During the keynote of Micrsoft’s Future Decoded conference, company CEO Satya Nadella praised the UK tech startup scene and revealed how at Microsoft they talk about launching a product first in the UK and succeeding there.
Nadella was speaking in a ‘Q&A’ format with Microsoft chief envisioning officer Dave Coplin and during this session he talked about a lot of things including cloud, growth of digital industry and how the trio of concept, capability and culture are needed to drive innovation in a company.
Talking about UK and the cloud, Nadella said that he was impressed with the tech startup scene in the UK and it’s “amazing to see the rapid growth when it comes to the cloud, and the growth of the digital industry,” in the country.
Describing startups as “lifeblood of any economy” he said that “barriers to entry have significantly come down”. Nadella talked about Microsoft’s UK endeavours including London Accelerator startup programme and its research labs in Cambridge.
Talking about the importance of concept, capability and culture for driving innovation in a company, Nadella said that these three are like concentric circles that click into gear for innovation. “First, new concepts because you can’t be devoted to concepts from the past. New capabilities are called for that you as an organisation has both in the cloud and in silicon”, he said.
Finally talking about culture he said “you need a culture to support the capability and concepts. It’s perhaps what any organisation needs to be able to do to reinvent themselves. You can’t stop because if you do, that’s when you get in trouble.”
Talking about Office 365 and Azure, Nadella said that customers aren’t just looking for new technology, but they are looking for technology that can transform their business. “The only way you can orchestrate the ability of your applications and your data is through the cloud. That way, you can have the ability and experience across all of the devices, but also that those devices need to be defined themselves”, he said.
