday that it had bought out its Indian partner and plans to invest $20 million in the country over the next few years. While exact figures are hard to come by, a survey of Indian companies by Network Magazine released in June found that nearly 40 percent use Linux to run their servers. The magazine polled 340 companies, and offered no margin of error. The tech research firm Gartner Inc. said Wednesday it expects Indian businesses to spend $25.12 billion on information technology in 2006, an increase of 23.7 percent over the current year. Despite a low installed base of just 17 million computers, India's technology adoption is gaining momentum thanks to a booming software export industry and a growing domestic market. Gartner said India can expect a growth of 20.8 percent for the next four years in business spending on computer hardware, software and communication products."

i'm not big on how all that economics type stuff works but i pretty much thinks this makes microsofts products cost less now or something

12/7/2005 7:54:04 PM

you mean suck more

12/7/2005 7:58:53 PM

No, Microsoft is simply looking for cheap labor and a market. Prices in the U.S. will remain much the same, since it doesn't alter the U.S. market really. Well, except the job market that is. There's only so much room for growth in a completely saturated market, so they're going elsewhere.

It's kind of an odd thing with Microsoft. On one hand, they're all about fair market economics when it comes to hardware, but the complete opposite when it comes to software. Completely off-topic, but yea.

It's pretty funny, but they often walk up to third-world countries and institutions and they're like "Windows, $200."
"Sorry, we can't afford it. We're going to go with something else."
"Windows, $5."

12/8/2005 9:43:58 PM

An article about a tech company and India that doesn't involve outsourcing?

This is a big day indeed.

12/8/2005 11:20:12 PM