Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft is an American multinational technology company founded in 1975. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and develops, manufactures, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and services. Its flagship products include the Windows operating system, the Office productivity suite, and the Xbox gaming console. Other notable products include the Azure cloud computing platform, Bing search engine, and HoloLens mixed reality headset.
In addition to its diversified portfolio of computer software, Microsoft also operates numerous research laboratories worldwide. Some of these labs are located in Cambridge, England; Beijing, China; Bengaluru, India; and New York City, United States. These labs focus on a range of topics such as computational science, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.
The company’s revenue streams are categorized into three major segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. Productivity and Business Processes includes enterprise-level subscriptions and apps such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Office 365 Security and Compliance; LinkedIn; and the Azure platform. Intelligent Cloud includes the Windows Server operating system, Azure cloud infrastructure, and Azure SQL Database. More Personal Computing includes the Surface tablet line, Microsoft Stream video service, and Azure Active Directory.
Microsoft’s corporate structure is primarily hierarchical, with sixteen company officers around the world acting as members of the Executive Team. These include the Chairman and Chief Software Architect, the CEO, the General Counsel and Secretary, and senior and group vice presidents from various business units.
Aside from these officers, the company is governed by a Board of Directors composed of thirteen members elected to serve staggered terms of four years. The members of the Board are not employees of Microsoft, but rather independent directors who provide oversight for corporate matters.
Although the company’s diverse range of technologies has earned it widespread popularity, its culture and business practices are frequently criticized. The company has been referred to as a “velvet sweatshop”, a term coined by employee activists who believe the company uses permatemp workers and overworks its staff to the point of burnout and long-term health problems.
Microsoft’s most popular products are the Xbox gaming console and the Kinect motion sensing device for its Xbox 360, both of which allow users to control games with movement gestures and oral commands. The company has also branched out into the media industry, with the release of the Encarta multimedia encyclopedia and Microsoft Network television channel. The company’s latest venture is Copilot, an AI assistant for businesses that can answer questions, schedule meetings, and report on the status of projects. Copilot is available as a free download on the Microsoft Store. Customers can rate and review the product on its page on the site. A positive rating will show up on the product’s page and in search results. Customers can also flag reviews they find offensive or violating of Microsoft’s policies. To do so, go to the product page and tap on the flag icon. This will open a window where you can describe why you found the content to be inappropriate.
