Microsoft’s India Development Centre in Hyderabad, the first such research, engineering and development facility of the tech giant in the country that also contributed to emergence of the IT industry in the region, has turned 25.
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From learning to build products remotely to deeply contributing across all of Microsoft’s products and services, the India Development Centre has made remarkable strides in the last 25 years, Microsoft IDC managing director Rajiv Kumar said in an interaction here on Tuesday.
Over the years, IDC expanded to Bengaluru, Noida and spread wings, by virtue of an acquisition, to Pune. Asserting that the next 25 years looked brighter, he said: “We are largest engineering presence outside of [Microsoft headquarters in] Redmond.” The number is in excess of 10,000, he replied to queries.
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“As we enter the next phase of revolutionary technology of Generative AI, the next 25 years hold an even greater promise, with the potential to empower every person and every organisation...” he said. Together, Microsoft entities in India employed more than 20,000 people in sales and marketing, research, development, customer support, and industry solutions across Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune.
The IDC had contributed to creating and advancing some of Microsoft’s popular offerings such as Azure, Windows, Office and Bing. It was now poised for the next leap of innovation and impact by leveraging AI and LLMs to enhance existing products, create new products, and transform how products are developed, the company said in a release.
Highlighting how the IDC had shaped into a mature global product development centre of the company, Mr. Kumar said the Hyderabad campus, spread over about 54 acres, consisted of three buildings. The fourth building under construction was expected to be ready next summer, he said.