Pharmaceutical giant Merck will have 60,000 employees in 84 countries use Topaz software modules.

The software connects SAP enterprise systems to Microsoft SharePoint, which employees then use as the interface.

The deal with Merck is big enough that the company will scale up to serve the account and other deals expected to follow in its wake.

Topaz plans to quadruple its employment, from 24, in the next several months, founder Noam Topaz said. Growth will come in Bellevue and at East Coast offices and new offices in Europe expected to open soon.

"This is going to be a global company that will be able to support SAP customers,'' Topaz said.

Before starting the company, Topaz was a lead evangelist for SharePoint at Microsoft, where he saw the opportunity for a new company building on the platform.

Today's announcement is also the debut of Topaz Bridge S2, the company's "self-service" application for SAP that's designed to enable employees to handle more SAP tasks directly.

Merck's going to use S2 to have employees manage their personal information, such as addresses, direct-deposit details, emergency contacts and dependent information, on the company's SAP system. Employees will also use an S2 module to profile their career and identify other potential jobs within Merck.

With a big signed contract, and others in the works, the startup is about to seek a second round of funding. It previously raised $1.5 million from local angel investors.