Redmond, Washington-based software maker Microsoft plans to base its primary research and development  operations for enterprise search in Norway, chief executive Steve Ballmer said Tuesday while in Norway as part of a multi-nation trip in Europe. Microsoft will create the new enterprise search bases in the Norwegian cities of Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsoe by expanding a workforce of some 300 people the world's largest software manufacturer has in the Scandinavian nation, Ballmer said. In January Microsoft purchased Oslo-based enterprise data search company Fast Search and Transfer for $1.2 billion. Workforce Expansion Expected In Three Norwegian Cities The enterprise search bases, which will work on business search engine software for large corporations, were expected to expand with a total of about 50 research scientists and engineers, Ballmer said. "The global centre for our enterprise search R&D will be done here from Norway," Ballmer told a group of reporters after  the conclusion of a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo. The decision to move Microsoft's enterprise search headquarters to Norway was made based on the strong presence Fast Search and Transfer already had in the country, Ballmer said Tuesday. "We now have a significant research laboratory here in Norway [...] with the acquisition of Fast," Ballmer said. Fast, founded in 1997 in Oslo and publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange, provides real-time scalable search engine products for managing and storing information, and operates globally with offices in Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. The Norwegian data-search company, one of the leading developers of business-intelligence products, provides services allowing corporations to maintain and analyze large internal database systems. A Positive Sign For Norway's Technology Environment In 2006 Fast totaled $162.6 million in revenue, a profit of $3.4 million, and in 2007 it began a program branching out into digital advertising and search, entering into a deal with Japan's largest online retailer, Rakuten Inc. Microsoft's enterprise search rivals include technology giants I.B.M. and  Oracle Corp., as well as Cambridge, England-based Autonomy, privately-held Endeca of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Exalead of France. When Microsoft purchased Fast it hoped to expand its research and development presence in Europe beyond the research teams it already had in Copenhagen, Denmark and Cambridge, England. After Ballmer told reporters of Microsoft's expansion plans in Norway, Prime Minister Stoltenberg said the decision pointed to Norway's strong technology environment, and called the planned move "a fantastic thing," and "very positive because both research and business centers in Norway will work with a major international player like Microsoft." Microsoft Global Enterprise Search Design Center Moving To Norway Ballmer praised Fast co-founders John Markus Lervik and Bjorn Olstad, and said that Microsoft had purchased the Norwegian firm in part because the Redmond company's own search initiatives were "always getting beaten by Fast." When Microsoft acquired Fast, Lervik said the deal would help expand his company's technology. "This acquisition gives Fast an exciting way to spread our cutting-edge search technologies and innovations to more and more organizations across the world," said Lervik, who is also Fast's chief executive. The new Microsoft enterprise search centers in Trondheim and Tromsoe will be satellite research and development branches, with the main office located in Oslo. "Norway can be proud of building up an international competence center for business searches," Ballmer said Tuesday. "Microsoft wants to be a significant player in that area," he added. Norway is also home to Web browser company Opera Software. Besides Norway, Ballmer planned to visit Portugal, France, Denmark, and Britain on his present European trip. Related Links :
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9:37 pm on Sep. 30, 2008 (utc 0)