Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 1, 2004
The latest Microsoft Research campus will open in January 2005, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant said Tuesday. The researchers in India will focus on ways to create, store and search information in multiple languages, as well as technology for use in emerging markets and other specialties.
Microsoft already operates research campuses in Beijing; Cambridge, England; Redmond; San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
The company decided to add an Indian campus to take advantage of promising computer science students coming out of universities there, said Rick Rashid, a vice president in charge of Microsoft Research. The company hopes to hire a couple dozen researchers over the next year, he said.
The Microsoft Research campuses, modeled after academic research facilities, do work that is relevant to Microsoft's product lineup, such as security or search technology. Products including the TabletPC have come out of the research arm.
But researchers also are encouraged to work on far-flung ideas that may never turn into profitable products, like tools for developing HIV vaccines.
The new center will be headed by P. Anandan, previously a senior researcher at Microsoft's Redmond campus. Anandan, a native of India, said in a statement that the country's many languages, plus the fact that most of its more than 1 billion residents have no Internet access, make it a good backdrop for researching some of computer science's most challenging problems.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Microsoft opened an office in Hyderabad, India, 340 miles (547 kilometers) north of Bangalore, and stepped up plans to hire more programmers in India. The new Hyderabad campus, its largest outside the United States, will eventually employ 3,000 programmers.
Microsoft already has offices in Bangalore for functions such as product support and sales, Rashid said.
Microsoft is one of dozens of American technology companies to set up facilities in India, taking advantage of its vast pool of skilled workers who can be hired for a fraction of the cost of those in the United States.
Matt Rosoff, an analyst with independent researchers Directions on Microsoft, said the research facility shouldn't raise fears that Microsoft will begin outsourcing key product work to India, resulting in lost jobs here.
"I think the research facilities are additive. They're not replacing (jobs) in Redmond," he said.
On the Net: http://research.microsoft.com
041201
AP041201
Copyright © 2004 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .