The Revival of Microsoft
A global computer technology corporation that specializes in the manufacturing, development, and support of a huge variety of software programs for computers. Its best-known products are the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office suites of software. It also produces a wide range of other hardware products. Microsoft is an American multinational company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its employees are scattered across the globe.
Until recently, many observers of tech had written Microsoft off as a 20th-century phenomenon, fat and happy from its Windows monopoly and no longer a leading innovator. But Microsoft has done an about-face in the last year, signaling that it’s back on offense and aiming to reclaim its position as the world’s top software giant.
Its sudden turnabout is, at its root, a cultural shift. In a series of moves, the company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has sought to revive the spirit of innovation that drove the Microsoft of the old days. Nadella took office in 2014, promising to transform a culture that had gotten defensive about its legacy. He did so by inviting an existential moment that reconsidered the company’s purpose. He laid out strategic changes and made business decisions that committed the company to this new direction.
The results have been dramatic, with a number of key products gaining momentum and the company’s stock price hitting all-time highs. The company’s revenue is on track to reach $3 trillion by the end of this year, and its market value has jumped from $240 billion to over $350 billion in a single year.
There are several reasons why the stock has surged, including a major revamp of key products and an aggressive growth strategy that’s paying off. The company is also making big investments in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, as well as continuing to pursue the cloud computing market.
However, there are still signs that the company is trying to deflect criticism and questions about its security shortcomings. The latest incident involves a bug in its Teams collaboration product that gave hackers access to the systems of multiple major companies, including Delta Airlines.
One of the most prominent examples occurred when a reporter contacted Microsoft for an interview about the bug and was told that he or she would be contacted within 48 hours. A week later, he or she was still waiting.
While Microsoft doesn’t disclose individual business units’ revenues, its communications director has famously revealed that there are sixteen different Microsoft “billion dollar businesses.” Those are business lines that bring in more than $1 billion in revenue. They include:
