Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services organisation, has bagged a long-term, multi-million dollar software testing contract from Microsoft Corporation for its Windows platform.

The project is part of Microsoft's strategy to improve the reliability of its operating system.

Sources close to the deal said TCS won the order against stiff competition from leading global software services firms.

Both companies were expected to make an announcement soon, the sources said, adding that preparatory work on the project had started at TCS's Pune software development facility.

In the first phase of the project, TCS will deploy about 200 people, which will be increased to about 1,000 subsequently.

A TCS executive told Business Standard that though the initial billing was around $20 million, it could grow substantially.

"This is obvious since we will increase the number of professionals on the project from 200 to 1,000," he explained.

As part of its alliance with Microsoft, TCS has set up an evangelist group in Bellevue, Washington, near Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond, to track the company's latest technologies and products.

The team collaborates with Microsoft product groups in a variety of technical programmes.

TCS also recently joined the Microsoft Speech Partner Program, an initiative designed to provide high-quality, voice-enabled solutions based on the Microsoft speech server.

This gives TCS access to Microsoft's speech technology offerings, including the Microsoft Speech Server and Speech Application Software Development Kit.

TCS employs close to 22,000 employees, and earned a revenue of over $1 billion in the financial year ended March 2003.

The company, which has more than 150 offices and 15 development centres worldwide, serves over 1,000 global clients, including companies like General Electric, Citigroup, ChevronTexaco, AIG and Verizon Communications.