Microsoft – Empowering everyone on planet to achieve more

For more than a decade, Microsoft has been the market leader in operating systems. It was established by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, 46 years ago, and is currently flourishing all over the world. In the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the most significant US companies, it came in at number 21. It is valued as the third-highest global brand. The business is a digital operating systems leader.

On April 4, 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft in order to create and market BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. In the middle of the 1980s, MS-DOS and then Windows propelled it to the top of the market for personal computer operating systems. Three people became billionaires thanks to Microsoft’s 1986 initial public offering (IPO) and subsequent increase in share price, while an estimated 12,000 employees became millionaires.

Since the 1990s, it has moved from the operating system industry and acquired a number of businesses. Their greatest acquisition was LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in December 2016, which was followed by Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in May 2011.

In 2018, Microsoft recaptured its title as the most valuable publicly traded business in the world after being dethroned by Apple in 2010. After Apple and Amazon, it became the third American public firm to have a market cap of $1 trillion or more when it did so in April 2019. It will have the fourth-highest worldwide brand valuation as of 2022.

Journey of Microsoft – 

It is a daily and regular word used in every corporate sector. The global product is owned by Microsoft Corporation based in America is a multinational technology corporation. The associated services headquarters are situated at Microsoft Redmond campus in Redmond, Washington, United States. The best products of The Company are the Windows series of operating systems, the Company office suite and internet explorer, etc.

The Xbox video gaming consoles and the Company Surface range of touchscreen personal PCs are its two main hardware offerings. The Company was the world’s largest software company by revenue as of 2019; it was placed No. 21 in the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest American firms by total revenue in 2020. Along with Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, it is one of the Big Five American technological firms. The journey of Microsoft kick started with a basic setup. 

• The current global venture was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on 4th April 1975 with the main motive to produce and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. 
• As a result of an arrangement the company made with ASCII Magazine in Japan in August 1977, ASCII Microsoft opened its first overseas office.
• In the middle of the 1980s, MS-DOS and then Windows propelled it to the top of the market for personal computer operating systems.
•  Since the 1990s, it has moved from the operating system industry and acquired a number of businesses. 
• The Company started to reevaluate its products and broaden its product line into computer networking and the World Wide Web after Bill Gates’ internal “Internet Tidal Wave letter” on May 26, 1995.
• The Company released Windows XP on October 25, 2001, combining the NT codebase with the mainstream OS line. Later that year, the company introduced the Xbox, breaking into the Sony and Nintendo-dominated market for video game consoles.
• The Company, which was becoming more active in the hardware market after the launching of Xbox, introduced the Zune line of digital media players in 2006 as the replacement to its earlier software platform Portable Media Center.
• The Windows Vista released in 2007 featured the security and redesigned user interface dubbed Aero, following with the release of MS Office 2007 with the feature of Ribbon user interface. 
• Throughout the 2011-12 The Company restructured its identity with focusing on logo, products, services, etc. 
• The Company released a fix for Windows 10 in January 2018 to address CPU issues brought on by Intel’s Meltdown security flaw. The patch caused problems with the virtual machines running on Microsoft Azure that use Intel’s CPU architecture.
• On June 24, 2021, The Company announced Windows 11. 

The growth of Microsoft and its products and services is witnessed by the whole world. In an interview with Mr. Bill Gates mentioned the growth of The Company crediting it to their team. 

The survey of Microsoft’s Statistical Studies – 

Microsoft being a global venture today has no need of any recognition strategy or marketing strategy. The corporation being an Information and Technology based corporation works mostly on its products and services related to databases and softwares. The 4Ps from the marketing mix works on point for The Company. The 4Ps includes Product, Price, Place, Promotion. 

Product Mix

• A product is something that satisfies the needs and desires of the consumer, whereas a product mix is the variety of that product. Microsoft is a retailer of both hardware and software. Computers, laptops, tablets, Xbox, and phones are among their hardware goods. Microsoft Office and Windows OS are among their software products. The Company has a broad range of products. It is primarily renowned for its

Devices 

Softwares 

Apps 

Games 

Entertainment

Price Mix

• Price mix is the method used to determine a product’s price as opposed to price, which refers to the monetary value of a product. The Company frequently employs the Buy Only What You Use, Freemium, and Market-oriented pricing strategies.

