We Are Committed To Digitising 10 Million SMBs By 2025: Phil Davis
The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation by several years across organisations. It is visible in their product enhancement, consumer interactions, internal operations and even in their HR policies. Technology is now a key ingredient to stay ahead and competitive in the current business and economic scenario.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) believes in building value through training people in digital skills. Over two million individuals have been trained by them to bridge the cloud skills gap. “I’m proud that AWS has provided cloud skills training to over two million people in India, and we acknowledge that much more work must be done as we continue to build a better digital future in India,” says Phil Davis, Managing Director, Asia Pacific and Japan Commercial Sales, AWS.
In India, they have the ‘AWS re/Start’, a free skill-development programme aimed at preparing unemployed, underemployed, and transitioning individuals for careers in cloud computing. The programme is part of AWS’s global commitment to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people.
In addition to this, AWS collaborates with partners, and organisations of all sizes in India build the cloud skills they need to accelerate innovation and achieve their business goals.
As per a Gartner report, the global public cloud market grew 41.4 per cent to total $90.9 billion in 2021, up from $64.3 billion in 2020. And AWS maintained the lead in revenue growth and market share.
We caught up with Phil Davis to understand the India game plan. Over a cup of tea the jet setting MD spoke about what helps AWS stand out and much more.
What defines good leaders?
If you look at ordinary leaders, they shy away from tough conversations. By doing so, they are doing disservice to their employees and to their businesses. I think the biggest task of a leader is knowing what to prioritise. In a big organisation you cannot be re-prioritising every time. So having a big vision and clear vision is very important for a leader.
I also believe that the need to be the right organisational culture with values-based leadership is critical for an organisation. Good leadership is also about the degree of ambiguity that you have to navigate especially at the top.
How has the digital transformation for organisation changed since the pandemic? What is the focus now?
Covid-19 has led to rapid digital transformation in every business. We have also seen a significant technology shift and it is continuing. There is a lot of business transformation alongside technology transformation .
Because of the pandemic digital transformation which would have taken years was compressed into months. This transformation has reached a point where people want to future proof the business. The pace of innovation has gone up. It is primarily because of the cloud which lets you to innovate faster and seamlessly.
With all this digital transformation, what is your view on Privacy and security?
Privacy and security are two sides of the same coin. AWS by default is very secure, we offer everything from consulting to solution architects and architectural reviews and give customers more tools to be able to identify, manage and remediate any concerns.
With regard to cloud services in. India, how do you see your journey so far?
We were the first cloud company to be in India and we offered a wide variety of solutions. We have also trained close to 2 million people in India and it is very critical to have the right skills to participate in the digital growth story in India.
One of our earlier leadership mottos was ‘Success and Scale’. If you see cloud adoption trends in India, they are not very different from global markets. However, the pandemic accelerated customers towards the cloud, and India was no different. AWS collaborates with higher education institutions, non-profits, workforce development organisations, governments, and employers on a range of digital upskilling programs aimed at preparing the next generation of cloud professionals for early cloud careers and building a diverse pipeline of entry-level talent for the workforce.
Your view on cloud computing and sustainability…
There are several ways in which cloud computing can impact sustainability. We work with customers and consult with businesses to decarbonise. We are very focused on energy efficiency and that is reflected across processes.
There is a lot of cloud services available in India. In your view what sets AWS apart from its competitors?
I would say the answer lies in our values, our culture and our leadership. Apart from that, the biggest differentiator is our focus on customer centricity. When Jeff (Bezos) set up the company he set the goal to be the earth’s most customer-centric organisation in every respect. Most of our services are based on the customer feedback. This itself is very different from what we see in the sector that we operate in.
The other differentiating factor for AWS is the breadth and depth of our services which sets us apart. There is also richness of features security capabilities etc, which makes our offering unique in every sense.
We have made over 111 price reductions since we founded AWS. Of these, close to 60 per cent were made before there were any competitors. We are trying to give every penny back to the customer
This is different because if you look around, every other competitor is raising prices by over 50 per cent.
What is the India game plan?
We will continue to invest in local infrastructure. The large digitisation that we are talking about post-Covid is a top priority. SMBs are key to driving India forward, and we are committed to Jeff's pledge of digitizing 10 million SMBs by 2025.
Our India focus is that we will continue to give back, whether its diversity and inclusion type of activities or sustainability and even the education.
Some of these programmes are specifically targeted towards women empowerment. There is one called ‘She Dares’. This programme empowers women who are not in tech. Then we have another programme called ‘She Builds’ for women who are already familiar with technology.
I’m proud that AWS has provided cloud skills training to over two million people in India, and we acknowledge that much more work must be done as we continue to build a better digital future in India.
