The deal allows Factiva to integrate its search offering into the new Office platform, exposing people to thousands of information source on a wide range of topics, including industry trends, as well as access to newspapers, journals and newswires.
Factiva currently has a subscriber base of about 1.6 million around the world - 50 per cent in North America, 40 per cent in Europe and the remainder in Asia-Pacific.
Clare Hart, Factiva global president and chief executive officer, foresees strong global growth over the next few years. However, she believed that Asia's contribution to worldwide revenue would remain steady for a while longer. "Really, it's a matter of understanding the knowledge of the value of information to certain job functions within organisations, whether it is in public relations, investor relations, competitive intelligence or financial analysis.
Factiva will follow up the Microsoft deal with marketing and direct telesales campaigns; however, no details were released. Factiva's main regional markets consist of Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney. Offices were recently also established in Shanghai and Beijing.