Freemium Pricing

Product line

Penetration Pricing

Price Skimming

Place Mix 

• Under Price Mix, Microsoft provides the following services to its clients:

Customers can easily select products and services from Microsoft’s official website based on their needs.

The Company offers retail locations all over the world where customers may use the guidance of technical advisors to make smarter decisions.

Additionally, Microsoft has approved dealers and distributors. Microsoft’s strategically sound location mix makes its products readily available to customers worldwide. Now let’s talk about Microsoft’s promotional strategy to discover how it keeps its position at the top.

Promotional Mix 

• With the aid of its powerful brand image, Microsoft’s promotional strategy precisely addresses its target market. It advertises its products on a number of social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Instagram, etc. Microsoft employs a number of different promotional strategies, including advertising, direct marketing, and sales promotion. It reaches its intended audience through a strategic channel. Microsoft’s variety of promotions includes – 

            Advertising 

            Sales Promotion 

            Direct Marketing 

Personal Selling

Public Relations

Effect of COVID 19 on The global enterprise – 

Even before the pandemic, scientists have long pondered the implications of a world in which reporting for work no longer meant reporting for work. If we had the ability to disconnect from actual locations thanks to contemporary technology, how might our employment, offices, and workdays change? What would be the genuine advantages? What would the obstacles be? COVID-19 then struck. Everything changed and became unpredictable from a business standpoint, but from a researcher’s point of view, it offered a huge opportunity. This was the perfect opportunity for social scientists to design a sizable research on the impacts of an entirely digital workforce.

Early in March, just a day after the order was issued for all employees at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters to stay at home, scientists at the company started thinking about the research possibilities. The chief scientist for Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices, Jaime Teevan, and director of applied science Brent Hecht met online with a dozen other colleagues to discuss what had just occurred, what was about to occur, and what it all may signify. Hecht asserts that one of Microsoft’s advantages is the staff members’ intense curiosity.

Of course, the balance between benefits and losses was far from clear-cut. A significant minus for some was a bonus for others. Working from home and being free of office interruptions had been a blessing for some positions, but it had been difficult for managers and employees in more collaborative fields to recreate the creative frenzy of brainstorming sessions. Nearly every benefit  has a concomitant drawback. However, a closer look at the data so far offers helpful insights that might not only guide us through the difficulties we are currently facing but also influence how we might think about making things better once we are permitted to return to our workplaces.

Conclusion of The Case Study – 

In summary, Microsoft is the market leader because of its dominant worldwide presence and leadership. Their welcoming “perfect coffee shop atmosphere” should be a long-term competitive advantage. The company’s retail outlets and on-site collaborations have earned higher response rates, putting them in front of the pack in the mature business. As a result of its all-encompassing marketing approach, Microsoft  enjoys a strong global market position.

Fun Facts About Microsoft – 

1. Microsoft is among the most well-known brand brands in business. However, company co-founder Paul Allen originally gave the business the moniker Microsoft, which was a mix of the phrases “microcomputer” and “software.”

2. Over the years, Microsoft has used a number of distinctive logos, all of which are instantly identifiable. However, the original Microsoft logo was created in less than a day by co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

3. Gates planned to rename the original Windows operating system to “Interface Manager” when it was still being developed. The moniker was initially used exclusively internally, with intentions to continue using it when the OS was eventually made available to the general public.

4. One of the company’s most well-known software offerings is Microsoft Office, which includes favorites like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Despite the obvious connection to Microsoft, some people would be surprised to learn that Microsoft Office first appeared on the Mac before moving to Windows.

5. While the typical Microsoft employee may come to mind as a serious coder, they prefer the seriously adorable moniker “Softie.” The average softie is a male American resident who works for a company with more than 180,000 people worldwide.