Microsoft calls on UAE start-ups to embrace cloud as BizSpark programme gathers regional steam

Microsoft Gulf today called on regional start-ups to strongly consider the cloud as a means of easily scaling up their business operations, citing several UAE success stories as proof that, through Microsoft’s BizSpark programme, enterprise-level technology tools were no longer out of reach for SMEs.

“We are very pleased with the progress that regional start-ups have made,” said Samer Abu-Ltaif, General Manager, Microsoft Gulf. “The BizSpark scheme is chartered to provide companies with the right tools – software, services, cloud computing – and the right training, to turn their ideas into thriving enterprises. BizSpark allows us to connect start-ups with incubators that we work with, and get them the right guidance on their journey, as they become an integral part of the diversification of the economy in this part of the world.”

In January this year, Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft, met with several UAE-based entrepreneurs while on a visit to the country. Each of the business leaders had made strides in growth for their venture through BizSpark and were interested to know how they could take bolder steps using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

“Unlike any CEO you could imagine, [Nadella] was able to listen to our idea and intimately understand it, and provide feedback and guidance on how we can further leverage Microsoft technologies and grow as a start-up,” said Rami Salman, Founder and CEO, Wrappup, which has developed a meeting productivity tool that allows users to record meeting conversations, summarise them and then search them.

Mohamed Elwazer is Founder and CEO of KinTrans. His start-up journey starts with a very personal story.

“One day I saw a deaf child in the Metro station and he was trying to communicate with a police officer using sign language, and obviously the police officer didn’t understand him,” Elwazer explained. “Later, I saw some people dancing in front of an Xbox Kinect system and thought that was something we could use to develop a sign-language translator.”

Because of its capital-intensive demands, 10 years ago Elwazer’s idea is one that could easily have run out of steam without an angel investor or VC funding, but BizSpark helped him to take it forward. 

“It would have cost us a lot of money to reach where we are now without Microsoft’s support,” he said.

“BizSpark is a fantastic programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs,” said Thea Myhrvold, Founder and CEO, teachmenow.com, an online global marketplace that connects students with tutors in one-to-one, real-time learning sessions. Myhrvold insists it is a place where “anyone can teach and everyone can learn”.

Myhrvold also believes that cloud architecture helped her company get off the ground more quickly than it would have if it had been forced to procure an expanse of costly equipment. 

“BizSpark really helped us to get on the Azure platform without a heavy investment,” she said. “This was an excellent kick-start for us to grow our business and grow it fast. We also get a lot of training, one-to-one support and mentorship from experts at Microsoft.”

For start-ups, scalability can often be paramount in capitalising on sales opportunities or bringing a new idea to market quickly, before it can be copied. BizSpark helps fledgling companies to grow at a pace that suits them, all while getting the right guidance to keep the business on track.

Teambase built a solution for the insurance industry that features behaviour like that of an online banking system. 

“BizSpark has given us the opportunity to utilise the cloud at virtually no cost and allows us to run our existing solutions while at the same time experimenting with new technologies, said Teambase Managing Director, Robert Koval. “We were able to take our solution that’s been running here in the Middle East for three years, and scale it out to China, Singapore and Indonesia in recent months.”

Wrappup’s Salman also believes that the ability to grow quickly and on demand, is key to the success of a small business, and something that the cloud is able to provide.

“When you’re a start-up, you are always solving so many problems at once,” he said. “Microsoft was able to solve one major issue for us, and that’s scale. They empower a start-up to look like much more than a start-up, providing nascent-stage businesses like ours with all the capabilities of a massive enterprise, with the security, scalability and affordability of the cloud.”

“We aim to have a global reach and one million users by the end of 2016,” added Myhrvold of teachmenow.com. “Azure really helps us grow and scale fast.”

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Abu-Ltaif. “Our passion for this extends particularly to entrepreneurs, to allow them to achieve more and be more. Microsoft was once a start-up, and we are proud to play a part in the success stories of the next generation of businesses. We want entrepreneurs to know that, through programmes like BizSpark, Microsoft stands ready to take those first bold steps with them, as they look to their future.”

The BizSpark program has empowered over 90,000 startups around the world. To learn more about how it has been helping businesses in the UAE to achieve more, please check out this video