Few companies can claim to have dramatically changed the way that the world does business. Microsoft, one of the world’s top software companies, certainly can. Once a small business founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Washington, Microsoft grew to become one of the world’s most popular, profitable, and influential companies.
Founded in the late 1970s as a way for childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen to profit from their shared computing skills, Microsoft came into being when the smart, enterprising pair noticed an opportunity to build a BASIC interpreter for the at the time groundbreaking Altair 8800 micro-computer. Despite not actually owning an Altair of their own, the pair set about building their interpreter for the device using a simplistic simulation. The pair contacted Altair’s development team and showed them the interpreter, starting a successful business partnership where MITS, the Altair’s parent company, distributed their work.
Microsoft gained ground in the home software market in the 1980s by creating its own operating system, known as Xenix. A corporate failure, Xenix nonetheless was one of the vital innovations required for Microsoft to create MS-DOS, the company’s first true operating system and its biggest business success to
With the computer revolution well underway and Microsoft’s success as a software company growing dramatically, the company grew hugely during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The company introduced Windows NT in the late 1980s as a graphical extension of MS-DOS, and continued to innovate with Windows 3.1 in 1990.
It wasn’t until the mid-1990s, however, that Microsoft grew into the global giant it is today. Early developments in the 1990s resulted in Windows 95, an innovative GUI-driven operating system that catapulted Microsoft to the forefront of the computer software industry, cementing it as the dominant software company of the 1990s.
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The acclaimed Windows 98 soon followed, positioning Microsoft as a leading driver of the late 1990s Internet revolution. Built around the then advanced functionality of Internet Explorer, Windows 98 eventually became the computing world’s most widely sold operating system, included as standard on millions of PCs in its era.
The company’s success continued in the 2000s, with commercial successes such as Windows XP and the X-Box gaming console making up for failed products like Zune and Windows Vista. Today, Microsoft remains a major player in both the computing industry and the home video game industry thanks to its X-Box game consoles.
From its sales-focused business strategy to its focus on driving technology forward, Microsoft has been one of the most influential companies in the computing world for almost forty years. An innovative company with massive corporate dominance, it’s tough to argue that Microsoft isn’t one of the computing era’s true success stories.
Important Dates
Date Event
1975 Microsoft founded
Jan. 1, 1979 Microsoft moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bellevue, Washington
June 25, 1981 Microsoft incorporates
Aug. 12, 1981 IBM introduces its personal computer with Microsoft’s 16-bit operating system, MS-DOS 1.0
Feb. 26, 1986 Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, Washington
March 13, 1986
Microsoft stock goes public
Aug. 1, 1989 Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applications
May 22, 1990 Microsoft launches Windows 3.0
Aug. 24, 1995 Microsoft launches Windows 95
Dec. 7, 1995 Bill Gates outlines Microsoft’s commitment to supporting and enhancing the Internet
June 25, 1998 Microsoft launches Windows 98
Jan. 13, 2000 Steve Ballmer named president and chief executive officer for Microsoft
Feb. 17, 2000 Microsoft launches Windows 2000
June 22, 2000 Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer outline Microsoft’s .NET strategy for Web services
May 31, 2001 Microsoft launches Office XP
Oct. 25, 2001 Microsoft launches Windows XP
Nov. 15, 2001 Microsoft launches Xbox
Jan. 15, 2002 Bill Gates outlines Microsoft’s commitment to Trustworthy Computing
Nov. 7, 2002 Microsoft and partners launch Tablet PC
April 24, 2003 Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003
Oct. 21, 2003 Microsoft launches Microsoft Office System
July 20, 2004 Microsoft announces plans to return up to $75 billion to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks
Nov. 22, 2005 Microsoft launches Xbox 360
July 20, 2006 Microsoft announces a new US$20 billion tender offer and authorizes an additional share-repurchase program of up to $20 billion over five years
Jan. 30, 2007 Microsoft launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System to consumers worldwide
Feb. 27, 2008 Microsoft launches Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008
June 27, 2008 Bill Gates transitions from his day-to-day role at Microsoft to spend more time on his work at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
June 3, 2009 Microsoft launches Bing decision engine
Oct. 22, 2009 Microsoft launches Windows 7
June 15, 2010 Microsoft launches general availability of Office 2010
Nov. 4, 2010 Microsoft launches Kinect for Xbox 360
Nov. 10, 2010 Microsoft launches Windows Phone 7
Nov. 17, 2010 Microsoft announces availability of Microsoft Lync
June 28, 2011 Microsoft launches Office 365
Oct. 13, 2011 Microsoft closes its acquisition of Skype
June 25, 2012 Microsoft acquires Yammer
Sept. 4, 2012 Microsoft launches Windows Server 2012
Sept. 12, 2012 Microsoft launches Visual Studio 2012
Oct. 18, 2012 Microsoft employee giving tops US$1 billion
Oct. 23, 2012 Microsoft introduces new entertainment experience from Xbox
Oct. 26, 2012 Microsoft launches Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface
Oct. 29, 2012 Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8
Jan. 29, 2013 Microsoft launches Office 2013, expands Office 365
Feb. 18, 2013 Microsoft launches Outlook.com
May 21, 2013 Microsoft unveils Xbox One
July 11, 2013 “Microsoft One” reorganization realigns company to enable innovation at great speed, efficiency
Sept. 3, 2013 Microsoft announces decision to acquire Nokia’s devices and services business, license Nokia’s patents and mapping services
Oct. 17, 2013 Microsoft launches Windows 8.1
Oct. 22, 2013 Microsoft launches Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
Nov. 22, 2013 Microsoft launches Xbox One
Feb. 4, 2014 Satya Nadella named chief executive officer for Microsoft
March 27, 2014
Microsoft launches Office for iPad
April 25, 2014 Microsoft completes acquisition of Nokia Devices and Services business
June 20, 2014 Microsoft launches Surface Pro 3
Sept. 15, 2014 Minecraft to join Microsoft announcement
Oct. 29, 2014 Microsoft announces Microsoft Band device
Nov. 6, 2014 Microsoft announces Office apps for Android tablets
May 5, 2015 Microsoft releases Surface 3
July 29, 2015 Microsoft launches Windows 10
Sept. 22, 2015 Microsoft launches Office 2016
Oct. 6, 2015 Microsoft announces Surface Book, Surface Pro 4, Microsoft Band 2, Lumia 950 and Lumia 95 XL
Jan. 19, 2016 Microsoft Philanthropies announces $1B in donations putting Microsoft Cloud to work for the public good
June 1, 2016 Microsoft Launches SQL Server 2016
July 6, 2016 Microsoft introduces Microsoft Dynamics 365
Sept. 29, 2016 Microsoft announces formation of new AI and Research Group
Oct. 18, 2016 Microsoft researchers achieve human parity in conversational speech recognition
Oct. 26, 2016 Microsoft introduces Surface Studio, Surface Dial, new Surface Book and Windows 10 Creators Update
Nov. 2, 2016 Microsoft unveils Microsoft Teams
And so many.to be contin
Dec. 8, 2016 Microsoft completes acquisition of LinkedIn
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