Microsoft Georgia Presents Cloud Technology Strategy
At a meeting with media representatives held on March 23 in Rooms Hotel Tbilisi, Microsoft Georgia introduced Microsoft’s new strategy, the Microsoft Cloud digital platform, and the advantages it offers customers, business organizations and the business industry worldwide.
Microsoft Cloud is the heart of the company's strategy, as well as a tool for business transformation, giving organizations the chance to develop assets.
Cloud technology transforms businesses worldwide, as its implementation and usage is growing considerably. According to the company, using Microsoft Cloud changes the work style of the individual and the way people run their businesses. Cloud technology enables modern IT companies to play an important role in creating and implementing business strategies.
“Digitalization may bring a lot of benefits to society in general, while forging environment-protection sustainability, ensuring the creation of new employment opportunities and raising the safety level of our lives,” said Nikoloz Doborjginidze, the General Director of Microsoft Georgia. “Microsoft’s mission and vision is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, while elaborating on the fourth industrial revolution we’re facing today, mixing cybernetics, physical and digital spheres—a change we see as extremely rapid, with the internet playing a vital role.”
To illustrate the paradigm that has changed the modern world, Doborjginidze gave the example of the Fortune 500 member companies, “Where they needed at least 20 years to become worth a million dollars, today, digital start-ups need only two to four years to achieve that, meaning the structure of business has drastically changed as well. Looking back, oil companies were among the world’s richest [businesses] in 2006, ten years later, technology companies have become the key players at the top of the list, marking the start of the technological era,” Doborjginidze said, continuing on to define cloud technology: “Cloud is a space where all the devices and data centers are connected to each other. Our vision sees mobility and ability to access and be linked to information from anywhere, using more personal computers and an intelligent cloud technology.”
He named Satya Nadella, the current Microsoft CEO, as the initiator of the company’s move towards the cloud technology.
Microsoft is investing massively in artificial intelligence development—the company has hired 5000 developers to work on it.
The Cloud is not a “one size fits all” or “everything or nothing” offer. The Microsoft Georgia representatives believe that technologies can assist us in solving a variety of problems, for example Microsoft Azure—an integrated Cloud service which offers global, reliable and safe hybrid Cloud for the businesses of today and of the future. “80% of Fortune 500 companies are using Microsoft Cloud, as it’s regarded as the best solution for large-size companies and smaller startups,” Doborjginidze said.
In Georgia, according to Microsoft Georgia representatives, almost 85 companies are using Microsoft Cloud already.
The meeting closed with a presentation from financier Eprem Urumashvili on block chain technologies and the recent private property and business registration project successfully initiated with the National Agency of Public Registry.
“Block Chain is a unique, safe registering system, and while registering your business or property within the country using this technology, the transactions will be listed on a block chain platform, available for you to use everywhere in the world, not just in Georgia,” Urumashvili said, adding that implementing smart contracts are considered the next step for block chain technology in Georgia
Compared to previous years, Georgia has made considerable progress in technology development, and although the problem of finding qualified personnel still exists, the change is visible due to a number of state and private initiatives. Additionally, a pilot project for computer programming learning has begun in twelve schools in Tbilisi.
“We are very actively involved with the Georgian Innovations and Technology Agency, and we’re closely collaborating with them, assisting start-ups with our Cloud technologies, and also offering coaching. In other words, we’re actively supporting start-ups at every stage, from initial idea to helping them export the product they created,” said Ketevan Tatoshvili, Account Executive at Microsoft Georgia.
The vast possibilities of Microsoft Cloud usage for information backup were emphasized during the discussion, which then centered on the potential cyber threats in Georgia and preventative measures. Microsoft Georgia says it is cooperating with the Georgian Data Exchange Agency, assisting the Georgian government with addressing possible cyber threats in a timely manner. Tatoshvili mentioned that the government security program will be expanded in the future, with Microsoft’s larger participation ensured.
Nino Gugunishvili