Microsoft committed to deepening ties with China: top executive

Ralph Haupter, Chairman of Microsoft Germany, speaks during a press conference at the CeBIT information technology trade show in Hanover, Germany, Feb 28 2011.[Photo/IC]

Microsoft has great confidence in the potential of China's economy, the world's second–largest economy, as it settles into the "New Normal" of slower but more sustainable economic growth, says Ralph Haupter, Microsoft Corporate Vice-President, CEO of Greater China Region, in an interview with China Daily.

Here are the excerpts:

1. What are your business strategies in China as you readjust to the new Chinese economic policies and realities like the New Normal and the Internet Plus initiatives?

Our primary strategy in China is part of our overall company strategy, which is to continue the transformation we are carrying out across our businesses to be the productivity and platform company that empowers every individual and every organization on the planet to achieve more. The specific manifestation of this strategy in China is to innovate with China. To be customer-obsessed and work together with our customers, partners, academia and government to identify challenges and innovate solutions together.

1) Providing intelligent cloud services in China -- well beyond computing and storage to include advanced machine learning and big data analytics capabilities, to name a few -- to enable the transformation and upgrading of China key industries;

2) Forging close partnerships with industry partners and developers to facilitate the building of the China technology ecosystem;

3) Deepening the engagement with government and communities to empower social development in China.

2. Economic slowdown pressures have increased in China since the second half of 2014. During the first six months this year, GDP growth has fallen to 7 percent, while deflation pressures have risen in the manufacturing sector. Against this backdrop, what are the challenges that you have faced and continue to face in China, especially with regard to the business development strategy and operations?

Microsoft has great confidence in the potential of China's economy, the world's second–largest economy, as it settles into the "New Normal" of slower but more sustainable economic growth. China is undergoing transformation and upgrading across all industries, with emerging businesses demanding cost-effective technologies that allow them to focus on innovation and growth, while traditional businesses are looking for solutions that can enable their transformation by integrating with their existing resources.

Within such a context, our biggest challenge is redefining our role as a technology-based solution provider and increasing our engagement in order to play a more important role in the transformation and upgrading process. Cookie-cutter solutions are not the answer. Solutions born from customer obsession and a deep understanding of their needs are what is required. To do this, Microsoft is committed to deepening our partnerships with Chinese governments, companies and other ecosystem partners to reach a deeper understanding of China's economy and contribute to its growth.

3. How will Microsoft take advantage of the Internet Plus Initiative to further promote the expansion in China market?

As China's economy is transforming and upgrading, Microsoft is also transforming as a solutions provider that is dedicated to facilitating the implementation of the Internet Plus Initiative. Cloud will be a major facet of this process, as cloud computing serves as a highway connecting businesses with IT.

Meanwhile the core intellectual property of any business going forward will be its data. The way to take advantage of this data is by converting it into intelligence, or more importantly, intelligent action. Microsoft provides an intelligent cloud platform with a full range of offerings such as big data solutions, artificial intelligence applications and IoT (Internet of Things) services to help businesses increase productivity and efficiency.