Date:15/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/04/15/stories/2005041500901200.htm

Back Microsoft India files 40 patents, 70 in pipeline

Our Bureau

Mr Srini Koppolu

Hyderabad , April 14

MICROSOFT India Development Centre (MIDC) based at Hyderabad, its second beyond Redmond shores, has filed 40 patents in 2004 and expects to add 70 more in 2005.

The Managing Director of Microsoft India R&D centre, Mr Srini Koppolu, said "it has been a dream run for the R&D centre from a start up in 1998 with about 20 people to about 500 people with the nature of work constantly expanding and this centre mirroring development handled out of Redmond."

Addressing newspersons at their R&D centre, which was inaugurated last year by the Microsoft CEO, Mr Steve Ballmer, Mr Koppolu while refusing to put any numbers to the increase in headcount, said that 500 product developers is big number and top leaders in the company constantly scout for talent. The expansion would continue and is part of the $100 million announced by Mr Bill Gates, during his visit to Hyderabad.

Introducing senior team members at MIDC and their work, Mr Koppolu said Microsoft's next phase of India growth would be driven by incubation of new ideas and technology innovation and depends on what the business demands.

From just about two projects - Windows services for Unix among them, this mandate has increased significantly over the years covering development of RFID (radio frequency identification) platform technologies, Data Protection Manager, Work on Longhorn and Visual studio among host of others.