Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025

      Chief sub-editor wanted – help shape South African tech media

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Microsoft confident of more services in SA

    Microsoft confident of more services in SA

    By Duncan McLeod29 January 2015
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Zoaib Hoosen
    Zoaib Hoosen

    Microsoft South Africa is confident that a changing approach by its parent will mean the faster introduction of the company’s online services in South Africa. That’s the word from the MD of the South African operation, Zoaib Hoosen.

    Hoosen has also expressed confidence that hardware products, such as the Surface Pro tablet/laptop hybrid, will in future come to more international markets more quickly thanks to a new approach by Satya Nadella, who was named a year ago as the replacement to Steve Ballmer as CEO.

    “Under Satya’s leadership, and with the idea of having cloud services on our platforms, he has challenged the engineering teams to drive a much more aggressive agenda across the globe,” Hoosen says. “Parity of services [everywhere] is discussed as a global initiative.”

    Compared to Google and other online computing rivals, Microsoft has been tardy in bringing its online services to international markets such as South Africa. For example, although Apple’s Siri personal assistant and Google’s voice search tools are both available in South Africa, Microsoft does not officially support its equivalent, Cortana, in this market.

    Cortana, originally developed as a voice assistant for Windows Phone, will form a key part of Windows 10, which will be launched later this year.

    It has also not delivered services locally it promised it would. Though former Microsoft South Africa MD Mteto Nyati said years ago that the Xbox Music streaming service was coming to the country, it failed to materialise. A number of rival services have since launched. A range of other Xbox services are also still not available to South Africans through official channels.

    But Hoosen is confident things are changing. “What is going to shift the needle is the attitude of the corporation, saying we want to push [these services] out.”

    He says he was party to an “interesting conversation at a senior leadership level” internationally in Microsoft recently. “There was a concern voiced around a service being available in South Africa. The instruction that went from the senior leadership to the product group concerned was: ‘The traction for these services is in emerging markets — you need to fix that first.’

    “For me, what gives me a great deal of comfort that this is real and is happening is that senior leadership is talking like that.”

    As far as Microsoft’s hardware products are concerned, Hoosen says the company is “actively looking at the business cases for the next wave of roll-outs”.

    “Those are under review at the moment,” he says, hinting that there is a chance that Microsoft’s well-received Surface Pro 3 device could be introduced in South Africa at some point.

    But, he cautions, introducing new hardware “requires channels and many things to be set up”.

    “The last thing I want to do is rush it in, but those business cases are being actively looked at.”  — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media



    Cortana Microsoft Mteto Nyati Satya Nadella Steve Ballmer Windows 10 Xbox Music Zoaib Hoosen
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleStill want a BlackBerry? Hell, yes!
    Next Article When Facebook’s down, so are you

    Related Posts

    The future of database management is hybrid. Are you ready?

    6 June 2025

    How AI is rewriting the rules of software development

    4 June 2025

    Silicon slip-ups: the tech industry’s biggest flops

    29 May 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.