What Is Microsoft?
Microsoft is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. It designs, develops, produces and licenses software and hardware products related to personal computers. The company’s best-known products are the Windows line of operating systems, the Office suite of productivity applications, and the Xbox gaming console system.
The company has long had a rocky relationship with the federal government, which has periodically accused the tech giant of tax evasion and other violations of antitrust laws. In recent years, however, Microsoft has stepped up its antitrust efforts in an attempt to win the trust of critics and customers alike.
Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft has been a dominant force in the computer industry. By the mid-1990s, it was one of the most profitable companies in history. Its rapid expansion spawned envy among rivals, who complained that the company was using its financial strength to unfairly dominate the market.
But by 2000, Gates had stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Steve Ballmer, who refocused the company on devices and services. Under his tenure, the company introduced its first tablet computers and launched a series of iterations of the Xbox console system.
Today, the company has a diverse portfolio of consumer and business products. Its cloud web service, Azure, is a leading competitor to Amazon Web Services and offers a platform for businesses seeking digital transformation solutions. It also offers a number of software development tools and SQL database capabilities.
Other key products include the Surface family of tablets, the Skype video conferencing service, and the Bing search engine. Microsoft also offers a variety of consumer apps, including the online streaming service Microsoft Movies & TV, the photo-editing app Paint 3D, and the curated news site Microsoft News. Its mobile phone software includes the Windows Phone and Android platforms, and it also owns a small part of the browser market with its Internet Explorer browser.
The company also has a number of business products, such as the Outlook email client and its Azure cloud computing platform. Its newest product, Dynamics 365, is a comprehensive suite of productivity and management tools that includes CRM, ERP, MS Teams collaboration, Project Online, and Delve analytics.
Microsoft’s reputation as a great place to work is well-deserved, according to the employees who rate it on CareerBliss. The company receives an overall employee satisfaction rating of 4.0 out of 5, which is 3% higher than the average rating for all companies on the website. The happiest Microsoft employees are SQL Developers, who give the company an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. Employees say that the benefits and perks are outstanding at Microsoft. The company also provides employees with an extensive network of community events and programs that encourage team-building. Its annual hackathons bring together engineers from around the world for a few days of collaborative problem-solving, which can help foster innovative ideas and connections that might not have been possible otherwise.
