Bringing together more than 600 business and technical leaders from more than 65 financial services firms worldwide, Microsoft Corp. today hosts its annual Financial Services Developer Conference.

The event, which runs through April 25 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York, will preview future technologies and trends as well as update financial services companies on how to utilize the Microsoft platform and partner solutions to drive business results. Beginning four years ago as a small user group, the conference has grown to attract hundreds of registrants from 18 countries, paralleling Microsoft’s rapid expansion in serving the financial services sector.

The conference features three industry tracks — banking, capital markets and insurance — and encompasses 35 sessions, including more than 70 live demos of Microsoft® and partner products. Highlights will include the latest industry vision on collaboration and digital rights management, updates on high-performance computing and data mining, presentations on enterprise identity management, updates on the latest trends in SOAs, and live previews of upcoming 2007 Microsoft Office system and partner products in action.