Tech Braves

Microsoft Launches BizSpark - Takes On Sun’s Startup Programme

Microsoft yesterday lauched the Bizspark programme which makes microsoft technologies and network easily available to the startup community in India. This programme is very much like Sun’s Startup Essentials programme which has been running in India for sometime now.

The BizSpark program will give a startup access to:

Design tools (Microsoft Expression Studio with MSDN Subscription)
Development test and demonstration (Visual Studio Professional; Microsoft Server Software, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office System 2007)
Production hosting (Hosting Servers, IT Operations Servers)
Support resources (Both technical and non-technical)

They have also partnered with network partners like TiE, NEN, Proto, NASSCOM and IDG to deliver support across the start-up lifecycle by providing mentoring, idea validation, technology readiness and visibility.

This is microsoft attempt to attract the early startups and technologists who have been known for their staunch support for open source and ‘free’ software. This move my microsoft also provides the entire microsoft suite at almost no cost at all. The reason why microsoft would do this is to acquire startups at an early stage so that as they grow bigger chances are they would stick to microsoft technologies in the future as well.

All in all competition in this space between Sun and Microsoft only means good news for startup entrepreneurs especially those with higher technology needs.

Tie ups Update - Ibibo - Sony BMG / IDBI - Paymate

Tie ups continue in this space and Ibibo which we have been tracking closely has gone ahead with another entertainment tie up and Paymate which recently entered the nepal market has closed a tie up with IDBI bank. Lets look at the details of these tie ups.

Ibibo Ties Up with Sony BMG - Launches Michael Jackson Contest

sony-bmg-ibibo As stated earlier as well Ibibo is working very aggressively on its entertainment/contest strategy and this tie up with Sony BMG, the music entertainment company is no different.
As per this tie up a group on Michael Jackson which will be used to promote michael jackson songs on ibibo and users can vote for their favourite song which would then be converted into a two-CD album called Michael Jackson – The King of Pop.

Ibibo seems to be having an edge over other social networks when it comes to entertainment as a category. Whether or not this strategy is a sustainable one in the long run is questionable. In other news Ibibo is also powering social network for mobile manufacturer spice mobiles and the same can be access via wap.spicegang.in.

IDBI ties up with Paymate

paymate-idbi-bank IDBI Bankannounced a tie up with with PayMate to enable Mobile Payments facility for its over 3.5 million customers.

With RBI issuing guidelines for mobile payments it heartening to see public sector banks come forward and forge alliances with mobile payment companies like Paymate.
Here’s how PayMate will work for an IDBI Customer:
An IDBI Bank customer can avail of free registration for PayMate’s Mobile Payment service at any IDBI Bank Branch (registrations will shortly be extended on ATMs and through NetBanking). Once registered, the process links the customer’s mobile number to his/her operative bank account and a secure Mobile Banking PIN (m-PIN) is sent to the customer. A customer can then start transacting as follows:

1.Once the customer chooses to pay via PayMate at the merchant, he/she only shares the registered mobile number with the merchant and instantly receives an IVR call from PayMate asking for a payment authorization with a 4 digit mPIN
2.Customer then punches in the mPIN which is authenticated by PayMate and the customer’s bank account is debited instantly.
3.A confirmation of the transaction status is sent to both the customer (via SMS) and the merchant (through the PayMate interface) within a few seconds.

As one can see the process isn’t that long but adoption would still be an issue as people in India are careful with using technology for transactions. With 300 million + mobile phone subscribers this mode of payments could revolutionize the way we transact in India.

Rediff Goes Regional With 22 Languages Launch In Jan

Rediff.com which was always sold on regional language and had also acquired technology startups in the space is soon to launch regional language versions of its flagship site rediff.com in 22 languages. So come January 2009 and rediff users would be able to use and converse on rediff.com in 22 different languages.

“After extensive study we found that regional languages are coming up on the internet in a big way. We will also be offering our customers the facility to communicate in 22 different regional languages soon,” said Rediff founder and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan as per this story.

He also predicted that in 3-7 years voice to text conversion technology will be there all over and a 90 per cent accuracy can be expected using algorithm based voice to text technology already and soon other dialects would come into the fold as well.

More and more of rediff’s users are from small town’s and B and C class cities and this shift and bent towards the local languages is to cater to the next 50 million internet users. Rediff very well knows that the differentiator for the next 50-100 million users could be language and not technology.

Myntra.com and Printo Enter Segment Redefining Partnership

Myntra.com and Printo have announced that both companies are entering into a segment redefining partnership. The alliance provides the firms with an increased product portfolio to the segments that they individually cater.

Starting immediately, the entire Myntra product catalogue will be available across all Printo outlets and Printo will make the catalogue as part of its offering bouquet to both corporate and retail customers. Myntra will sell through its platform the high end customized products that Printo has besides allowing Printo to access the designs created by its growing online network of designers.

According to their release, the idea of the partnership itself is to consolidate the fragmented corporate gifting and personalised products solutions niche, and the combined packaging can generate competitive advantage for both the firms.

According to Manish Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, Printo,” The time is ripe and right for such a partnership. Myntra has built a significant online network of designers and a formidable range of personalized gifting solutions that will lead to more choices for both our retail and corporate customers who today clearly seek increased choices with customization as a must. Such a partnership was bound to happen as the synergies between both firms are quite high and we look forward to expanding not just our individual firms’ revenues but of the overall space as well.”

While Mukesh Bansal, Founder & CEO of Myntra.com commented that, ”The next big factor post creation of a growing network of designers and product catalogue is to ensure it is accessible and marketed efficiently to a wider range of customers. Printo’s growing chain of retail outlets and corporate clientele provide that reach. Besides, the complimentary nature of our business ensures there is a mutual win-win. We are truly excited about the partnership and am confident that it will lead to a compelling advantage in the marketplace for both our firms.”

Consolidation and scale were genuinely two problems that a lot of net based startup were or perhaps still are facing in their individual industries. Especially in an era of the idea economy and enhanced tools making it easy for anyone to setup a web based business, the success eventually depends on core competencies and reach more than technical expertise. Consolidating complimentary business like how Myntra and Printo have done enables better marketing, widening the core competency while not spreading oneself thin and enables a synergistic reach.

Gameloft Looks at Tie Ups to Increase Market Share in the Mobile Gaming Segment

Gameloft the international game development and publishing firm is looking at ways to increase its market share in the Indian mobile gaming industry. The European game biggie is looking at potential tie ups with telecom service providers, handset developers and wireless carriers to take its chunk of the pie. The 100 million Euro company started operations in India in 2005 and at present has distribution agreement with telecom provider Vodafone and handset manufacturer Nokia.

Alliances with Airtel and Spice could follow, with agreements possible this month. Talks with other service providers like BSNL, Reliance and Idea for distribution were on, claimed Ravi Kumar, country manager (India), Gameloft. Besides its collaboration with Nokia, Gameloft was in talks with Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

“We are looking at tapping as many platforms-telecom carriers, handset manufacturers, console manufacturers in India as possible since India is a potential market where the mobile gaming market is estimated to grow 10 times in two years time and Gameloft games can be used on any handset equipped with Java, Brew or symbian technology irrespective of the model”, he added.

According to me, the move shows both the potential of the segment in India and along with that perhaps the saturation in the western markets driving this expansion here. We have covered the Mobile VAS and Mobile Entertainment segments extensively on WATBlog and believe them to be the high potential segments. The international attention like that of Gameloft and a lot of new licensing and govt. initiatives can only make things better for the industry.