Evaluation of the Strategy of Microsoft - Case Study Example

The formulation, implementation and evaluation of strategy of Microsoft The originator of Microsoft, William Henry Gates, more commonly known as BillGates, was born in 1955 in Seattle, Washington. As he was a bright student his parents registered him at Lakeside, where he first made his acquaintance with computers. In January 1975, after reading the copy of “Popular Electronics” that showed Altair 8800, Bill Gates contacted the makers of the new microcomputer, known as MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), and told them that he and his friend Paul Allen had developed a BASIC Programming Language that could be used on the Altair. Bill Gates did not have an analyst nor did he have an Altair system but still he and Paul Allen developed the interpreter, eight weeks before the demonstration. MITS agreed to dispense Altair Basic after the interpreter worked at the demonstration. Bill Gates shifted to New Mexico where MITS was situated and where he established Microsoft. The name Microsoft became a registered trademark in 1976. Microsofts name, originally is a combination of "microcomputer software". Microsoft is an American multinational computer technology corporation that has yearly sales of more than $41.36 Billion, globally. They have around 64,000 employees in almost 102 different countries whose purposes are to license, develop, support and manufacture an extensive range of software products for computers. The most popular products made by the Microsoft are Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office and in 1995 it began MSN (Microsoft network), and also advertises home amusement products, such as the Xbox, Xbox 360 and the MSNBC cable television, Microsoft also bought hotmail that was renamed as MSN hotmail in1997, and later launched MSN messenger. In every business there is no guarantee of success. Competition, technology and compatibility, pricing and delivery can cause a threat to any business and afford opportunities for other competitors. A SWOT Analysis is used to estimate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a business enterprise or in any other state of affairs, which involves a decision. Some planners recast this information in terms of internal affair (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). (Wells, 511) Every business has its own strength and weaknesses, the strengths are characteristics of an association that are cooperative to the accomplishment of the purpose they maybe a new original product or superiority progression and procedures. It is the same with the Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft has a great number of strengths; Microsoft has recorded striking sustainability and development and has an enormous market share. Software products have elevated product recall and acknowledgment and customer recognition (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), and various influential features that are used universally, thus helping promptness and competitive benefit through their effortlessness of incorporation and cost-efficiency. Requests and process divisions balance each other well and freshly formed online service network (MSN) also add to the strengths of the company. Human Resource policies, in adding together to good reward, is an opportunity for the staff to do well economically through stock procuring and which results in lithe labor force in the company and due to which the company makes profits. Partaking in publicly pertinent benevolent work in various countries has been a major value accumulation in terms of company PR. In adding to its strengths Fortune 100 has top rated the Microsoft Company as the most excellent and admired company. However big or small an organization or a corporation is it has its weak points, weaknesses are characteristics of the association that are damaging to the accomplishment of the purpose, this maybe due to poor reputation of a firm. In the Microsoft company the hardware maker need to be forced to install Microsoft’s PC operating system before hand even though Microsoft’s Architecture trains computer professionals and workers and this in turn creates a situation of conviction for hardware manufacturers, their failure to pay attention cannot be understood. Software structural design remains its most important force but has not so far developed a significantly fresher row of products. Popularity of the Internet and insignificant presence in the wireless market, WAN and Windows CE leads to failure in the impending growth in the wireless market. Due to these reasons the employee turnover rate has increased 1.4%, and the sales have fallen in the in commission systems and server software subdivision. Due to which the Microsoft reputation has suffered because of embarrassing situation in proceedings on casual workers’ recompense package. Even though the company has a lot of weak points, its products still has demand, which leads to various opportunities. Opportunities are external circumstances that are cooperative in the accomplishment of the purpose. Regardless of the expansion and escalating popularity of wireless handheld devices the demand for private computers in American and international marketplace remains strong and local language edition constructively maintains growth. Inexpensive Internet connectivity and international telecommunication expenditure, unwraps new promotions and openings in the corporation. Broadband admission and wireless communication apparatus present surplus chances for making profitable steps in these areas. Planned grouping with Mobile phone requests and consumption of personal digital assistants gives Microsoft with chances in a market where right now it has slight or no importance. In Microsoft additional revenues maybe earned with the help of Piracy control measures in various countries. Internet safety tools and strengthening of LAN applications are useful value accompaniments to Microsoft’s products. A corporation has its opportunities, which expand a business, but there are always uncertainties from other companies in the same field, which gives rise to competition and threats. Threats are external circumstances that are injurious in the accomplishment of the objective. Microsoft has a lot of competitors, which may cause them threats in the computer business like, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Oracle and others have joined forces on new podium technologies for their hardware that imitate much of the worth of Windows. Apple and Linux endanger Microsoft’s enormous promotion share of the desktop working market. Microsoft was unsuccessful to increase, or recognize itself into the Internet space but other companies like Sun Microsystems, Netscape, Oracle, IBM, and AOL moved into the Internet space almost a century ago. Demand for processing software and hardware is a function of changeable exchange rates of currencies, which can pessimistically collide with revenues in the international marketplace. Sun Microsystems, Oracle, IBM, AOL, and Apple are giving their own pre-package plan on their own hardware. Linux power is growing steadily as compared to Microsoft. Windows products are not used in personal computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, palm top computers, and wireless products for Internet access. Speedy growth of mobile devices will replace private computers. Microsoft has taken a few actions to overcome the threats and weaknesses. It has introduced a service pack 2, which is a major security upgrade. It includes features such as Windows Firewall. Microsoft would make this upgrade available to all XP users. Licensed users would be more secure and happier. Worms that attack Microsoft products would be less active. Wall Street and Silicon Valley analysts have given recommendations for Microsoft that’s describes of what type of companies it should team up with or acquire in order to rule the territory of multimedia. It should invest or buy Times Warner because this type of acquisition would contend with Apple and its Disney ties. Microsoft should associate with companies that know how to select content and build up advertisements, which would help, the company change the consumer behavior. In conclusion Microsoft today is the world organizer in software, services and Internet technologies for private and business computing. Microsoft’s business framework offers programming ideas appropriate for development; it is a structure that protects business reason on paper to the changes in the fundamental technologies. Microsoft is tentative to openly assert that it is a direct competitor with the other companies of multimedia but everyone knows that the company has its full intentions to make its mark in the multimedia industry. BIBLIOGRAPHY “History of Microsoft” Found Online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft Kramer, Dave “A Brief History of Microsoft on the Web” Reflections of Microsoft.com from Birth to ‘Middle Age’ 24 December 1999 Found Online at: http://www.microsoft.com/misc/features/features_flshbk.htm “Microsoft” Found Online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft#Microsoft_Platform_Products_and_Services_Division “SWOT Analysis” Found Online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_Analysis Burnett, Wells & Moriarty “Principles and Practice of Advertising”, USA 2000. (pp. 511-512) Found Online at: http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_swot.htm Found Online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Business_Framework Word Count: 1,312 Read More