This was the insight of the world’s superior entrepreneurs Bill Gates to extend software for personal computers. His dream for personal computing has been the success mantra for Microsoft.
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational company that manufactures, develops, licenses and supports a wide range of software products. The best selling products of Microsoft are the Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows operating system.

In the mid 1980s, Microsoft grew to dominate Home computer operating system with MS-DOS. Its products have attained a universal presence in the market of desktop computers. Microsoft exhibits footholds in other market with products like MSN Internet portal, MSNBC cable and the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia. The company also produces computer hardware’s such as home entertainment products like Xbox, Zune, Xbox 360 and MSN TV.

Throughout the history, Microsoft has given customer assistance over World Wide Web and Usenet newsgroups along with Microsoft MVP position to volunteers who are considered helpful in serving company’s customers.

MS-DOS operating system was the first to fetch real success for the company. In 1989, Microsoft launched its flagship suite called Microsoft Office. It was a package of distinguished productive applications like Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. In 1990, Microsoft introduced Windows 3.0, which boasted of new and improved features. Within two weeks, it was able to sell about 10,000 copies. At this time, Windows generated more revenues than OS/2, and Microsoft decided to shift more resources towards Windows than OS/2. During the transmutation from MS-DOS to Windows, the popularity of Microsoft Office helped the company to gain ground on software competitors like Lotus and WordPerfect.

In 1993, company introduced a business operating system Windows NT 3.1 with Windows 3.1 interface. Next the company launched Windows 95 that featured an entirely new interface. The company was able to sell more than a hundred thousand copies in the first four days after release.
On 26th May 1995, Microsoft began to diversify its product range into World Wide Web and computer networking.

In the same year, company also launched a major online service called MSN. The year 1998 was radical in the history of Microsoft as the company released an updated version of Windows 95 called Windows 98. It integrated a number of support devices and Internet focused features.
In 2001, the company launched Windows XP, which was the first version to incorporate the features of both home and business product line. By end of the same year, Microsoft released Xbox and entered the billion-dollar market predominated by Nintendo and Sony.

To be more particular in tracking performance and delegating responsibility of every unit, Microsoft restructured into seven business groups, each operating as a self-regulating financial entity. Later in 2005, Microsoft rationalized seven core business groups to three main divisions that are Microsoft Platform Products, Microsoft Business Division and Microsoft Entertainment & Device Division.
Microsoft offers a large range of product and services for developers and IT professionals. Some of the products and services offered by Microsoft are listed below:

• Office Online

Microsoft Office includes Word, PowerPoint, excel, Outlook, Access, Groove, FrontPage etc. it also integrates older version of Office 2000 and Office2003.

• Window Products

The Window products & technologies provided by Microsoft includes differentiated versions like Window 98, Window 2000, Window XP, Window XP 64- bit, Window ME, Window Vista etc.

• Business solutions

Microsoft Business Center provides complete business solutions comprising of all the products & services projected to simply business needs.

• Windows Server

Window Server by Microsoft involves serves operating system such as Window excahnge sever,Window 2000 Server and Window 2003 server.

• Developer Tools

The developr tools incorporates tools that are meant the application of developers such as MSDN or Microsoft Developer Network.

• Home software

Microsoft also provides numerous software programs for home users to safeguard them from any disorder and to preserve their privacy.

• MSN

The Microsoft Network includes MSN services for news, sports,weather report etc. It also offers services likeWindow Live,Hotmail etc.

• Windows Mobile

Window Mobile includes all the applications and software required for PC’S and Windows hand-held devices.

• Games and XBox

Microsoft Game Studio develops a large range of video games for the users of PC, XBox and XBox360. along with the Xbox product line, the company also markets computer hardware products like keyboards, mice, gamepads, joysticks and other game controlers.

• Volume Licensing

It provides resources and information for new and persisting volume licensing customers.

Due to the huge market share in business and home opertaing systems, Microsoft plays a vital role in the economics of software. Besides office suites and operating systems, Microsoft has footholds in other markets with assets like MSN Internet Portal, MSNBD Cable TV network and the Multimedia Encyclopedia-Microsoft Encarta.

Microsoft envisages a world where highly functional and pleasing experiences widen from PC to Web and to the devices utilized by people every day. Across the company, Software-plus-Services is emerging as a model approach and even those who claim to proffer Web offerings are setting toward hybrid scenario that includes both software and services.

Microsoft has a vivacious business on the computing desktop and is making substantial investments in online services and devices as well. With this strategy, no technology provider is better positioned to present visionary Software-plus-Services.

