Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Corporation is a leading American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. It specializes in the development, manufacturing, licensing, support, and sale of computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its most well-known software products include the Microsoft Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Microsoft’s flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface series of touchscreen personal computers. Ranked No. 21 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. companies by revenue, Microsoft was the world’s largest software maker by revenue in 2016. It is considered one of the Big Five tech companies in the U.S. alongside Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.
Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, Microsoft originally developed and sold BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. The company became dominant in the personal computer operating system market in the 1980s with MS-DOS, later followed by Microsoft Windows. The company’s 1986 initial public offering (IPO) and the subsequent rise in its stock value created three billionaires and about 12,000 millionaires among its employees. Since the 1990s, Microsoft has diversified beyond operating systems and expanded into various markets through acquisitions, including LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016 and Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in 2011.
As of 2015, Microsoft dominates the IBM PC-compatible operating system and office software suite markets, though it has lost much of the broader operating system market to Android. The company also produces a wide range of software for desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and servers, including Internet search (with Bing), digital services (through MSN), mixed reality (HoloLens), cloud computing (Azure), and software development (Visual Studio).
Steve Ballmer succeeded Bill Gates as CEO in 2000, and under his leadership, Microsoft pursued a “devices and services” strategy, which led to acquisitions such as Danger Inc. in 2008 and the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet line in 2012. The company also formed Microsoft Mobile by acquiring Nokia’s devices and services division. Since Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, Microsoft has focused on cloud computing, significantly boosting the company’s stock value and positioning it as one of the most valuable publicly traded companies globally.
In 2018, Microsoft regained its title as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company after being surpassed by Apple in 2010. By April 2019, Microsoft achieved a market capitalization of $1 trillion, becoming the third U.S. company to reach this milestone, following Apple and Amazon. As of 2020, Microsoft ranks third in global brand value.
Contact Info
- www.microsoft.com
- Redmond, Washington, United States
