Microsoft Teams driving digital innovation with ISVs

Communication platforms of today are ensuring no disruption happens in any work-related activity even as more companies embrace the new normal. 

Let’s take a look at Microsoft Teams. In November 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19, Microsoft Teams had about 20 million daily active users (DAUs). 

Fast forward to October 2020, and this number has reached 115 million, says the company.

In April 2020, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security — we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything.”

One of the leading communication platforms for workplaces, businesses, and schools, Microsoft Teams has been actively partnering with independent software vendors (ISVs) to build new innovative apps to address numerous challenges and bring people together despite the distance.

Some of the ISVs include Skillate, which has developed an AI-based recruitment platform that makes hiring easy, fast, and transparent; Empuls, which helps improve employee efficiency and engagement by ensuring continuous feedback and performance rewards; and LambdaTest, which allows for developers to work as a team and solve issues faster by letting them initiate quick real-time tests at the click of a button from right inside a conversation, and more. Read more.

The Interview

As COVID-19 brought about a change in consumer behaviour, Varun Alagh, Co-founder, Mamaearth, claimed the startup reached positive unit economics riding on organic and direct traction through D2C channels. The impact of the pandemic has largely been positive, he added, with 90 percent of Mamaearth’s businesses coming from new users in Tier-II and III towns.

Editor’s Pick: Prime Venture series

Startups are like road trips where the length of the journey is variable. In some journeys, you end up quickly to a bright shiny destination, and for some, it's a long winding road. Meanwhile, some end up cancelling the whole trip after a while and start from the beginning. Since you have no way of knowing which path your startup will take, the best mindset is to prepare for a long one, says Shripati Acharya, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners, as he shares tips to help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate problems. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Bengaluru SaaS startup Unotag is enhancing employee engagement with gamification

With more millennials joining the workforce, a lack of motivation has led many to fail in delivering the tasks. Sales, customer support, and delivery teams have a tough job, and they need constant motivation with incentives and recognition to keep up with their work. To make work more fun and engaging for employees, Unotag — a gamification-based all-in-one toolkit — was launched by Mohit Ambani, Arpit Vasani, and Mehul Jain in 2019. Read more.

News & Updates

• 9Unicorns announced the third close of its first accelerator fund at $40 million to fund idea-stage startups in India. The third close saw participation from global and Indian industrialists and businesses who are bullish on the high growth potential of early-stage Indian startups. 

• Amazon said it has registered five million merchants through its payments unit Amazon Pay. It remains focused on helping more SMBs in the country to embrace digital payments.

• SoftBank is in advanced talks on investing around $450 million in the food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy. The deal is likely to peg the valuation of Bengaluru-based firm at $5 billion.

• Flipkart has announced the acquisition of Cleartrip, an online travel technology company, for an undisclosed value. However, sources indicate that it is a cash-cum-stock deal valued at around $40 million.

• Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that a 'Timelapse' feature has been introduced in Google Earth, the biggest update since 2017. For this, Google has compiled 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years into an interactive, explorable 4D experience.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“The beauty and strength of Microsoft Teams is that it’s designed as a surface where partners can interweave capabilities to create innovative, productivity-enhancing solutions.” 

— Geeta Gurnani, Country Head, Modern Work, Microsoft India

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