Microsoft Corporation
microsoft is a worldwide leader in computer software products and services. Founded in 1975, the company develops and produces operating systems for desktop computers, as well as software programs to support business operations. Its flagship products include the Windows operating system, Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, and the Internet Explorer Web browser. Microsoft also offers mobile devices such as the Xbox gaming console and the Surface tablet. Its online services division includes the Bing search engine and MSN Web portal.
As a corporation, microsoft is one of the largest in the world and is regarded as one of the Big Five global information technology (IT) companies along with Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook. Its corporate structure includes a board of directors, which oversees the management of the company. The company is organized into four divisions: consumer and entertainment, servers and tools, business, and cloud computing. It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.
It is the most successful publisher of operating systems for personal computers, and it dominates the market for office suites and the market for PC games. It also has significant footholds in other markets, including the televised media and the Internet. It owns and operates the MSNBC cable television network and the MSN Internet portal, and provides online information through the Bing search engine and the MSN News and Media channel. It also markets computer hardware such as the Microsoft mouse and the Xbox game console, and it produces and sells cloud computing services such as OneDrive and Azure.
The success of microsoft is largely due to the company’s ability to adapt and respond to changing consumer and technological needs. It is also credited with having the best corporate culture of any public company in the United States.
One of the company’s most significant adaptations came when it decided to focus on user experience. This was a shift from the traditional model of evaluating software by sales, which can be influenced by marketing, to focusing on what users actually did with the product. This was a major change for the company, but it paid off.
It also implemented a new culture of innovation and flexibility. The company began to take risks, and it invested more in research and development. It also opened itself up to criticism and competition. This helped the company become more innovative and competitive, which in turn made it more profitable.
Although it has had its share of failures, including a disastrous attempt to enter the smartphone market with the Zune, microsoft has been able to recover from them and continue to grow. Its cultural transformation under Satya Nadella has involved several attributes of startups, including an obsession with customers. Nadella has encouraged developers to focus on user data, rather than sales, as a way of understanding what consumers are doing with their products. This has led to some great successes, such as the Windows 10 operating system and the Xbox series of gaming consoles.
