Microft

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorUniversity, Master's November 2001

download word file, 24 pages 0.0

Use your browser back button to go back to the search results. Click here to return to the home page. MICROSOFT Corporation Case Analysis Word Count: 6270 words. Subject area: Business Studies : Management Introduction Microsoft, the world's largest designer of software languages and application for personal computers, was started in July 1975 when William Gates and Paul Allen formed a partnership with the mission of developing computer languages for Altair and other microcomputer companies. The name Microsoft was created from a contraction of the word "microcomputer" and "software". The first operation is headquartered in Seattle and the first language that the company produced is Microsoft BASIC, which was followed by Disk BASIC. Gates diligently helped convince corporation of the nascent microcomputer industry's viability that help the Microsoft got its first contracts with Fortune 500 firms like General Electric, Citicorp, and National Cash Register that signed a contract in 1976.

In 1977 and 1978, Microsoft released FORTRAN and COBOL programming languages respectively. These two languages were written for the control program for microcomputer, or CP/M operating system, one of many available in the unstandardized microcomputer market. Fortunately for Microsoft, a number of firms, including Sirius, Zenith, and Sharp, chose CP/M as the operating system for their new computers. As a result, Microsoft became the leading distributor for microcomputer languages. The modern PC era dawned in 1980 when IBM chose Microsoft to write the operating system for its new machines. Microsoft was contracted by IBM to write a BASIC program for IBM's 8 bit memory and to furnish several other languages, such as Pascal, FORTRAN, and COBOL for IBM's machine that is based on Intel 8086 chip. In order to do that, Microsoft had to gain access to Digital Research's CP/M operating system, which they failed to do that.