Technology should be inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

The importance of Microsoft's cloud computing business in driving innovation in India based business and new age unicorns, the need for inclusive tech growth and a future where data would dominate were the highlights of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's address at the Future Decoded: Tech Summit here on Tuesday.

Speaking about a future that will see more than 50 billion connected devices, Nadella spoke about the need to democratise Artificial Intelligence(AI). “AI should help us do science better. Microsoft must bring infrastructure to the world, where every company can create its own AI. We have to democratise AI by making the frameworks available to all,” he said.

The need for data privacy, building trust and AI that is both ethical and inclusive, and safe also found mention. Nadella said, "The last decade has seen a huge transformation of consumer businesses with technology. This decade will be about distributed and ubiquitous tech focused on every industry."

Nadella also spoke on about the omnipotence of tech in all facets of our lives, pointing out, "Tech is everywhere - it is in stadiums, hospitals, cars, and refrigerators. Technology has changed the way we experience things."

Like most tech evangelists, he also spoke about the importance of using technology for the greater good saying that developers should think of how they want to reinvent the wheel. "Technology is the only malleable thing humans have created, and we can create economic prosperity.”

Nadella stated that technology should be inclusive, trusted, and sustainable. “We are living in a time where we have to create a sustainable world. We have to build data centres that are renewable. Tech intensity is equal to the increase in tech adoption and tech capability, and tech intensity can grow only when companies build trust, inclusivity, and sustainability,” he added.

Data and its growing importance in the larger scheme of things also figured in the address. Pointing out that there will be 50 billion interconnected devices in 2030, Nadell added that the world will generate a whopping 175 zettabytes of data by 2025. This would result in the availability of a huge amount of data. "Microsoft is setting up 57 data centre, of which three are in India, based in Pune, Chennai, and Mumbai. The future, Microsoft believes, will be in using the edge along with the Cloud to power apps."

Nadella gave multiple examples of companies in India using Microsoft services to scale up. "For instance, Piramal Glass used IoT in factories to track its entire production cycle and product quality. Unicorns such as Myntra, InMobi, and Udaan have used Microsoft services to build their businesses."

As part of the programme, a clutch of new-age startups that are scaling up using Microsoft tools were also showcased at the event. Microsoft India President Anant Maheswari also spoke.