Access, Innovation, Skills Devt Top Microsoft Focus in Africa- Courtois

Jean-Philippe Courtois president, Microsoft International, has reiterated that access (to internet connectivity), skill development and innovation remained Microsoft key focus under 4Afrika initiative.

The Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, Courtois said during a press conference in Microsoft office in Lagos on Tuesday, focuses on three critical areas of development for the continent including enabling world-class skills, access and innovation.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalls that Courtois had in his visit to Nigeria in 2014 disclosed that Microsoft has invested $75 million in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and other African countries in the areas of access, innovation, skills development, youth empowerment; software development; digital curriculum, skills among others.

He further explained that Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative is a new effort through which the company has been actively engaging Africa to improve its global competitiveness.

The 4Afrika Initiative is built on the dual beliefs that technology can accelerate growth for Africa Microsoft, according to him was committed to accelerate capacity building and skills development across the continent through 4Africa initiative.

“We want to empower African youth, entrepreneurs, developers, and business,” he added.

 Meanwhile, the President of Microsoft International as part his visit to Nigeria had visited the Lagos State Government to discuss among other things how to use technology to build the state.

On the other hand, Courtois said that Microsoft is making great impact and growths through its cloud platforms other services offerings like Office365 and Azure.

These, he said, are leading Microsoft’s massive transformation to cloud, though with penchant interest on devices.

To this end, he expressed optimism that software piracy, which is still high around the world despite regulation, but can be abated through cloud services.

With the shift to cloud based service, he said that people are going to be using much more secured systems doing their businesses.

Nothing that cloud undermines the very notion of software piracy, he said that Microsoft was building secured infrastructure for their customers around the world.

Although he did not disclose economic loss to software piracy globally, he said that, “Piracy is still high around the world.

“There is no need to deny the fact. But with the paradyn shift to cloud services, your business activities are secured”, he said.

With the new world of cloud computing, he acknowledged that piracy is a big threat to the consumer. It is the biggest threat that you have,” he said, explaining that pirated software do not have security patches and upgrades associated with a legal copy.