Microsoft to open first tech corner in Mauritius. Not permanent though.

Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands (MS IOI) has had a presence, if I’m not wrong, in Mauritius since 2001 and they never had a direct communication with the Mauritian public, except through partners. This is something I’ve always complained about and this is about to change. I’ve learnt during the week that Microsoft will open a corner in a trendy mall in order to promote and educate Mauritians on their products; specifically and unsurprisingly on the upcoming Windows 7 operating system. This is good for consumers.

Microsoft competitors are being quite aggressive on the market with a few iShop here and there. Recently, Google has started luring local developers towards its platform. Is the corner a way for Microsoft to counter attack? Yes and no. No because the corner is not permanent. According to the deal, its existence will last for a year only at a trend that still needs to be determine. I expect to see the corner manned by a “product ambassador” mostly during the weekends. That is when most Mauritians go to the malls. The “ambassadors” job will be to promote, educate users, and get feedbacks on Microsoft products. But is a week end enough? I doubt that. At least Microsoft is doing customer oriented projects other than just enterprise business via partners.

The latter will still have a role in this corner business with product demos. By the way, I may myself, as a Microsoft MVP for Windows Mobile, do some Windows Mobile demos. The mobile OS is still unknown in Mauritius as opposed to the iPhone. So I’m quite excited at the idea to educate my country men to a more open and robust system.

I definitely believe that Microsoft will benefit by establishing a direct communication with the population. Not only Mauritians will get to know more about MS products, it will also make fighting piracy more efficient. Kudos to the MS team. I also expect to see Microsoft going well beyond just a corner. A Microsoft store would be the next logical step.

Ask a Mauritian where in Mauritius is Microsoft office located and, most often, the answer is “ Microsoft has an office in Mauritius???”. The Microsoft corner is just the beginning of a great relationship between the software giant and paradise. Or so I hope.