Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen who were both natives of Seattle, Washington (Eaton, 2011). They started making a name for Microsoft when they partnered with IBM in 1981 (Eaton, 2011), which resulted in personal computers running on MS-DOS.
Windows, which would become Microsoft’s most popular product, was released in 1985 (Eaton, 2011) and the company would go public in 1986 (PIE Software, Inc., 2001). The release of Microsoft Office in 1989 and of Windows 3.0 in 1990 would make Microsoft one of the leaders in the software industry and even more so with the release of Windows 95 and Windows XP. Microsoft would also enter the video gaming industry with the release of Xbox in 2001 and it would turn out to generate huge revenues for the company (Eaton, 2011).
Today, Microsoft’s competitors include Apple and the mobile device companies (Eaton, 2011). Although Microsoft has yet to successfully penetrate the mobile-device industry, it remains the leader in the software industry, particularly with its Windows and Office applications (Eaton, 2011). Microsoft also holds the record for the fastest-selling operating system with Windows 7 (Eaton 2011).
Gates turned over the reins to CEO Steve Ballmer in 2000 and by 2008, he would leave the management of the company’s operations to the other executives, although he would still remain the chairman of the board. At present, Microsoft remains one of the largest technology companies in the world and the second biggest private employer in Washington (Eaton, 2011). After its acquisition of Skype in 2011, Microsoft would have 6 business units and more than one hundred international subsidiaries (Eaton, 2011). They would also have over ninety-thousand employees by the latter part of 2011 (Eaton, 2011).
References
Eaton, N. (2011, November 7). The history of Microsoft. Retrieved from
http://www.seattlepi.com/tech/article/The-history-of-Microsoft-2251598.php.
PIE Software, Inc. (2001, September 7). The history of Microsoft. Retrieved from
http://www.piesoftwareinc.co.uk/textonly/microsoft.htmlx.References
