The app’s secure digital record-keeping, multi-channel communication and rapid document sharing make it a comprehensive solution for business owners seeking efficiency and control. Dashboard analytics provide real-time tracking of payments and expenses, while support for multiple payment gateways and formats ensures flexibility for freelancers and SMEs. Moon Invoice’s Invoice Maker & Estimate Creator automates business finance tasks with customizable templates, and instant printing and sharing via WhatsApp or email. Perplexity’s Windows app features native voice dictation, multi-modal AI search and deep desktop integration for rapid research. We are proud to announce this year’s winners, each exemplifying technical excellence, user satisfaction and transformative potential. The Microsoft Store Awards honor outstanding applications that elevate user experiences, drive productivity and inspire creativity across the Windows ecosystem.
Ireland became home to one of Microsoft's international production facilities in 1985, and on November 20 Microsoft released its first retail version of Microsoft Windows (Windows 1.0), originally a graphical extension for its MS-DOS operating system. Microsoft committed to develop Macintosh versions of Multiplan, Word, and Microsoft Chart; Apple agreed to not provide software development kits and prototype computers to companies with applications competing with Microsoft's. With the release of the Microsoft Mouse on May 2, 1983, Microsoft continued to expand its product line in other markets. Later, the market saw a flood of IBM PC clones after Columbia Data Products successfully cloned the IBM BIOS, quickly followed by Eagle Computer and Compaq. Is widely recognized as the most influential company in the microcomputer-software industry. InfoWorld stated in 1984 that Microsoft, with $55 million (~$140 million in 2024) in 1983 sales,
Microsoft AI’s design head wants her team to be AI-native by the end of the fiscal year
On December 19, 2007, Microsoft signed a five-year, $500 million (~$727 million in 2024) contract with Viacom that included content sharing and advertisements. Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, the next versions of the company's server operating system and development suite, respectively, were released on February 27, 2008. Microsoft also released a new version of its Office suite, called Microsoft Office 2007, alongside Windows Vista. Formerly codenamed "Longhorn" in the early development stages, Windows Vista was released to consumers on January 30, 2007. On June 15, 2006, Bill Gates announced his plans for a two-year transition period out of a day-to-day role with Microsoft until July 31, 2008.
- Castle Craft delivers an immersive gaming experience, leveraging Windows hardware for smooth, dynamic resource merging and time-travel exploration.
- On July 29, 2015, Microsoft released the next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 10.
- As of June 30, 2015, Microsoft has a global annual revenue of US$86.83 billion (~$112 billion in 2024) and 128,076 employees worldwide.
- On September 22, 2020, Microsoft announced that it had an exclusive license to use OpenAI’s GPT-3 artificial intelligence language generator.
- As part of its strategy to broaden its business, Microsoft released Microsoft Encarta on March 22, 1993, the first encyclopedia designed to run on a computer.
- The app’s secure digital record-keeping, multi-channel communication and rapid document sharing make it a comprehensive solution for business owners seeking efficiency and control.
- It sported several new features such as enhanced multimedia abilities and consumer-oriented PC maintenance options, but is often regarded as one of the worst versions of Windows due to stability problems, restricted real mode DOS support and other issues.
1994: Windows and Office
In December 2022, Microsoft announced a new 10-year deal with the London Stock Exchange for products including Microsoft Azure; Microsoft acquired ~4% of the latter company as part of the deal. In October 2021, Microsoft announced that it began rolling out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support for Microsoft Teams calls in order to secure business communication while using video conferencing software. Microsoft released Windows XP and Office XP in 2001, a version that aimed to encompass the features of both its business and home product lines. On February 17, Microsoft released an update to its business line of software in Windows 2000. In March 1992, Microsoft released Windows 3.1 along with its first promotional campaign on TV; the software sold over three million copies in its first two months on the market.
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On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire video game company ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for about $7.5 billion, with the deal expected to occur in the second half of 2021 fiscal year. On March 26, 2020, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Affirmed Networks for about $1.35 billion (~$1.61 billion in 2024). In January 2019, Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 Mobile would end on December 10, 2019, and that Windows 10 Mobile users should migrate to iOS or Android phones.
2014: Windows 8, Xbox One, Outlook.com, and Surface devices
Activity grew quickly as developers from around the world began to participate, and by early 2007 commercial open source companies, such as Aras Corp. began to offer enterprise open source software exclusively on the Microsoft platform. In guise of competing with other Internet Companies such as the search service Google, in 2005 Microsoft announced a new version of its MSN search service. However, Microsoft encountered more turmoil in March 2004 when antitrust legal action would be brought against it by the European Union for allegedly abusing its market dominance (see Microsoft Corp. v. Commission). The console lopebet was also outsold by the Wii, which introduced gesture control and opened up a new market for video games. Microsoft launched their second console, the Xbox 360, in 2005 – which was more successful than the original. Microsoft entered the multibillion-dollar game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo, with the release of the Xbox.
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When the IBM PC debuted, Microsoft was the only company that offered operating system, programming language, and application software for the new computer. Due to potential copyright infringement problems with CP/M, IBM marketed both CP/M and PC DOS for US$240 and US$40, respectively, with PC DOS eventually becoming the standard because of its lower price. For this deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for less than US$100,000, which IBM renamed to IBM PC DOS. IBM first approached Gates and Allen about Microsoft's upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) in July 1980, shortly after Gates's mother began working on United Way's executive board with IBM CEO John Opel. By the mid-1980s Microsoft had gotten out of the Unix business, except for its ownership stake in SCO. It grew to become the most popular version of Unix, measured by the number of machines running it (note that Unix is a multi-user operating system, allowing simultaneous access to a machine by several users).
- Windows at the time generated more revenue for Microsoft than OS/2, and the company decided to move more resources from OS/2 to Windows.
- Microsoft plans to incorporate Ally.io into its Viva family of employee experience products.
- On August 8, 1989, Microsoft introduced its most successful office product, Microsoft Office.
- In October, Windows for Workgroups 3.1 was released with integrated networking abilities such as peer-to-peer file and printing sharing.
- The console was also outsold by the Wii, which introduced gesture control and opened up a new market for video games.
- On October 7, Microsoft acquired Ally.io, a software service that measures companies’ progress against OKRs.
On August 8, 1989, Microsoft introduced its most successful office product, Microsoft Office. Microsoft Works would later be sold with other Microsoft products including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Bookshelf, a reference collection introduced in 1987 that was the company's first CD-ROM product. On February 16, 1986, Microsoft relocated their headquarters to a corporate office campus in Redmond, Washington. Softletter estimated that in 1986 the "Big Three" of Lotus (9%), Microsoft (8%, more than $250 million), and Ashton-Tate (6%) together had 23% of total revenue of the top 100 microcomputer software companies. By then Forrester Research considered Microsoft, Ashton-Tate, Lotus Development, and Borland the "Big Four" of personal computer software. OS/2 was marketed in connection with a new hardware design proprietary to IBM, the PS/2.
On November 10, 2020, Microsoft released the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S video game consoles. On September 22, 2020, Microsoft announced that it had an exclusive license to use OpenAI’s GPT-3 artificial intelligence language generator. Apple has imposed a strict limit on "remote desktop clients" which means applications are only allowed to connect to a user-owned host device or gaming console owned by the user.
