New Delhi: A year after moving away from day-to-day operations at Microsoft Corp., the world’s biggest software maker, Bill Gates remains as driven as ever. “When I was with Microsoft, I was fanatical of that work. And, now I am fanatical full time about (healthcare) work,” Gates, visiting India, told an audience of senior executives at a tech event in the Capital on Friday.
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A day after Microsoft reported 29% weaker net profit at $3.05 billion (Rs14,762 crore today) for the June quarter, Gates, 54, still chairman of the company he co-founded in 1975, spoke to Mint about the downturn in his firm’s business; its rivalry with search leader Google Inc.; work at his foundation; his personal goals; and what he is betting on. Edited excerpts:
From where you sit in the tech world, what is your outlook on the tough economy the world is in?
Companies such as Microsoft that are conservatively managed are still quite profitable. We are not making as much as we did last year, but the drop-off is not some tragedy that has us not believing and investing long-term, including the fundamental research, which is at the centre of our future.
(At Microsoft), the innovations are continuing at full pace—Windows 7 (a new version of the Microsoft operating system due for release in October) is about to come out; Bing came out. We just went through our fifth anniversary of Microsoft Research where we talked about the breakthrough things that that lab was able to bring forward.
So, the information technology industry, even though it has got a volume drop that’s affecting profitability for some of the players, is the most competitive industry.
When we interviewed Craig Mundie (Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer) earlier this year, he talked of the current global situation as a “permanent reset” of the economy. (CEO Steve) Ballmer has repeatedly said that the worst is not over. But the tech analyst world still seems bullish on signs of economic recovery. At Microsoft, what are you telling them after yesterday’s results?
Long-term outlook: Microsoft Corp. chairman and co-founder Bill Gates at a Nasscom event in New Delhi on Friday. Raj Kumar / Mint
Well, it is key to remember that the real decisions that a tech firm such as Microsoft makes don’t really depend on knowing whether 10% more PCs will sell next year or 13% or negative 5%.
The basic bets we make on secure software, speech recognition, putting the camera on the PC...those bets are really based on whether you can make the breakthrough. Go back to graphical user interface, Office suite...they are not based on my being a great macroeconomist. Microsoft was founded during this huge recession, it was terrible. But I barely noticed it. I didn’t say that I better call Alan Greenspan and find out what interest rates the Fed will be setting so I know whether to hire programmers or not.
So, the basic proposition of the magic of software is unchanged.