Microsoft Expanding Canadian Operations in Greater Vancouver Area

New software development center to be opened in fall 2007.

REDMOND, Wash., and TORONTO.— Microsoft Corp. today announced that it intends to expand its presence in Canada by opening a new software development center in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia, area. The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will open in the fall of 2007 and will be home to software developers from around the world.

“Microsoft is a global company, and our greatest asset is smart, talented, highly skilled people,” said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. “Our goal as a company is to attract the next generation of leading software developers from all parts of the world, and this center will be a beacon for some of that talent.”

The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will operate as one of a handful of development centers outside the company’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters; the others are located in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark and Israel.

In addition, the company houses research and development centers in the United Kingdom, India, China and the Silicon Valley. The Microsoft Canada Development Centre builds on recently announced expansions to Boston two weeks ago and Bellevue, Wash., two months ago. The Vancouver area is a global gateway with a diverse population, is close to Microsoft’s corporate offices in Redmond and allows the company to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.

“In collaboration with our Redmond head office, we determined that opening a regional development center in Canada would create a tremendous opportunity for Canada,” said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada. “We have long advocated that Canada would be a wonderful place to locate Microsoft development. We have burgeoning high-tech and software industries and a globally envied quality of life, and our cities represent exactly the kind of environment that leading information workers want to live in. This center will help Microsoft remain globally competitive while providing strong economic benefits to British Columbia and Canada.”