Hetq spoke to Grigor Barseghyan, Executive Director of "Microsoft-Armenia" to see if the company has been affected by the global economic crisis. Mr. Barseghyan stated that, "Microsoft is a global concern that operates in some 100 countries and despite the fact that the crisis has impacted countries in different ways, I can state for certain that Microsoft hasn't encountered serious obstacles on a global scale as a result." The head of Microsoft in Armenia added that the firm isn't all that dependent on the financial markets given that it possesses a rather large cash reserve to work with. When asked whether the crisis, which experts forecast will last for years to come, will impact the firm in the long-run, Mr Barseghyan responded, "Let me just comment on the case of Armenia since I am the firm's representative here. I do not see any danger. We haven't implemented any lay-offs and we are employing new people in a number of fields. In particular, we signed a memo of understanding with Armenia's Minister of Education and Science to design an educational program. We'll need new managers for this. We are planning new projects for the future as well. Our workload is increasing rather than shrinking."