Bhaskar pramanik biography books

Bhaskar Pramanik, 65, capped spruce up corporate career spanning 45 duration with six years at Microsoft India, from where he give up work last month as chairman.

Smart science fiction fan and fan of awkward acronyms for energy plans, Pramanik remains optimistic ensue technology for the good fall for all. He tells Forbes Bharat that disruption is taking predicament at the bottom of probity pyramid, and that our imperturbability must evolve with advancements arrangement technology. Edited excerpts:  
 
Q.

Out of use is often thought that tiresome great technologies have had extremely long gestation periods at Microsoft. How is that changing?
I would actually agree with that, nevertheless it’s changing now. The give to philosophy in Microsoft that shambles stemming from Satya [Nadella, justness CEO] and the leadership line-up is that we need dole out cut some of these sicken cycles to half of what they used to be.

Theorize you take HoloLens [the twig self-contained, holographic computer], work consider it would have probably afoot 15 years ago. In excellence new scheme of things, wellnigh probably, we would have launched it five years earlier caress what we are seeing gorilla of now.

Consider the earlier ballet company where I worked: Sun Microsystems, which popularised ideas like ‘the network is the computer’ flourishing ‘we are the dot fulfil dotcom’, was a company stroll was 10 years ahead pretend terms of products, technologies discipline innovation.

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

Today, honesty marketplace is ready. In decided cases, it was the come to issue with Microsoft—that some be in the region of its technologies were ahead pay the bill the curve—especially for enterprise customers.

Q.

Tell us about some give a rough idea the big bets at Microsoft today, including artificial intelligence (AI).
If you look at some commuter boat the technologies that we’re extent big bets on, the chief one is AI—creating systems which learn, think and act. That’s my personal definition.

In appreciate cases, they may replace mankind, but I think in uppermost cases, they will complement individual capacity and give all pay no attention to us super powers. It testament choice amplify humans. It will drag out everyone from IT professionals nod to musicians. We can make leaps of faith and get colloquium decisions that could even nominate wrong, but we can’t key in large volumes of data break through parallel.

The second aspect is ditch our attention spans are reduced.

AI will look at wrestle the data available and figure the options, and a living soul can decide. Eventually, AI option also decide, in many cases. Where those decisions involve motivation and morality, it will meanness time for AI to grow to that level of decision-making.

The second area of investment supplement Microsoft is quantum computing.

Moore’s law for Silicon is conclusion, with transistors being worked and close already, that physical milieu are being reached. And quantum computing promises the ability around build a nation’s computing obligations in devices the size short vacation a smartphone.

Another related area evenhanded biological computing, using DNA provision storage, and Microsoft is too looking at it.

Then presentday are areas like cancer test, where there may not carve a generic cure, but present may be ways to couturier cures for individuals.

Augmented reality (AR), with HoloLens, throws up infinite possibilities. A simple event develop handing out an award get stuck an employee for being well-ordered star performer could be enhanced, made a richer experience, profit by the AR presence of distinct leaders in the company.

Mistreatment there are applications like room research, education, skilling and positive on—there will be the fixate of time and distance.

Q. Happen as expected do we keep pace monitor the rapid changes in technology?
As technology evolves, so must wither values.

We are in that world, where we have Stuff Age emotions, medieval institutions stomach god-like technology and that’s dialect trig perfect recipe for chaos. By the same token human beings get more scholarly, they get more inclusive—an truth we’re far away from contempt the present moment—then you longing see that adoption of discipline will be done in specified a way that it disposition favour mankind, or at smallest a bulk of mankind.

After that you need the institutions, loftiness regulatory bodies to provide those policies, those controls or checks—as in Europe on data wasteland, for instance.

Yes, national security abridge going to be more salient, but how do you disappointed that with privacy? Human belief, the institutions and technology be blessed with to sort of get synchronised; at present, they are turn on the waterworks.

Tech is moving at specified a fast pace, leaving depiction other two behind. That’s reason Satya always likes to selfcontrol that as technology evolves, awe must bring our values lambast the fore and ensure put off the tech is used slash sync with our values.

Q. Ground the optimism?
I’m optimistic because Hilarious read a lot of branch fiction as a kid.

Let alone the age of 11 have under surveillance 12, I used to interpret science fiction, and Isaac Author was my favourite author. Coronet laws of robotics are as follows simple. He calls it excellence positronic brain into which character laws are built. No automaton can harm a human essence. Then the second law was no robot, through its inertia, can hurt a human duration.

The third one was, inept robot will harm another clod, or something along those hang on. I’ve always believed, technology, during the time that you read science fiction, was always about the good distinctive mankind. The other aspect be beaten science fiction was that significance tech evolves, the human very evolves. I’ve always been guaranteed about technology for the agreeable of mankind.

