Computer software giant will open first Canadian development centre in Lower Mainland
Gillian Shaw
Sun
Greater Vancouver will be home to Microsoft’s first software development centre to be opened in Canada, the company announced Thursday.
The facility, to open in the fall of 2007, will have about 200 employees, a number that could as high as 800. It will draw on software developers from the around the world and join a small number of development centres outside the software giant’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters.
“This is an exciting announcement for us,” said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada, which currently has 940 employees across the country with about 60 based in Vancouver. “It is a first for Microsoft Canada.
“To put this in perspective there are probably no more than a handful of these around the world.”
Sorgen said while Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the location of the new centre, the company is exploring sites in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby.
Sorgen said the ability to attract top technology talent was a major factor in Microsoft’s decision to locate its newest development centre here, with Vancouver’s proximity to the Redmond headquarters a bonus.
“Vancouver is such an international gateway with a diverse population and a reach that gives us access to the best and brightest population, that is what I would say is the number one interest in the Vancouver market,” he said.
Sorgen said employees are looking for not just compensation but also work-life balance, access to education, the arts and recreation and other factors that influence their career decisions.
“Vancouver has a lot to offer in that area,” he said.
“Vancouver is a very appealing market and when you are competing for the best and the brightest talent, we want to ensure we have a work environment in a location people want to work and live in.
“We think Vancouver is going to help us attract talent.”
Sorgen said the company will be hiring developers from around the world to staff the new facility and job offers have already started to go out, with the opening expected for September or October.
The Microsoft expansion here is seen not only as a coup for the province but as good news for a country that is struggling to see its technology sector compete on the world stage.
“It is great news not just for Vancouver but for Canada,” said Anne Golden, president of the Conference Board of Canada. “Initially they are trying to create about 200 jobs; ultimately I think they hope to have in the category of 800 jobs.
“It is important not just in the short term; ultimately they will be attracting skilled software developers to Canada. It is the kind of investment that those of us who are concerned about promoting innovation in Canada have called for.”
The Microsoft Canada Development Centre joins others outside the Redmond headquarters, including ones located in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark and Israel. The company also has full research and development centres in the United Kingdom, India, China and the Silicon Valley. The Canadian announcement follows on the heels of recently announced expansions to Boston, Mass., and Bellevue, Wash.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
