Related Links Microsoft Research Asia Harry Shum

What is the possibility of leading IT companies in the world surviving 50 years from now? Are they able to remain on top in the next five to 10 years?

In the era of fierce competitions, it is difficult for a company to survive if it is not no.1.

That's because no.1 companies make the rules and open markets.

The 20th century IT market underwent major changes with the introduction of the world wide web (www) in 1991.

If this initial generation is called web 1.0, an upgraded environment called web 2.0 has recently emerged as a hot issue. 2.0 refers to a user-centric internet environment.

Then what would web 3.0 be like? There's a high possibility that it's the web coming closer to people armed with artificial intelligence (AI). From Microsoft, which eliminated the D (development) from R&D and is building the world's leading R (research) base, IBM and Google which are preparing AI-based web 3.0 services at a stage when web 2.0 is not even popularized, SKYPE which is conquering the world with its VoIP (Internet phone), to Nintendo, which is aiming to turn the global population into gamers?

We visited these companies to hear their strategies.

Microsoft - Microsoft Research Asia Managing Director Harry Shum

On a bitingly cold winter morning, the atmosphere at the Microsoft Research Asia Center building on Zhichun Road, Hai Dian District in Beijing was like that of a university library before end-of-term exaMicrosoft.

Researchers were catching up on some sleep in the sleeping quarters just like students who had got up too early to grab a good spot. Mathematic equations were scrawled across the blackboards and the research rooMicrosoft were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Researchers at the center, where there are 300 PhDs, usually enjoy the liberal atmosphere. However, once they take up a project, they stay up for three or four nights.

Running the center is Harry Shum (40), a 'genius' Chinese holder of a doctorate degree who graduated from university at the age of 13 and was selected as one of 20 'distinguished engineers' by Bill Gates.

Harry came out of his office to greet us and agreed to an interview at a small round table next to his desk instead of a meeting room, saying, "It'd be better to have the interview in a casual setting than a formal one."

"I think the three major advantages of Microsoft are its innovated culture, talents and strong leadership. In particular, the leadership shown by Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer draws out the potential in employees and ensures that customers' thoughts are reflected in product improvements."

Shum emphasized that Microsoft has the upper hand against its competitor, Google, in its fundamentals.

This means that Microsoft invests USD 600 million in R&D and works together with the world's leading scientists. Shum said, "the IT industry is rapidly changing, but it's important to have patience. That's the only way you can continue to invest and generate results."

When asked how research would be linked with development when Microsoft only pursues research, and how do you achieve tech-market insights (changing researchers' perspective to prepare marketing fields), Shum replied, "We've only divided the roles. Through the Technology Transfer Center at Microsoft headquarters, technology is turned into products or revealed to the general public for commercial use by all." He added, "Some 200 items that Microsoft is producing, from the Xbox to Windows, were developed using technology from this center."

Shum said the reason for the Beijing research center's rapid growth can be explained through the "integration of U.S.-style creativity and Chinese-style hard work."

• Fast growing Beijing research center = "Microsoft Research Asia has already become the most productive research team at Microsoft in the shortest amount of time since its launch in 1998. This is a mind blowing result."

  In his book 'the World is Flat', Thomas Friedman directly cited this quote from Bill Gates.

  Microsoft has research centers in Redmond (headquarters), Cambridge (England), India, San Jose, San Diego and Beijing. Beijing was the latest to be established. However, in terms of the number of PhDs or productivity (technology development), it is poised to soon overtake Redmond.

  This is also the reason why we headed to Beijing to get a sneak peek into the future of Microsoft, the world's leading software company.

  During last year's SIGGRAPH (considered the Nobel Prize in the computers industry - the world's largest international conference for computer graphics), a total of 98 theses were presented by universities and research institutes from around the world. 10% came from Microsoft Research Asia of the total.

  That was more than from MIT or Stanford.

  Microsoft research centers are characterized by their willingness to invest in R (research). They research technologies, which will draw on the potential and ability of regular people five to ten years ahead of commercialization.

  There are almost no limits in research into biotechnology, bioinformatics, HIV vaccines, automatic interpretation technologies, etc. The thoughts of Microsoft management, including Bill Gates, is that even if there are several business setbacks, the company would not waver as long as it has solid roots in basic technology.

  
  

• Web-based cutting-edge technologies to be commercialized soon = The technologies that Microsoft plans to introduce in five to ten years can be adapted to real life at any time.

  They are characterized by the fact that most are web-based moving image technology.

  One technology that stands out is Photo2search. It allows a user, who takes a picture through a mobile of his/her surroundings or a nearby building when lost, and the mobile phone would inform his/her present location and guide the person to his/her destination.

  A cyber robot wanders around websites, including portals, to collect photos of buildings posted by users or businesses and forms a database, and then reproduces a building from 360 degrees.

  Microsoft also applied this to develop technology in which a user can take a picture of a restaurant sign, send the picture to a Microsoft server, which would then inform the user of what foods the restaurant serves and what their prices are like.

  Microsoft Technology Transfer Center is currently preparing its commercialization.

Korean interns at Microsoft, "Korea is stingy when it comes to investing in basic technologies"

Korean PhDs working in Microsoft Research Asia as interns are honing their skills and nurturing their creativity.

Their creativity and research results are rated as being superior to those of their Chinese or Japanese colleagues.

The Korean interns talked about how the Microsoft research climate is different from that of Korean companies, as well as points for improvement in ties between Korean industry and academia.

Seong-hoon Seo (Yonsei University doctorate program) said, "I was in a R&D center at a Korean company. It was difficult to research if it didn't immediately translate into products. I'm really happy to be able to concentrate as much as I want on research here."

Yoo-na Kim (Pohang University of Science and Technology PhD) said, "Since I'm only concentrating on research, the time that I can invest in research now is about triple the amount of time I used to spend back in school."

Young-ki Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology -KAIST -PhD) said, "Since the future is uncertain, if Microsoft makes a wrong judgment or makes a mistake, the company could run into some trouble. However, even if that were the case, the company would be able to recover using the research center's basic technology." This means that while marketing looks one to two years down the road, the research center's strategy is to look ahead by ten years so that the results of basic research will one day prove their worth.

Seung-wook Yoon (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; GIST) said, "In Korea, companies outsource to universities and they own the rights to the research results. In the current situation, even if intellectual property rights were given to universities, schools would not have the necessary ability. Universities, companies and the government have to come together to form a third support institute."