Microsoft – A Window Into The Tech Giant’s History

Microsoft is not just a household name; it’s much more than that. They are the company that is responsible for today’s tech revolution and bringing computing into the homes of billions. From humble beginnings to global tech stardom, Bill Gates and Microsoft have been researching and creating innovative computing solutions for over 45 years.

Brief History

Founded in 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen were Harvard College dropouts who had huge plans to utilise emerging technology and bring it to the world. Their joint revenues in 1975 were $16,000, but in 1980 they made the deal that would put the new software company on the map – they agreed to provide their DOS operating system for IBM computers.

This deal made them a household name and by 1990, they had launched Windows 3.0 and sold 10 million copies within a single year. Windows 3.1 eclipsed those sales, selling 3 million copies within its first 2 months on the market. These numbers continued to rise with the release of Windows 95, 98 and Windows 2000 as we moved to a new millennium.

Continued growth and innovation

Microsoft was the first software company to be valued at $1bn, and it’s easy to see why. They’re now part of a very exclusive club of businesses worth over $2tn.

They dominated the landscape throughout the 90’s before changing the game again in 2001. With the release of Windows XP, Microsoft had created the most complete, innovative and user-experience driven software to date. Throughout the 00’s, XP was found on nearly every PC the world over. This was true domination of the software market at a time when hardware was becoming more affordable and further integrated within our lives, not just at our desks.

Moving to the 10’s, the company made moves into the music, entertainment and gaming sectors too, with varied success. They acquired Skype in an $8.5bn deal in 2011, which marked their move towards the communications sector and laid the groundwork for the creation of the Microsoft Teams phone system.

Throughout 2020/21 and the COVID era, businesses have benefited from the rigid infrastructure built by Microsoft over the past decades and been able to communicate and operate in spite of the workplace being redundant, with the Microsoft 365 suite of products, bringing together their Office software with other IT solutions, such as Exchange, OneDrive and Teams, helping to streamline IT support for businesses across the globe.

What’s behind the success?

Microsoft has been led to success by talented innovators, but those people also put their end-user first. Ease of use is one of Microsoft’s core focuses when they are designing new software, which explains why their systems are so widely used across the world.

They have also been willing to break boundaries and think about not what users need today, but what they may need next week or next year. By working to continually improve and innovate, they have been able to provide software that stands the test of time and ticks the boxes for casual users, hardcore users and even top-level developers.

Overview

Microsoft’s tried and tested systems are responsible for businesses thriving, no matter what the world throws at them. The digital revolution has been spearheaded by these technologies and they continue to evolve with every new product released.

We rely on Teams Calling for reliability and flexibility in our communications. If your business suffered throughout COVID due to unreliable systems or processes, you may benefit from our Microsoft Teams package. Read all about the benefits of our advanced communications packages. If you’d like to talk to us about how our Teams Calling systems can help you and your business, you can contact us today.