Microsoft at CU Boulder

Microsoft is one of the most recognizable names in technology. Its software powers computers and devices worldwide, and its products are used in homes, businesses and schools around the world. The company also creates hardware and services like its Xbox video game consoles and Skype chat and voice calls.

In the 1990s, Microsoft made the biggest splash with its Windows operating system and Office productivity suite. It entered the Internet world with its browser and Web sites and later took on new challenges, including mobile computing with its Windows Phone operating systems and cloud computing with its Azure platform. In 2014, Microsoft replaced Steve Ballmer with Satya Nadella as CEO, and he has steered the company in new directions with an emphasis on cloud and artificial intelligence.

The company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, but has offices and research centers all over the globe. It has more than 100,000 employees. Some of the company’s most famous product lines include Windows (operating systems), Office, Bing search engine, Skype and a line of hardware called Surface.

Many of these products are available through CU Boulder’s negotiated contracts and the Microsoft Business Center. The Business Center provides a way to see and manage all of your licenses in one place. To get started, you’ll need to know your affiliation and job code, which determines the Microsoft products and services assigned to your organization by OIT.

Once you’ve found your assigned licenses, you can use the Business Center to install and provision these products. You can also find information about these products and services in the Microsoft Product Guides.

Some of these products, such as Office 365 and Azure, can be provisioned directly through the Business Center. You can also access the software and cloud services you purchased through your MPSA or VLSC from the Downloads and Keys page of the Business Center.

Depending on the type of product and its availability through CU Boulder, the business centers may need to order additional licenses for you. If you’re unsure about what you need, please contact the business center team.

Microsoft Botched so Many Significant Technology Trends, It became a Punchline

For a decade or more, it seemed as though the company had botched every major technological trend since the turn of the millennium. Its ability to thrive despite doing almost everything wrong might be a heartening story of corporate reinvention. Or it might be a discouraging demonstration that giant, entrenched companies are extremely hard to kill.