This link has been bookmarked by 3 people . It was first bookmarked on 26 Jun 2009, by raman srinivasan.
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28 Jun 09
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26 Jun 09
Bertrand DuperrinUndoubtedly Microsoft is pioneering the R&D 2.0 model that I discussed in my last post — an organizational model that relies on anthropologists and development economists to first decipher the socio-cultural needs of users in emerging markets like India and then use these deep insights to develop appropriate technology solutions. And it's telling that Microsoft picked India as the epicentre of its global R&D transformation.
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raman srinivasanThe surprise began when we were greeted by a kurta-clad Dr Kentaro Toyama, assistant managing director of MSR India. A Japanese-born American educated at Harvard and Yale, Kentaro left his cushy researcher position at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters to come to Bangalore in 2005 to start the Technology for Emerging Markets (TEM) unit, which he now leads.
TEM seeks to address the socio-economic needs and aspirations of people in emerging-market countries like India, where the majority of the population still lacks affordable access to computing technologies. TEM's work is closely aligned with Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Group, which I have written about in the past.
What impressed me most about TEM is its staff members' multidisciplinary backgrounds. In addition to computer scientists and engineers, TEM also includes experts in the areas of ethnography, sociology, political science, and development economics, all of which help Microsoft understand the social context of technology in emerging markets like India. For instance, we met with Aishwarya Ratan, an associate researcher trained as a development economist, who is exploring the delivery of financial services to poor and low-literate clients using mobile technologies. Another researcher, Nimmi Rangaswamy, who has a background in social anthropology, is conducting ethnographic research in urban slums to identify the socio-economic needs of micro-entrepreneurs there — many of which can be addressed with technology.
By leveraging its multidisciplinary talent, TEM has developed some amazing solutions designed for emerging and underserved markets, both in rural and urban environments. For example, it has developed the MultiPoint mouse, which allows a single computer to be shared by multiple children in developing nations. My personal favourite is Digital Green (which I nicknamed "American Idol for Farmers"), a Web 2.0 initiative which tapes progressive farmers to disseminate their best practices across agricultural communities. Digital Green just won the 200
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