December 2008

Significant expansion of Microsoft Development Center in Greater Zurich Area

Microsoft (Schweiz) AG has announced a significant expansion of the Microsoft Development Center in Zürich. At the inauguration of the new premises in Zürich, Erich Gebhardt, Director of the Microsoft Development Center in Zürich, said he expected his staff to grow from currently 45 to 200 in the coming three years. Excellent infrastructure, proximity to world-class universities, political and economic stability, as well as access to a multi-lingual and well-educated talent pool of IT professionals and developers were the decisive factors for Microsoft’s decision to increase the stake in Zürich as its location of choice for the Development Center expansion.

Core competencies at the Center are the development of key technologies of Microsoft’s Office Communication Server. For example, the standardized VoIP-based (Voice over IP) telephony software for Office Communication Server 2007 has been developed in Zürich for the most part. «Software made in Switzerland is a reality with great quality», said Gebhardt. «It’s Microsoft Office made in Switzerland.» According to Gebhardt, the significant expansion of the Development Center underlines Microsoft’s strong commitment to the international IT location Zürich as well as to Switzerland as an important innovation and knowledge center. «We firmly believe that Zürich will become one of the top addresses for VoIP companies in the world in the next five years.»

www.microsoft.ch

News archive