Microsoft is by far the biggest software development and application company in the whole

world. Today the entire software industry is based on Microsoft. Thus, Microsoft Corporation
Case Study Analysis is one of the commonest assignment topics in your MBA degree
course.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen came up with Microsoft Inc. in the year 1995 and entered the OS
(Operating System) business in the year 1980. From then onwards it became the leading
and unique standardized operating system in the whole world. You need to write a brief
history of the company in your Microsoft Case Study Solution paper. Apart of only operating
system software, today Microsoft has introduced a lot of other application software
technologies like .net and visual basics

Microsoft Corporation is an
American multinational
technology company, which
develops and sells a wide
range of consumer and enterprise
software, hardware, services, and
electronics. Founded by Bill Gates
and Paul Allen in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, in 1975, the
company is currently based in
Redmond,
Washington. (Statista, 2017)
Microsoft’s mission is ‘to enable
people and organizations
throughout the world to do more
and achieve
more by creating technology that
transforms the way people learn,
work, play, and communicate’.
Microsoft employs approximately
114,000 people on a full-time
basis; 63,000 in the US and 51,000
internationally. Its business
strategy can be classified as
product differentiation. The
company develops
advanced technology products and
services and sells them for
premium prices. Moreover,
Microsoft
business strategy is currently
focused on ‘cloud-first, mobile-
first’, growth through mergers and
acquisitions, and exploring
business opportunities related to
augmented and virtual reality.
(Research
Methodology, 2017)
Microsoft Corporation is an
American multinational
technology company, which
develops and sells a wide
range of consumer and enterprise
software, hardware, services, and
electronics. Founded by Bill Gates
and Paul Allen in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, in 1975, the
company is currently based in
Redmond,
Washington. (Statista, 2017)
Microsoft’s mission is ‘to enable
people and organizations
throughout the world to do more
and achieve
more by creating technology that
transforms the way people learn,
work, play, and communicate’.
Microsoft employs approximately
114,000 people on a full-time
basis; 63,000 in the US and 51,000
internationally. Its business
strategy can be classified as
product differentiation. The
company develops
advanced technology products and
services and sells them for
premium prices. Moreover,
Microsoft
business strategy is currently
focused on ‘cloud-first, mobile-
first’, growth through mergers and
acquisitions, and exploring
business opportunities related to
augmented and virtual reality.
(Research
Methodology, 2017)
According to Microsoft (2017), the industry is dynamic and highly competitive, with frequent changes in
both technologies and business models. Each industry shift is an opportunity to conceive new products,
new technologies, or new ideas that can further transform the industry. It is therefore important to push
boundaries of what is possible through a broad range of research and development activities that seek
to identify and address the changing demands of customers and users, industry trends, and competitive
forces. The market for software, devices, and cloud-based services is dynamic and highly competitive.
Devices and the form factors that customers prefer evolve rapidly, and therefore it is important for
technology companies to evolve and adapt over an extended time in pace with this changing
environment

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company, which develops and sells a
wide range of consumer and enterprise software, hardware, services, and electronics. Founded by Bill
Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, the company is currently based in Redmond,
Washington. (Statista, 2017) Microsoft’s mission is ‘to enable people and organizations throughout the
world to do more and achieve more by creating technology that transforms the way people learn, work,
play, and communicate’. Microsoft employs approximately 114,000 people on a full-time basis; 63,000
in the US and 51,000 internationally. Its business strategy can be classified as product differentiation.
The company develops advanced technology products and services and sells them for premium prices.
Moreover, Microsoft business strategy is currently focused on ‘cloud-first, mobile-first’, growth through
mergers and acquisitions, and exploring business opportunities related to augmented and virtual reality.
(Research Methodology, 2017)

Microsoft has a number of competitors in different industries and sectors. This is because of its
diversified portfolio. According to Investopedia (2014), Microsoft’s primary competitors include the
most prominent technology companies in the technology sector. The companies include Apple, Google,
IBM and Oracle. Microsoft got its start by focusing on software, and although the company has branched
out into other areas, it still has a strong emphasis on this sector. Some of the most successful software
corporations in the world, such as Oracle and the German firm SAP, compete directly with Microsoft for
the lucrative business services market. The extremely popular Windows operating system is perhaps the
most prominent Microsoft product. In this area, the company competes with a number of smaller firms,
such as Red Hat, which distributes open-source operating systems, such as Linux. Microsoft is also an
important player in the hardware field. Its products include tablets designed to compete with similar
devices made by other companies, such as Apple. The company makes a variety of computer accessories
as well, which brings it in direct competition with several firms that specialise in this area, such as
Logitech. (Investopedia, 2014) Microsoft is also a major force in online search with its Bing search
engine. The main rival company here is Google, along with various other firms with smaller engines.
Microsoft faces competitive pressures in all areas of its operations. The pressure comes from a diverse
mix of technology companies, both large and small.

Over the years, Microsoft has had

a number of companies that
compete with them on a product
level. In
the late 1990s, Microsoft’s Internet
Explorer (IE) was the only internet
browser that most consumers knew
about and thus it had the majority
of the market share. This is now
different and there seems to be
‘perfect
competition’ in this industry with
the likes of Facebook also taking
over in terms of how people read
and
share news. The analysis below
highlights the major ‘battles’
Microsoft has had to endure over
the years
Over the years, Microsoft has had a number of companies that compete with them on a product level. In
the late 1990s, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) was the only internet browser that most consumers
knew about and thus it had the majority of the market share. This is now different and there seems to

Investopedia. (2014, December 3).

Who are Microsoft's main
competitors. Retrieved from
Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/
ask/answers/120314/who-are-
microsofts-msft-main-
competitors.asp
be ‘perfect competition’ in this industry with the likes of Facebook also taking over in terms of how
people read and share news. The analysis below highlights the major ‘battles’ Microsoft has had to
endure over the years
Research Methodology. (2017). Microsoft Corporation; Company Report. Research Methodology.
Statista. (2017, August 1). Microsoft - Statistics & Facts. Retrieved from Statista:
https://www.statista.com/topics/823/microsoft/

Investopedia. (2014, December 3). Who are Microsoft's main competitors. Retrieved from Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/120314/who-are-microsofts-msft-main-competitors.asp

Microsoft Corporation- founded in 1975- is the largest software company in the world. The company
deals with devices, services, and solutions that are aimed at enabling people and businesses to achieve
their full potential- the core underlying principle of the company. Microsoft is regarded to have attained
optimum practice status across various operational and strategic business practices. Through its
technical innovations and marketing expertise, Microsoft has excelled and dominated the software
industry. However, in an entirely new era, Microsoft is increasingly being identified as a best practice
company; an organisation that is aligned with a services strategy. Moreover, Microsoft is a company that
has synchronised its operational, organisational, and strategic aspects around Enterprise Service
Management- this is their services strategy that is partner-based and is aimed at satisfying the complex
IT service requirements of the high-end customers who are also geographically diversified. Much of
Microsoft’s success is attributed to its software business. However, the last decade has seen Microsoft
undertaking strategic shifts that revolve around software, devices, and services in abid to achieve
success in the highly competitive market of today. The purpose of this paper is to provide a trajectory of
the changes of strategy as well as the strategic direction of Microsoft over the last ten years