Firm leverages innovation for health sector

Microsoft's Health Solutions Group senior marketing manager Tom Ryan said Microsoft's model for growth is based broadly on adoption of innovation, willingness to enter new markets, and embracing and acting on disruptive trends. Last year, the company continued its 30-year commitment to innovation with its $7.12-billion investment in R&D.

 The result of the investment is visible in new products, such as Microsoft Surface, which provides   a tabletop computing experience that lets people interact with digital content through natural gestures and touch, and Microsoft Robotics Studio, which is a software-development kit for the robotics industry. It also is evident in more established products, such as the 2007 Microsoft Office system, where the new Office Ribbon interface has transformed the way people use productivity software.

The company is also improving healthcare delivery through IT innovations. It is helping combat the lack of healthcare in developing countries as well as providing more affordable, quality care options for healthcare consumers worldwide.

He said that over the past 10 years, Microsoft has grown from just five people focused on healthcare to about 700 people. The team comprises doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other clinical staff, technical staff, R&D staff in sub-verticals, such as public health, and governments.

Microsoft's technology and partner solutions range from streamlining the way patient data is recorded in hospitals, enabling health plans to compete in a consumer-focused market, to helping pharmaceutical companies get greater returns on their R&D investments.

"Our impact includes not only our technology platform and partner solutions for providers, and life sciences companies but also solutions from our new Health Solutions Group and our family of products and services including Amalga, the Unified Intelligence System, Amalga Hospital Information System and Health-Vault, Ryan said.

These solutions provide business by helping to make critical information immediately available to the key decision makers. They also make it easier and less time consuming for people and teams to effortlessly connect with the other people, information and business processes.

For Thailand, Microsoft will continue to develop the engineering team in Bangkok, which the company gained through the acquisition of Global Care Solutions late last year.

He said the company will do this in partnership with its other healthcare development teams in Redmond, Beijing, China, and Washington.

It will also continue to build its software-development expertise across the world through hiring of local resources as well as crosspollination with other development resources from the United States, he said. 

"Microsoft believes Thailand is a good location to develop the product and continue our close relationship with Bumrungrad International Hospital," he said.