Microsoft's Windows Operating System

Microsoft has developed into an inescapable force within the technological field. Coming from a delayed humble beginning, it has had to devote large sums of money to approach the levels of the founding technological companies. Today, Microsoft controls the market in computer software. How they have achieved this status is what some have come to question. Through “bundling” software programs, manipulating other computer companies, and packaging deals with personal computers, Microsoft has managed to eradicate nearly all competitors in the computer software market (Love, 1997). This near monopoly affects the entire spectrum of classes, including the consumer, other networking providers,

Windows, a program that was created in 1983, but did not change the market significantly until 1990, has grown to control 94.1% of the operating system market (Newman). This has required other companies in the software industry to make all of their applications Windows compatible. Critics claim that Microsoft systematically eliminated all competition of other operating systems and software manufacturers. Microsoft also controls a large part of the software industry. According to sales from April 2002, Microsoft sold 89% of office software to consumers (Washington Post). Microsoft bundles these applications with the Windows operating system, which is, according to them, an effective technique. Critics assert that this forces other makers of office software, like Corel, to lose business, because consumers will not buy another application if one is already pre-installed. Critics point to the proposed 1995 merger between Microsoft and Inuit which ultimately failed. Inuit is the maker of the best-selling money management

Microsoft’s approach of creating competition also increases both the variety and the availability of their PCs. PCs can be found almost anywhere that sells other electronics. Each PC manufacturer produces their own configurations. Each retailer sells at least a few exclusive PCs. The end result is many different PC options for the consumer.

Microsoft has grown into an enormous and powerful corporation by a combination of aggressive business practices and having written operating systems (DOS and Windows) for personal computers. From operating systems it branched out into other software which has, along with the operating system, become something of an industry standard.

The PCs became a commodity. Microsoft grew to be the leader in the operating system market continuing to develop their Windows GUI line. With Windows, software standards have been established allowing software developers to certify their products to meet Windows requirements and deliver controlled performance. In addition, the PCs allowed numerous hardware manufacturers to

in the most part, states that Microsoft is truly dismantling the competitive market. IBM and Apple created OS/2 and the Mac OS, respectively. Because of this “barrier of entry,” these top companies have not been able to “compete effectively with

Microsoft is a highly diversified company. Its technologically-related products span from software to music players to game consoles to web browsers to search engines to phones. However, its flagship product, the product which has been the primary driver of its profits has been Microsoft Windows, the ubiquitous operating system that runs on virtually every computer in the world. Windows has been deemed so critical that even Microsoft's competitor Apple was effectively forced by market pressures to allow its Macs to run Windows, in an effort to boost sales. "As astounding as Apple's success has been, it hasn't put a dent in the Microsoft Office monopoly. [Current CEO] Ballmer and company still profit on every Macbook running Word, Excel and PowerPoint" (Greg 2012).But while Microsoft continues to make its highly profitable Windows products (despite industry criticism about its user features); it has struggled to diversify in its many critical areas, most notable in its music, phones, and Internet service.

The patterns I see with Microsoft’s reactions to competition is that they rely heavily on the fact that they are leaders in the field of operating systems and they use this monopoly as leverage on what they give out to their consumers with their “bundling capabilities” (Rivkin 4). In the past I believe they have been successful against competitors even though they have gotten into legal trouble while doing it. This is because even after the law suits they still remained ahead of the pack in market shares.

Microsoft are situated within the top 20 largest companies functioning in the world, with turnover figures of 60-70 billion dollars a year (E-how, 2011).

Microsoft operates in many geographic locations around the world and are behind the world’s most popular desktop operating system in the world. Microsoft is primarily a software company but have flexed their arms into internet services and are behind certain products in consumer market which is directly against Google. Microsoft’s market includes end-customers, enterprises and institutions just like Google. Some of the key Microsoft products are Bing which is a search engine just like Google.com and Microsoft ad center which is a direct

Microsoft Corporation is a public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. Established on April 4, 1975 to develop

Microsoft (MS) is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. In the mid 1990’s, Microsoft held the monopoly in the production of Operating Systems (OS) for personal computers (PC). When their monopoly was threatened by Netscape, MS began bundling the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser with Windows, using cross-promotional deals with internet service providers (ISP), and prevented PC makers from customizing the opening screen showing Microsoft. These actions, which some view as illegal and unethical, dissolved any competition, raised the barriers of entry and inhibited

Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and most influential companies in the personal computer industry. It has won several awards for innovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work arrangements. It has always been a leader in the market with regard to its compensation. With 80,0004 employees across the world, having more than $15 billion revenue, it is one of the biggest and best‐known technology companies in the world.

Microsoft's core competency is software development, which has led to the creation of massive sales of software applications. Microsoft has a competitive edge because of the control it exerts in the operating systems segment of the industry. When the company established the intent to make Windows, the standard operating system of the future, it sets its resources into motion. In a way, Microsoft forces other software manufacturers to use Windows as a platform for its software application. The result was major competitive advantage for Microsoft as other software manufacturers were preoccupied converting to Windows platform. Microsoft's dramatic growth and profitability has enabled to invest a large amount of cash flow into its core products as well as core competencies, which has led to economies of scale and scope. Microsoft has been able to develop core competencies resulting from collective learning in the organization, which can come from coordination of diverse production skills or the integration of multiple streams of technologies.

All started when Bill Gate and Paul Allen, two friends that as early as 13 years old started to mess around with computers, drop out of college to create their own business. This business founded April 4, 1975 is known today as Microsoft Corporation. Allen and Gates created a basic interpreter for computers, that was rejected by Digital Research, but later on IBM made a contract with them. The creation of the MS-DOS for IBM in mid-80’s gave Microsoft the high rock success that still last till this day, making them the dominant operating system for personal computers. Likewise, Microsoft became at a later time the leading business in office suite software better known as Microsoft Office.