Microsoft invests to work with 1.2mn developers

As it launched the latest edition of its technology event, TechEd 2013, Microsoft revealed that it was making significant investments in working with about 1.2 million developers - touted as the second-largest developer ecosystem - and over 1,000 independent software vendors to empower them with the tools, technologies and training required to develop high-end skills and to compete in a global marketplace.

Expounding on the focus of the event, Joseph Landes, general manager, DPE, Microsoft India, said, "Success of the developer ecosystem is a great triumph story in India. Microsoft has played a big role in enabling this triumph and TechEd 2013 takes it to a whole new level. Today, more than ever before, developers, IT professionals and students have the opportunity to create modern apps connected to cloud services that make information more easily accessible to users, on any device, at any time."

The two-day event for developers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and students in Bangalore that kickstarted on Monday is poised to help developers and IT professionals hone their skills in app development, and thereby, add more apps to the Windows ecosystem.

Microsoft TechEd 2013 comprises keynote speeches, demos and workshops from experts to help the attendees take their business ambitions forward and realise their full potential. With the global unemployment rate at 12.7 per cent (generation opportunity) and the employability rate in the Indian IT services sector falling three times, that is, from 29.41 per cent to 16.36 per cent last year, according to a study by Aspiring Minds, it was felt that there is a clear need for educational institutions to churn out industry-ready candidates, as the IT industry in India matures.

At the event, Microsoft iterated that its aim was to provide the gifted and technically-skilled developer community with a supportive environment to drive path-breaking innovation globally. Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Office 2013, Office 365 and Windows Azure platforms open up countless opportunities for developers to shape the app ecosystem across multiple devices, giving developers the chance to maximize their revenues, it added.

Recently, Microsoft hosted Windows AppFest at Bangalore, which set a Guinness Record for the Most Participants in a Software Development Marathon in One Location. The record has been set at 2,567 developers coding non-stop for 18 hours. Developers from India and abroad participated in the event for building, designing and testing apps for the Windows 8 platform with global mentoring and technical resources at hand.

The story was first published in CIOL.