Microsoft’s R&D Investments in Europe
Europe’s leading role in Microsoft R&D
Microsoft partners with talent wherever it is in the world – and partnering with industry and
academia in Europe is a key driver for Microsoft. Investment is focused on areas of European
expertise, and Microsoft’s investment will help to build a firm ICT foundation and stimulate growth in
the European ICT sector.
Microsoft’s investment in European R&D is also critical in developing European solutions to European
challenges; applying local expertise to generate technologies that are highly relevant to the European
market. This investment can be seen in important Microsoft facilities such as the European
Development Centre in Ireland (developing local Windows and Office features), the Microsoft
Development Centre Serbia (developing handwriting recognition solutions), the Microsoft Language
Development Centre Portugal and the Microsoft Development Centre Copenhagen (software design).
Microsoft investment in Europe
These investments are not simply in ICT but also in local healthcare, education, accessibility and
environmental studies — where Microsoft can have a significant positive impact in communities.The
European Search Technology Centre and the centres of excellence in France, Germany and the UK,
are part of a much wider network of R&D facilities across Europe.
Microsoft is working with around 200 academic institutions in Europe. The company is involved in
projects that include funding to study climate change in Africa and a medical imaging project applied
to colon cancer and cardiology, developing powerful imaging tools for doctors. Microsoft has joint
partnerships based on open innovation with leading R&D centres in France, focused on advancing
computer sciences and software security at INRIA. In Italy work on advancing the science of biology is
underway at Trento University, while in Spain research is taking place at Barcelona University aimed
at advancing computer sciences.
Microsoft uses its technology resources and investments to support the European Commission in
joint research projects including: digitizing documents to protect and preserve European cultural
heritage; accessibility for the mobility impaired by developing sensory environments in the home to
help monitor disabled, aged or severely ill patients; and developing advanced software solutions for
effective human learning based on Web services technology.
Search in Europe
Microsoft believes that search as a product is still in an early stage of development and that the
customer is currently underserviced, both on the Web and in the enterprise. Microsoft’s significant
investments in its European Search Technology Centre are designed to start addressing this problem
and drive increased enterprise productivity and consumer satisfaction. This investment in the STC is
part of a long term strategy to complement Europe’s advanced R&D capabilities. Search technology
will continue to be a strategic industry in the coming years and Microsoft is investing in European
capabilities.
The investment in the STC complements other key investments in Europe in the Online and Search
area:
 the enterprise search technology of FAST Search & Transfer;
 Ciao / Greenfield Online shopping platform;
 Live Search & Virtual Earth: MultiMap, Vexcel;
 data centre in Dublin (to be opened soon);
 mobile advertising: ScreenTonic
 research on search and information retrieval at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK.
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Microsoft innovation, research and academic partnership footprint in Europe
An Overview of Microsoft R&D Investments in Europe
 Musiwave — Paris
Germany
 Search Technology Centre – Munich
 European Microsoft Innovation Centre (EMIC)
— Aachen
 Microsoft Embedded Systems Development
Centre (MESDC) — Aachen
 Microsoft Technology Centre — Munich
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Munich
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Karlsruhe
 Ciao / Greenfield Online – Munich (as well as
London, Paris, Timisoara, Wroclaw)
Greece
 Microsoft Innovation Centre
Hungary
 Microsoft Innovation Centre
Ireland
 European Development Centre (EDC) — Dublin
Italy
 Microsoft Research— University of Trento
Centre for Computational and Systems
Biology
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Turin
Austria
 Vexcel Imaging GmbH — Graz
Belgium
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Mons
 School Technology Innovation Centre —
Brussels
 Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre for
European Innovation — Brussels
Bulgaria
 Microsoft Innovation Centre
Croatia
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Varazdin
Czech Republic
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Brno
 School Technology Innovation Centre —
Prague
Denmark
 Microsoft Development Centre — Vedbaek
 Microsoft Technology Centre — Copenhagen
France
 Search Technology Centre —Paris
 MSR-INRIA Joint Centre — Paris
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Paris
 Microsoft Technology Centre — Paris
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Kazakhstan
 Microsoft/Hewlett Packard Competency
Centre for Kazakhstan — Almaty
Latvia
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Riga
Netherlands
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Barneveld
Norway
 FAST — Oslo
Poland
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Lodz
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Poznan
Portugal
 Microsoft Language Development Centre —
Porto Salvo
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Evora
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Coimbra
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Curias
 MobiComp —Braga
Romania
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Bucharest
Russia
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Moscow
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Nizgny
Novgorod
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Tomsk
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — St Petersburg
(Polytechnical University)
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — St Petersburg
(State University)
Serbia

Microsoft Development Centre Serbia —
Belgrade
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Slovakia
 Microsoft Innovation Centre (planned)
Slovenia
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Maribor
Spain
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Aragon
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Santander
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Boecillo
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — Catalonia
 Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, Microsoft
Research Centre — Barcelona
Switzerland
 Microsoft Development Centre for
Collaborative Technologies — Zurich
 Innovation Cluster for Embedded Software
(ICES), with ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne
Ukraine
 Microsoft Innovation Centre (planned)
United Kingdom
 Search Technology Centre — London
Microsoft Research — Cambridge
 Microsoft Development Centre/Game
Studios — Rare
 Microsoft Development Centre/Game
Studios — Lionhead Studios
 Microsoft Innovation Centre — TVP,
Reading
 Microsoft Technology Centre — TVP,
Reading
 School Technology Innovation Centre –
Belfast
 MultiMap