Microsoft Corporation Essay
Technology is everywhere in modern life and it makes a significant part of the modern world. It brings its benefits and challenges to the businesses, which are involved in its development and distribution. The key problem in this sphere is related to the fact that the speed of the development of digital technologies is higher than the speed of digital dividends, such as jobs, services, and growth. This is the reason why great digital corporations are to contribute to changing the situation with digital technologies, supporting the emerging economies via tools, education, jobs provisions. Microsoft is one of those organizations, which is able to take this serious responsibility and create a lot of versatile opportunities in the whole world, thus making the gap between the actual development of digital technologies and their social and economic outcomes smaller.
Microsoft Company was incorporated in 1993 as a technology company. This company belongs to the leaders in the sphere of development and sale of software products, services, and devices. The company includes Productivity and Business Processes, More Personal Computing, and Intelligent Cloud. The list of the products of this company is rather long, it includes: “operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games, and training and certification of computer system integrators and developers. It also designs, manufactures, and sells devices, including personal computers (PCs), tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, phones, other intelligent devices, and related accessories, that integrate with its cloud-based offerings.” (Microsoft Corporation, 2016). Among the services, offered by the company, are cloud-based solutions, software and services, content and platforms, consulting, and online advertising.
The history of the company started in 1975 when Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen decided to convert BASIC as the programming language for personal computers. Within a rather short period of time the company Microsoft was founded. Later other programming languages were developed and used. The first operating system was purchased by Microsoft and the company started to earn money by selling licensed copies of the program. The company continued its development and soon it expanded into the spheres of entertainment and information services, offering a wide range of services to its customers. Already in the 1990s, Microsoft managed to become one of the most competitive and profitable companies in the whole American history. Even the period of the Great Recession was rather successful for Microsoft.
One of the major aims of Microsoft nowadays is to offer high enough standards of business practices for its suppliers and they do their best to support them to meet these standards. There are thousands of suppliers over the world, operating with Microsoft. These are hardware suppliers and indirect suppliers, the first one manufacture the devices and the components, which are needed for them, and the second one is able to provide everything including advertising campaigns and maintenance and construction of the buildings. The expectations of Microsoft towards their suppliers are defined by their upholding of human rights, health and safety, protection of the environment, and business ethics. All these expectations and rules are mentioned in the Supplier Code of Conduct, which corresponds to the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition’s responsible supply chain standards. The requirements are included in the supplier contacts of Microsoft. In order to keep the situation under strict control, Microsoft conducts a number of procedures, including:
- assurance and accountability
- capacity building,
- creation of shared value
- analysis of risks and opportunities
Starting from the year 2005 Microsoft’s Device and Supply Chain group operate in the frames of the Social and Environmental Accountability (SEA) program, which demands consideration of all conditions and practices, required for environmental and individual rights protection. “Microsoft’s Global Procurement Group created a formal responsible sourcing function in 2013 to consolidate and enhance its responsible sourcing activities with our indirect suppliers (our suppliers outside those that make our hardware devices and the components and raw materials that go into them.)” (Microsoft Corporation, 2016).
Technology is very strong in relation to bringing practical solutions to the problems, which exist in various businesses. Microsoft Company contributes to economic development via effective utilization of technological innovations. Building strong supply chains and proper management of the transportation system are important conditions for the economic success of any business. Microsoft managed to establish an intelligent transportation system, which is the key to the economic development of the company. “Embedding the Internet of Things not only within vehicles but within a country’s infrastructure so that goods, labor, and routes are all connected will make huge strides in a region’s progress and economic opportunity. The Trans Kalahari Corridor, as an example, is a high-volume network of roads spanning some 1,200 miles across Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.” (Townes-Whitley, 2016, p.2). If the transportation system is intelligent, then it is possible to manage all the movements of the trucks and goods, the flow of the goods and the efficiency of the chosen routes, control of the transportation time, and efficient crossing of the borders. Tracking any container at any given moment of time is vital for saving time and effort and having better control over the situation. This system helps Microsoft to reach the major goals of the company, namely the facilitation of affordable global access to digital infrastructure, contributing to economic development on the basis of technological innovations introduction. Cubic Transportation Systems is the leading producer of intelligent transport solutions. The company chose to utilize the cloud platform, developed by Microsoft, in order to offer new solutions and add functionality. As a result, the system of the NextTraffic management solution was worked out. This system allows for managing different transportation options.
It is widely known that the speed of transmitting the information, as well as secure storing of the information, is utterly important for success in any business. This is the reason, why companies prefer to apply such applications as ERP systems for example. ERP is defined as “Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application. Their purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders.” (Microsoft Corporation, 2016). Initially, it was considered that this system is applicable to manufacturers, still, later it has been used by other businesses as well. There are several ways of categorization of ERP solutions. “Microsoft is the winner in those accounts as companies almost inevitably standardize on Microsoft Office products, prefer the Microsoft SQLServer database, and gravitate toward an “all Microsoft” solution including the platform for their ERP system.” (Microsoft Corporation, 2016). The specialists of Microsoft focus their attention on the relations between information technologies and the global economy, its possible mutual impacts, and possible future strategic solutions for the business.
Overall, Microsoft Corporation has all the characteristics and resources in order to remain one of the leaders in the technologies industry, producing hardware and software. The strong position is based upon the brand image and positive externalities. At the same time development of the brand image in the future is seen as one of the recommendations for the company by various experts. Increasing the alliances with other companies could also be a good strategy for the future success of Microsoft.
References:
Consuming, Michael A., (2005). Microsoft Secrets: How the World’s Most Powerful Software Company Creates Technology, Shapes Markets, and Manages People, New York: Free Press
Lohr, Steve. (1995). Running on the Fastest Track. Final Byline
Messerschmitt, David G. (2000). Industrial and Economic Properties of Software Technology, Processes, and Value. University of California
Microsoft Corporation. (2016). Supply Chain Management. https://www.microsoft.com/about/csr/environment/supply_chain/
Townes-Whitley, Toni. (2016). Microsoft works with the World Bank to boost emerging economies
Zachary, Gregg Pascal, Hall, Mark. (2015). Microsoft Corporation American company
