What is Microsoft?
The American multinational technology company Microsoft is a major provider of computer software, video games, computer and gaming hardware, cloud computing services and online search. It has been a key player in the computer industry since its founding in 1975 and is currently headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its best-known products are the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software and the Windows operating system, which it dominates with a market share of over 90%. Other notable Microsoft products include the Xbox series of video game consoles and related gaming services, the Bing search engine and the social networking service LinkedIn.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, two childhood friends from Seattle, Washington. They developed an interpreter for BASIC, a mainframe computer programming language, to run on the Altair 8800, a primitive early personal computer. The pair named their new company after the two most common words in their name, combining them to create the word “microcomputer software.”
In the 1980s and ’90s, Microsoft extended its lead in operating systems with the release of Windows 3.0, which integrated MS-DOS and the graphical user interface to give the program a more sophisticated look and feel than its competitors. The company also gained a significant presence in office productivity software with the release of programs such as Word and Excel, outpacing longtime rivals Lotus and WordPerfect. Microsoft’s rapid rise in a competitive market prompted resentment from rivals, who complained that it was using unfair business practices to monopolize the industry. Microsoft and its defenders countered that far from stifling competition and technical innovation, its success encouraged both and lowered prices for consumers.
Today, the company is the largest supplier of PC software in the world and a leading provider of cloud computing services. Its Azure platform offers Virtual Machines, app services, SQL database storage, frameworks and development tools to businesses seeking digital transformation. Its cloud computing solutions are backed by over 95% of the Fortune 500.
In recent years, Microsoft has been criticized for playing defense on its position in the tech industry, but under CEO Satya Nadella, the company has reversed course and has been re-invigorating its culture of innovation. This is clear in its partnership with OpenAI and its challenge to Google’s search dominance. Nadella has made it a priority to make the company more like a startup and has laid out strategic changes to help achieve that goal. The company is investing in new hardware, expanding its presence in the gaming industry and making sure that its Windows operating system remains one of the most popular in the world. It is also making a strong play in the field of artificial intelligence, which it views as a powerful tool for business and society.
