WOMEN/TECH SPECIAL..Apps and the Women: Microsoft Geeks to Write Code for Her

Apps and the Women: Microsoft Geeks to Write Code for Her

200 HYDERABAD ENGINEERS ARE SPEARHEADING THE SOFTWARE CO’S NEW INITIATIVE

For a clutch of women engineers on the sprawling campus of the Microsoft Research Centre in Hyderabad, writing code has taken on a new meaning in the past two months. Tasked to create mobile applications that will appeal to other women, this group of nearly 200 engineers are at the head of a new initiative from the global software major aimed at increasing the popularity of Windows phones among women.
Informally titled ‘Code for Her’, the project incubated in Hyderabad has helped create about 10 apps that have been uploaded on Microsoft platforms globally. While one app, Asset Tracker, which helps people trace where important documents are stored, has already seen about 600 downloads within a week of its launch.
“The uber goal of this initiative is to make sure more women use our apps and eventually gravitate towards our Windows phone,” said Meher Afroz, General Manager, Microsoft IT India.
The software maker has drawn a few tips from reality shows on television to raise the competitive quotient among its app developers.
The female-friendly apps such as Travelogue, Asset Tracker and Yoga for Her that are developed by the contestants are short-listed and vetoed by a jury, much like the jury that certifies dishes in the reality cookery show Master Chef.
Once voted in, these apps are uploaded for users of the Windows Phone and Xbox Connect, to pick from. Xbox Connect is software that runs on one’s personal computer that lets one play Microsoft Xbox games and Sony PSP games with players from around the world. The software major is developing a monitoring mechanism to track how the apps have helped augment sales of Windows phones.
“We launched the first season from Hyderabad because Microsoft’s research headquarters outside the US is based here and it acts as a think tank for much of the new technology that the company offers,” said Afroz.
The programme also aims to attract, retain and promote talented women in the organisation and prevent them from being poached by competitors. The first season was limited to just the employees in Microsoft Hyderabad while the second season was open to all India-based women employees. Buoyed by the response to the apps developed, Microsoft is now rolling out the programme globally, as it seeks to drive greater acceptance for Windows phones among women.
According to data collated by the international marketing organisation Compete, women are more likely to perform a range of activities on their smartphones than men. Market data compiler Nielsen estimates that more than 3 in 5 African American, Hispanic and Asian American women have a smartphone in their household, compared to just one-third of Caucasian women.
While most of the apps are available as free downloads, Microsoft allows its employees to offer these apps on commercial sites where the associates can charge for every download. “We don’t stop the employees from offering these apps on other sites. In fact, we also help them patent it if there a value to it,” said Afroz.
However, the company signs a revenue sharing contract with the employee if a particular Microsoft technology is used in the creation of the app.
Amit Nandkeolyar, Assistant Professor at the Indian School of Business who teaches organisational behaviour, said: “These programmes are also undertaken to encourage diversity in a technology intensive company such as Microsoft. Apart from promoting creativity among women, it also sends out a signal to any new job seeker that this organisation expands its innovation schemes to women as well.”
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