Nasscom praises MS
By Bala Shah

Microsoft (MS) has released its 2011 Citizenship Report in which it reiterates “We have a longstanding commitment to ensuring that technology is accessible to nonprofits around the world, bringing the benefits of technology to local communities. We are proud to work with thousands of nonprofits around the world to get them access to the technology that they need and train them how to use it.”

In this report, Microsoft says “We donated more than $844 million in software to 46,886 nonprofits in 113 countries / regions. The value of software we have donated globally since 1998 is more than $3.9 billion. “

While any donation should be commended, what has to be kept in mind that Microsoft evaluates its software donation costs as being what the market pays for its software. 

What was interesting was to see the NASSCOM Foundation giving Microsoft’s donations the big thumbs up.

Rita Soni, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, was quoted on the Microsoft site as saying

“
How does a remote district in India improve the newborn sex ratio from 839 girls for every 1,000 births to 876 (the world average is 1,084? How does a small Indian nonprofit reach 150 million weak readers, doubling the number of good readers in local primary schools (India’s adult literacy is 74.04 percent)? There is only one answer: technology. The information age has transformed communities across vast geographies by plugging them into networks and providing tools to interact, manage, and reach. The term ‘global village’ has taken on a new meaning in this information age as miles get bridged by the Internet superhighway. However, the impact of ICT on poverty and development is still just beginning to be felt.

The solution to the reach challenge is through partnership and active participation of tech companies like Microsoft that support the delivery of technology access, training, and informed usage to local communities. Microsoft has supported the NASSCOM Foundation since 2005, and together they have benefited more than 1,700 nonprofits all over India through software donations, certifications, and IT training for better nonprofit performance as well as community development.

…
“