Tech Companies

Microsoft Corp.

The latest news about Microsoft Corp.

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Overview
Culture
Recruiting
Facts & Resources
Subsidiaries & Divisions
Competitors

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Overview

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software company by revenue, sells consumers and corporate customers everything from Windows operating systems to Xbox game consoles to Microsoft Office applications. The company also makes server and storage software and digital music players, but the vast majority of its profit comes from its Windows and Office franchises. It has also forayed into the smartphone market, most notably with its release of Windows Phone 7.

As Microsoft has seen sales of software products slow this decade, it's been pushing into new markets. It's now among the three largest makers of video game consoles, and its Xbox Live online game service is a hit with users.

The company's foray into the Internet search market has met with mixed success. It tried and failed for years to steal market share from search king Google Inc. In 2008, Microsoft made several attempts to acquire Yahoo Inc., the No. 2 search company, but Yahoo's management ultimately rejected Microsoft's offer. The two companies then signed a deal in 2009 to combine their search operations. That same year, Microsoft rebranded its service as Bing.com and integrated new technology it acquired with search startup Powerset. In early 2011, Finnish tech giant Nokia announced its plan to abandon its home-grown mobile-device platform Symbian for Microsoft's mobile OS.

Culture

Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., was named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009 by Fortune magazine, and Working Mother magazine named the company one of the 100 Best Companies in 2008.

In 2005, Microsoft received a 100% rating in the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign, a ranking of companies by how progressive the organization deems their policies. Microsoft added gender expression to its anti-discrimination policies in 2005.

Microsoft has a culture of hiring many foreign workers and is an outspoken opponent of the cap on H1B visas, which allow companies in the U.S. to employ certain foreign workers.

Recruiting

Microsoft has a “candidate experience lobby” in its Redmond, Wash., headquarters. While job candidates wait for their interviews they can check out Microsoft products including Rockband, Modern Warfare 2, Kin phones, and Zune music players.