Microsoft has umpteen numbers of ways to monazite the outcomes through the informed model of software licensing, leveraging Microsoft’s advertising platform, promising services by subscriptions or the rising form of micro-payments recognized as Microsoft Points. Microsoft holds the world’s biggest and the most distinct partner ecosystem that is committed to its use in the strategy.

The computer industry focused on hardware in the early 1970s.This was the era when the software was given less importance and the PC software did not exist at all. It was Bill Gates and Paul Allen who had a vision of making the software reign supreme to make the personal computers an all purpose machine. In fact Bill Gates and Paul Allen wanted to build software industry when it never existed and by 1990 not only did the software industry exist but Microsoft became the undisputed leader of the software revolution. The margin of profit in the software industry was huge in comparison to that of hardware. Moreover the competition in the software industry was not as intense as that in the hardware industry.

Microsoft grew to be valued over $7 billion with the gross income going over $1 billion annually. The personal worth of Bill Gates was more than $2 billion but this sky rocketed to $7 billion in 1992 making him the richest person in the USA. The profits of the company stood at $7.79 billion in 1999 while its work force was more than 31,000. The growth slowed down in the year 2000. This was because of anti-trust proceedings and heavy spending on the Research and Development.

It was in this year of 2000 that Steve Ballmer came into limelight by being appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Steve Ballmer joined the Microsoft in 1980. Bill Gates hired him as the first business manager at Microsoft. He has headed nearly all the Microsoft division including operating systems developments, operation, support and sales. He was made the president of the company in 1998 but promoted to CEO in 2000.

There are basically two views about the comparison of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. With reference to marketing some say that Bill Gates was better while some say that Steve Ballmer is better. Some even go to the extent of saying that Steve Ballmer has always played a second fiddle to Bill Gates and that is why he is the current CEO of Microsoft. What either one lacks depends on one’s own perception.

Some say that the marketing style of Bill Gates was of persuasion and analysis style. On the contrary the marketing style of Steve Ballmer has been of the arrogant and crazy style. This view is correct to some extent because Steve Ballmer has been very aggressive at taking over Yahoo. Microsoft headed by Bill Gates has been known to practice the principle of being genuine, effective and powerful by the strategy of “embracing and extending.” All through those years Microsoft was known to be Humble but dangerous. On the other hand there are some who do not line the aggressive taking over strategy of Steve Ballmer.

Steve Ballmer strictly believes and sticks to the discipline of organizational management. Bill Gates has given a free rein to Steve Blamer to handle the Microsoft in what ever manner Steve Ballmer wants. Steve Ballmer has the right to handle the sales, finance, marketing products and the strategic planning as he wants.

With Steve Ballmer as the captain of the Microsoft ship, a new era has begun. Microsoft is undergoing reconstruction. While Bill Gates was a visionary founder, Steve Ballmer is proving himself to be a perfect leader. He is aiming at a long lasting company.

The new mission of Microsoft as announced by Steve Ballmer focuses on enabling people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. This mission and its scope are far beyond the realms of what Bill Gates has thought. This is the first time that Microsoft does not just harp about technology. This mission is about overall marketing aimed at improving the relationships with the customers and others in the industry. Steve Ballmer wants the employees of Microsoft to act on these principles and this mission.

Steve Ballmer seems to have struck the heart of marketing by targeting to bridge the gap between the sales and product development divisions of the company. Ballmer has broken from the traditional practices of Microsoft by empowering the second tier of executives to run their businesses with less of supervision. Earlier during the reign of Bill Gates each and every important decision was being taken by either Bill Gates himself or Steve Ballmer. He has ordered the sales force, engineers, and the mangers to improve the quality of the services and products to get rid of the frustration of corporate customers.

Ballmer is bringing drastic changes in the way decision is taken. The employees now have to provide feedback to Microsoft though reporting that includes grading of the supervisors, ranking and filing the employers and even the accounting system for managers. This helps in weighing trade offs and quantifying the contributions of each employee in the organization. This also helps in taking decisions faster. Now the corporate values are a part of the annual performance review of every employee.

Ballmer has put a lot of stress on regain the trust of the industry and customers. According to him the integrity, honesty and respect must be exhibited through partners, customers and the overall industry.

The basic difference between Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates is exhibited by the former being obsessive about understanding each and every detail of the business such as all the details of sales, costs and marketing and each and every factor affecting it.

Ballmer wants his employees to be accountable and respectful to each other as well as outsiders.

One thing that is not liked by people is Ballmer’s tendency to get rid of people who he thinks do not fit in the organization. Some of the employees find him liberating but for some a tough boss.

Ballmer has made the factor of customer trust and customer complains the prime concern in the company, which in a long run is good. Isn’t it?