Microsoft (US)

Microsoft effectively defined the nature of modern computer communications. Bill Gates and his colleagues didn't invent computers, the graphical interface or internet browsing. But they came to dominate most users' experience of all three. As a result, for several years, Microsoft was the world's most valuable corporation, with a market capitalisation bigger than other businesses five times its size by revenues. However, it was also the industry's most hated entity, juggling a string a lawsuits from smaller rivals it had elbowed into oblivion. More recently, though, peace has broken out at Microsoft, and the company has worked hard to rebuild bridges, using part of its huge cash stockpile to settle legal rows with rivals and forge strategic alliances. In the mean time, its role as the big bad giant of the industry was to some extent inherited by Google. Microsoft attempted to keep pace with its new arch-rival through acquisitions including internet advertising giant aQuantive and a strategic investment in Facebook, as well as a substantial but unsuccessful bid to acquire Yahoo. But even after all the cash it has thrown at this comparatively minor part of its business, Microsoft still lags far behind the all-powerful Google in internet search and advertising sales. In its biggest deal to-date it agreed to acquire online phone service Skype in 2011 for $8.5bn.

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Who are the competitors of Microsoft? See IT Sector index for other companies

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Microsoft website

Microsoft Windows	Visual Studio
Microsoft Office	MSN.com
Microsoft Entertainment & Devices	Zone.com
Microsoft Enterprise Servers	Microsoft Developer Network
MSNBC	Microsoft Dynamics
SQL Server	Multimap
Windows Live

Microsoft Worldwide

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