Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company that produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its headquarters are in Redmond, Washington, U.S. Microsoft has over 3 million employees and is the world’s largest software company. The company was founded in 1975 and has been headquartered in the city since 1984. In 2007, Microsoft released its first personal computer, the Xbox 360. Today, the company’s product offerings include Xbox Live and Office.
Microsoft Corporation is the largest software and hardware company in the world, and is also one of the world’s most popular social networking sites. The company also owns LinkedIn, Nokia devices, and Mojang. Its most popular software titles include Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. Microsoft has offices in over sixty countries. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Bill Gates originally developed a compiler for the Altair 8800, a primitive computer. He offered to create a program for the Altair and was accepted. The two developed a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, which was later adopted by other computer manufacturers.
In the 1980s, Bill Gates and Bill Ballmer met and became friends and worked together to form Microsoft. They met in college and were hired as the company’s new CEO. Microsoft continues to grow and diversify as a company. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion. Microsoft also remains the dominant player in the PC operating system and office suite markets. The company is increasingly active in other areas of technology, including the video game industry, digital services, and mobile phones.
While the company has many positive attributes, the company is criticized for some aspects of its workplace. Some people have accused it of being a “Velvet Sweatshop,” a term that originated in a 1989 Seattle Times article and has gained currency among Microsoft employees. The company is accused of being overworked and providing an uncomfortably low level of compensation. In other words, Microsoft employs an unfriendly working environment for its employees.
In 2011 Microsoft purchased Skype from eBay for $8.5 billion. This acquisition allowed the company to compete with Google Voice and Apple’s Facetime. Skype became a popular business tool and is now a part of Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Microsoft also jumped into the cloud computing industry by introducing its new Windows Azure platform in 2008. The Windows Azure platform allows consumers to build computing infrastructure in the “cloud” and make it available to other consumers. The cloud version of its Office business software suite is a perfect example of how Microsoft is using cloud technology to grow its business.
Microsoft Azure provides a public cloud computing platform, Azure, for businesses of any size. Over 85% of Fortune 500 companies use Azure, which makes it one of the most appealing options for SMBs. Because the platform has the same operating environment as Windows Server, users can easily migrate their applications to Azure without having to modify their existing software. Microsoft has made efforts to make key on-premises applications compatible with Azure. A hybrid cloud is the best solution for most companies.
