Microsoft Moves into Vancouver

Good news for the Vancouver high-tech scene amid news that Microsoft Corp. will create a new software development centre – the company’s first R&D facility in Canada. It is expected to emply 200 to 300 people initially, and as many as 1,000 down the road.

Vancouver is a pretty good spot for Microsoft to set up an R&D facility given it’s just up the road (two hours, not including time at the border) from Redmond. The Canadian facility will also be a way for Microsoft to recruit top-notch talent at a time when U.S. immigration rules are making it increasingly difficult to bring engineers and developers into the U.S.

Although Vancouver’s high-tech  community  has been fairly active with large players such as PMC-Sierra and Electronic Arts employing many people, the presence of Microsoft will be a much-needed jump-start by putting the spotlight on the city and the resources available to companies looking for talent.