Microsoft Boise emerges

by Ken Dey @ Idaho Statesman
October 18, 2006

ProClarity officially became Microsoft Boise on Tuesday.
Six months after the Redmond, Wash. software giant announced it had purchased the Boise business-software firm, most of the transition to Microsoft is complete.

“Everyone has been pretty heads down and working on getting the team integrated,” said Bob Lokken, ProClarity’s former CEO and now senior director of Microsoft’s office business applications. “We’ve designated today (Tuesday) as the official launching of Microsoft Boise.”

A new Microsoft sign now adorns the former ProClarity location at 500 S. 10th Street in Downtown Boise.

By next June, the first Microsoft-labeled business-software product will be introduced.

Before the acquisition, ProClarity had long had a relationship with Microsoft, which uses ProClarity’s software.

That software helps businesses analyze large amount of data in conjunction with Microsoft applications like Excel and Sharepoint.

When Microsoft purchased the company, it could have moved operations to Redmond, but choose to keep them in Boise. Lokken said Microsoft appreciated the quality of life in the Boise area.

The two cities are only an hour away by plane, making it easy for executives and employees to travel to Redmond when needed, he said.

Lokken says this is just the start of what he predicts will be a bright future for Microsoft in Boise.

“We’re pretty excited about future growth prospects in the city,” Lokken said. “It’s a great location for Microsoft.”

The company has already added a few new positions to its Boise work force of about 100 people.

Although it’s too early to put any number on the potential new jobs in Boise, Lokken said, expansion in Boise likely will be discussed next spring when Microsoft starts its planning for the next fiscal year.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to fill out the operation in Boise,” he said.

Russ Whitney, principal development manager for Microsoft Boise, said a number Redmond-based Microsoft employees with ties to Idaho have applied for the open positions the company does have because they want to return to Boise.

Whitney said he’s also been working closely with Boise State University’s engineering and computer science departments to build a relationship that will help the company when Microsoft goes into a more-aggressive hiring mode.

Lokken said Microsoft also has started discussions with state and local officials about Microsoft’s plans for the area.

“We’ve had discussions on how we can work together to make Boise a better place for Microsoft employees and a desirable place for Microsoft to continue expanding,” Lokken said. “Microsoft has grown so much in Redmond that it’s consistently running out of room, and we think there are good prospects to continue building this site as we go forward.”

Lokken and Whitney said there have been some adjustments going from a small company to part of the world’s largest software company, but for the most part the changes have been positive.

Whitney said employees now have access to better benefits and the advantages of working for a larger company. Some employees also received raises.

But the biggest change is how the Microsoft name has elevated the profile of the company’s products.

“Our product strategy has changed significantly,” Whitney said. “We used to be a mouse in a field of elephants. Now we’re an elephant. It’s pretty exciting to be in that position.”