What would the world be without Microsoft? It is difficult to imagine and luckily we don’t have to.
This week Microsoft is turning 50. In April 1975, two childhood friends, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, launched a small software company in a strip mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
What began as an ambitious startup has since become one of, if not the most, influential companies in living memory.
Now, half a century later, Microsoft is the second-largest company in the world, trailing only behind Apple, and it is only becoming stronger as the company continues to go down new and more exciting paths.
The Leader in Operating Systems and Office Software
Microsoft’s first major breakthrough came with the development of MS-DOS, which turned into what we know as the Windows operating system, a system now used in millions of devices worldwide.
Alongside its OS dominance, Microsoft became the go to company for office productivity software. Microsoft Office, once sold on floppy disks and CDs, is now available via Cloud Computing, which has further ensured its supremacy despite having free competitors like Google Docs.
Businesses across the UK and globally still rely fully on Microsoft Office products such as Word, Excel, and Outlook for daily operations, which just goes to show the company’s early innovations still hold their ground.
Unafraid to Try New Things
Over the decades, Microsoft has attempted to add more products and services outside of its software and operating systems, but only enjoyed varying degrees of success.
The company entered the gaming industry in 2001 with the Xbox, which has remained a formidable competitor to Sony’s PlayStation despite trailing in market share. Microsoft also ventured into search engines with Bing in 2009, though it could not compete with Google and Bing remains a mostly unused search engine. One of its more successful expansions, however, was its acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, which brought the company into the social media industry.
Despite its lukewarm success in other areas, one could say that these have been mostly hobby ventures, as Microsoft’s main focus has always been in the software and operating system arena.
An AI and Cloud Computing Future
With AI becoming the single most talked about tech development in recent years, it is unsurprising that Microsoft has focused a lot of time, money and energy on this industry.
The company is also increasingly taking an interest in the possibilities of Cloud Computing. Microsoft Azure, its Cloud Computing platform, is currently the second-largest in the world, just behind Amazon Web Services (AWS).
But AI is where Microsoft is set to shine. The company has made significant strides, investing over $14 billion in OpenAI since 2019 and integrating AI-powered tools into its product lineup, like Microsoft 365 Copilot.
However, unlike its biggest competitors, the company lacks its own proprietary AI silicon chips and is instead relying on external suppliers. Whether these investments will cement Microsoft’s place in the AI revolution or leave it playing catch-up remains to be seen.
Fascinating Facts About Microsoft
Microsoft’s history is long and filled with fascinating stories, all of which have shaped this tech giant into the company that it is today. Some interesting facts about its journey include:
- Microsoft’s first software development was a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, a mail-order hobbyist computer that had neither a screen nor a keyboard. It was created without access to an actual Altair and was tested on a Harvard mainframe.
- Microsoft executives very nearly cancelled the Xbox project before its launch, but it’s a good thing they didn’t, as the console ultimately became one of the company’s most successful consumer brands.
- Microsoft initially underestimated the Internet’s potential, only shifting focus after Netscape gained popularity in the 1990s. Bill Gates famously redirected the company towards web-based technology in 1995, a year after Amazon was founded.
- The once-loathed Microsoft Office assistant, Clippy, was scrapped in 2001, but it still appears as an emoji in newer Office applications and remains a beloved internet meme.
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Microsoft is a household name these days, and some 300 000 UK-based companies use Microsoft products. If you are not yet using a Microsoft product, why not give it a try as the company turns 50? At 24/7 IT Services, we are highly experienced in all things Microsoft, and we provide our clients with a range of services such as Managed IT Support, IT Security, and so much more. Contact us today for more information.
