Microsoft boss talks about expansion and hiring in Canada

Tara Deschamps
The Canadian Press

Satya Nadella believes that if emerging businesses face additional obstacles, they will start to fall behind and pull the sectors of the economy with which they work.

“You need to make sure the latest technology is available […] Canada can create more world-class technology, ”he said in an interview. “By cutting yourself off from the factor of production, you are falling behind.”

Nadella’s comments came as Microsoft was making its presence felt in Canada with a new innovation hub in Toronto and hiring hundreds in Vancouver, and the federal government promised to announce control of the tech giants soon.

Heritage Minister Steven Gilbolt has been keeping a close eye on Australia, demanding that tech companies compensate news groups that share stories on their platforms.

In response, Facebook began blocking reading and sharing news content on its site in Australia, but a few days later overturned its decision and eventually restored the restricted pages.

However, Microsoft approved the Australian policy and said in a February blog entry that it would support a similar proposal if introduced in Canada, the United States, the European Union and elsewhere.

Nadella did not specify what rules Canada would like to adopt, but he said there was a need to differentiate between how governments approach the protection of citizens and how they approach digital technology used by citizens. Elasticity.

According to him, the term “tech giants” is a broad term that does not recognize that there are different types of technologies that have different effects on society and the economy.

New expansion projects

Regulators have argued that Microsoft spent most of the 1990s and 2000s with legal battles in the United States and Europe, where the company engaged in monopolistic practices with its Internet Explorer, Office and Windows software. Eventually, Microsoft paid multi-billion-dollar fines, but escaped without a bus stop.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Microsoft is considering expanding again and is in talks with video game ts enthusiasts to buy the popular social media company Discord for $ 10 billion.

In recent years, claims that Microsoft once faced have begun to target competitors such as Facebook, which also includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, and have led to debates over whether tech companies have more power.

The Canadian talks on the matter did not seem to frighten Nadella.

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it was launching a Data Innovation Center in its downtown Toronto office.

The company will bring the Azure Edge Zone to Vancouver, which will help customers who need data hosting in the country get things done faster because they will be able to connect to on-campus infrastructure rather than Toronto.

Microsoft said the extension of Azure’s cloud services could meet data residency and compliance requirements for health care and public sector users in western Canada.

In addition to offices, Microsoft will add more than 500 technical jobs to Vancouver this year, focusing on the design of cutting-edge applications in the areas of intelligent communications, office, Azure, oneDrive, web experiences and mixed reality.

Mr Nadella focused on Canada because he judged the country’s human capital “heavily”.

“In developed countries, Canada sets the tone in many areas,” he says.

“Per capita, if you look at the Artificial Intelligence expertise in Canada, it’s extraordinary. ”

Utilizing this talent comes with competition. Shopify, Twitter and Pinterest all revealed earlier this year that they were expanding in Canada and hiring engineers and other technical workers. Nadella sees Microsoft as critical work, focusing on skills and digital resources, which is crucial for the future, he said.

“The more we try to equip people with these elements, the better the shape of society and the economy will be.”