The minds behind Microsoft Research
You might expect Microsoft Research to concern itself with the next version of Office, and you'd be right. But an AIDS vaccine?
Computerworld - There's a joke at Microsoft Research that designing the next version of Microsoft Office is like ordering pizza for 100 million people. No matter how you do it, a few million of them are going to complain.
But Microsoft Research (MSR) General Manager Kevin Schofield shrugs off the difficulty of designing technology for mass markets. "It's our job to understand user differences," he says.

Microsoft Research (MSR) General Manager Kevin Schofield
Indeed, the scope of activities within MSR is stunning. A lot of the research is what you might expect, with computer scientists dreaming up a new widget for mobile communication, a new search algorithm aimed at topping Google or some new way to make Windows more secure. But MSR also engages in long-term fundamental research that might never produce revenue.
For example, it is working with several medical labs on the application of pattern-matching algorithms -- which it developed to recognize spam -- to the design of AIDS vaccines. "The reason that HIV is so resistant to our immune system is because it gets in a host and throws off many new mutations, so your body can't get a good, robust immunity to it," Schofield says. That's the sort of strategy used by spammers. A trial vaccine based on Microsoft's algorithms has just begun in vitro testing.
Tortoise or Hare?
Critics have said that Microsoft has been slow to respond to competition, such as open-source alternatives to its products and to upstart companies like Google. But Schofield says the company's huge research resources give it extraordinary agility. He says Microsoft, as a matter of policy, won't bid on government research projects -- such as those funded by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- because they would tend to lock the company into a slow pace of research in certain areas. (He concedes that Microsoft doesn't need the money.)
As an example of Microsoft's agility, Schofield points to the company's development of its Web search engine, MSN Search. Two years ago, Microsoft outsourced search to Inktomi Corp., but it concluded that to survive against the likes of Google and Yahoo, it had to build its own search engine.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Forrester Total Economic Impact (TEI) Case Study - Oracle
- In this paper, Forrester Consulting examines the total economic impact and potential return on investment (ROI) realized by three Enterprise organizations as they...
- The Hidden Truth About Virtualizing Business-Critical Applications
- This IDG whitepaper highlights key findings based on the Quickpoll Survey conducted with more than 300 Enterprise and Commercial IT decision makers worldwide...
- Top 10 Myths About Virtualizing Business-Critical Applications
- Even though virtualization has brought positive change to enterprise IT over the last decade, some skepticism remains about how valuable virtualization can be...
- Enterprise Java Applications on VMware: Unix to Linux Migration Guide
- This guide focuses on key considerations for IT Architects who are in the process of migrating Java applications from UNIX to Linux as...
- Virtualizing Tier 1 Applications: A Critical Step on the Journey Toward the Private Cloud
- This IDC white paper explains how much of the Enterprise IT community is at a crossroads in extending their journey to the private... All Applications White Papers
- Live Webcast
Banish Poor Application Performance: Eliminate Business Disruptions, Increase End User Productivity - End User Experience, 30-Min Webinar
Wed. Feb. 22nd ~ 11 AM ET
Are you ready to gain the proactive ability to rapidly respond... - Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
- Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
- Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
- Discover the Benefits of Virtualization for Federal Applications
- Want to say goodbye to missed SLAs? VMware can help you virtualize mission-critical applications such as Oracle, MS Exchange and SharePoint to achieve...
- Reduce Application Lifecycle Management Costs with VMware ThinApp
- Traditional desktop application deployment and management is a time-consuming and costly endeavor for IT. From development to deployment, including help desk support, the... All Applications Webcasts