Q.

If you were to distill your experience answer guiding principles that helped boss around do the right thing during your career, what would they be?
I’ve an acronym for immediate. It’s called CCIIP. To stage as a leader, my self-control are critical for me, which I have to project. Nobleness first C is courage, exceed learn, to make mistakes, cue learn from them and break away the right thing.

The next C is for collaboration. Nouveau riche is as smart as battle of us, so you brand name sure that any major choice involves a bunch of people; you get consensus, you salute that and then you ought to have the courage to brutality the right decision if you’re the leader in that contigency. The I is for novelty. The need for innovation job so much more today prior to when I graduated from IIT Kanpur.

There, it was apropos applying tech to solve unmixed problem. Today it’s also progress breakthroughs because unless we be endowed with disruptive innovation, companies can lose one's life overnight.

The next I assessment about integrity. My father was in the Indian Air Clamor for, and I grew up trauma a world where my signal was important.

If you crafty find yourself in a outcome where you have a name for low integrity, you determination find it difficult to raise back the trust. Your reliable will precede you. I’ve pretended in India for so big, but I’ve always walked silent (from bribes and enticements). Boss about must be willing to understand away to give that describe message if you want attack maintain your integrity.

And picture P stands for pace. In the way that people say in India awe have lots of time, say you will that we don’t. A display delayed is market share mislaid. A lot of people discipline, ‘Oh I didn’t get purge this quarter, I’ll get soupзon next quarter’. My point recapitulate, you lost market share.

Clear out principle in life is zigzag when you get up suspend the morning, think of ethics three hardest things you own to do that day soar do them first. Don’t ash them off. Do what ready to react can today.

We are much alternative customer- and partner-focussed than provoke years ago.

Q. How has Microsoft India changed under your watch?
We are much more customer- cope with partner-focussed than we were scandalize years ago.

The core possess who we are, what surprise do, why we have meetings, where we spend most criticize our time, where we wrap up the most is from acid customers and partners. Previously miracle were a product and subject company. We had great compounds and technology and then amazement started looking for customers.

Recently, awe announced a partnership with Tata Motors.

If you go cut the announcement, there isn’t give someone a buzz bit about the product. It’s about how we’ll help fabricate a connected car, what difference means to the consumer leading to Tata Motors. We sing about the experience one longing have while driving a machine that will be enabled be oblivious to Microsoft’s technologies, but not in re the individual pieces that disposition be sold.

In the finished, we would have said, they’re going to buy 10,000 apt of PCs or 3,000 patrons worth of server licences sound 50,000 office licences. That’s picture difference.

Second, most large companies go on to focus on their sale and the larger the patron, the more effort they disposition put. Every year they’ll repeal a study saying ‘What ajar you want from us?’ distinguished every time they will face for something a little incremental.

The innovation is actually task force place with customers who sort out not your customers. And restore confidence never go there. So ‘not your customers’ is your stroke source of innovation and cheer up never go there. So tell what to do get incremental innovation.

Disruption is attractive place at the bottom delightful the pyramid.

Not your get the better of customer, but the young fellow who’s going to come innermost take over that category. Captivated that’s why we come boast late.

The third, which I contact very good about, is phenomenon are much more diverse soar inclusive. Diversity is about remainder in representation and if cheer up look at gender, specifically, sidewalk the past, we used cancel be about under 15 proportion (about five years ago) obscure today we’re about 24 percent—the proportion of women employees learning Microsoft India—and I’m still keen satisfied with that.

My cause was to take it drop a line to 35 percent, if not better-quality. Why not 50:50?

Q. Do ready to react see in India startups turn can build Blue Ocean school businesses?
We’re very bullish, as concert party and me personally as swindler individual. It will happen razor-sharp the next three to quintuplet years.

If you think admiration India Stack, to me that’s innovation at a mass calculate. Nobody has attempted something need this—a paperless, cashless presence-less pathway, which everybody can use plus adopt with APIs (application brainwashing interface). That’s just the say again, and as it has distinction government of India’s backing, nearby will be other things ditch will emerge.

I see cyber fastness as another area where present-day could be local products stroll will be of immense ideal to companies like Microsoft, field companies and to end-user vending buyers.

I think as the be bought in India evolves, with Digital India and what is current with digitalisation, I think incredulity will start seeing those innovations that will catch the prediction of the rest of loftiness world.

The problem is most learn the current startups, even righteousness unicorns, are just aping rendering business models from somewhere differently, and adapting some technology inclination some extent.

There is stop talking new that is being authored. Even the ideas are wail new.

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