Microsoft: An Overview

in that respect ar umpteen f conductors that must be considered when scoping out a beau monde for a potential merger or erudition. I being the CEO of a major(ip) competitive softw ar manufacturing society gestate for many things. Things such as strategical planning, financial performance, technical advances and marketplaceing opportunities are only if some of the factors that must be looked at when considering an other(a)(a) play along for acquisition. In this case, Microsoft Corporation is our target. I get out be examining the above-menti unityd factors forwards making my s c everyplacetping point on whether or non an acquisition bequeath be feasible.Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by William H. supply III. The society, which was inspired by Gates, had a vision of computers precedented by parcel developed by the society being a way of life. The conclusion was to integrate computers into peoples perfunctory lives. The come with started out in Gates garage with primitive technology and illimitable aspiration. Today the company has grown to be the adult males number unitary package package system product developer and manufacturer. The company offers a re each(prenominal)y diverse line of products ranging from fellowship substance ab user applications to high tech business organization software program.Microsoft develops and manufactures a full line of games, meshwork publishing, and well up-nigh importantly, its number one mankind of software, Windows 2000 and ever-popular Office 2000. The introduction basically take to the woodss on Microsoft software. The software is shipped with 70% of the worlds computers giving Microsoft a total of everyplace 19 billion dollars in revenues for 1999. Microsoft has lately emerged in the world of Inter sack up do Providers (ISPs) to be stick a competitor of the well- cognize(a) America Online.The Microsoft Network (MSN) as it is known offers users the same advantages of th e leading ISPs bandage incorporating its own technology to limit the online bewilder more user friendly and technologically advanced than the others. MSN chuck up the sponges users to interface their online work with their regular operating software to allow for easier meshwork publishing, more advanced multimedia presentations, and faster processing time. There train been many recognizes concerning Microsofts strategies. Many say that the company is only in the market to abridge oer and monopolize.As a outcome of fact, the United States G all oernment is presently in a civil anti-trust case a bring forwardst the company. find out out and criticism has been brought against them in order to try to stop them from monopolizing. In the past quin years, Microsoft has made over twoscore acquisitions of companies of all sizes. It interpretms now that they are doing more invest in companies rather than taking over. Microsoft holds double investment ceilingital positions in NBC, Nextel Communications, AT&type AT, NTL Inc. , Qwest Communications and United Pan-Europe Communications. Of course those are only the largest investment positions of 200 gazillion dollars and over.There are many other small investment positions as well. This is just one of the strategies of the company, as a social function of all of their investment positions, it allows them to increase their market packet through exposure in different markets. some other dodge that Microsoft adheres to is to be the closely technologically advanced software developer in the market. Microsoft has always been the leader in technology when it comes to all types of software, whether it is for home user or business.It is said that within the future(a) few years, many people bequeath begin to live in insolent homes. Microsoft is currently developing technology that leading enable a computer to run an entire household, without the user being home It is this type of technology that keep s Microsoft ahead of the correspondence of the competition. This goes hand in hand with the anticipate $3. 8 billion expected investment in R&D in fiscal 2000. It is no wonder why the government is trying to become up this enormous super power of a company A fine strategy that Microsoft is part of is immense globalization. Microsoft has marketing locations in over 73 countries worldwide.This is a big part of Microsofts strategy because it allows them to gain exposure all over the world, which will influence businesses and homes all over the world to become part of the Microsoft interlocking of software. Financially Microsoft has always been a top performer. Since the company went public in process of 1986, the company has grown to 325% of its original size. In fiscal year 1985, the company had a net income of $24 million, as of one-fourth quarter 1999 the company had a net income of $7. 7 billion. Total holdholders equity in fiscal 99 was over $28 billion.Numbers like t hese are not very common in the software developing and manufacturing business. Most of Microsofts revenues come from Licensing Agreements. Licensing Agreements are software arrangings that companies ship into with Microsoft for the authority to install and use Microsoft software in their business. When new software is available, the company has a choice to renew their lease agreement of use other software, the latter not being too wise. This brings me to the topics of competition and curses. reliable there is competition in the world of software, lots of it.The biggest competitor with Microsoft is a company called Red don. Red Hat manufactures a platform known as Linux. Linux is strictly business application software that is utilise by large corporations for implementing inventory systems, databases, and the like. some other source of competition comes from a company known as Novell. Novell is known for Novell Netware. This is business application software that is used in general in financial institutions like banks and securities firm firms. This software is used for logging legal proceeding at banks and brokerage firms, while maintaining an privileged network within the company.Red Hat and Novell only occupy about forty to fifty percent of the market grant combined. One should keep in creative thinker that behind these two software platforms is Microsofts NT Server Client software powering the servers that allow the companies to use this software Basically, even thinking there is competition, Microsoft still is able to gain a piece of the market share by being one mensuration ahead of its competition. A big issue for Microsoft that is becoming a growing threat to the company is Software plagiarisation. Software Piracy is committed by making black-market copies of the software and possibly even interchange it.This is a very common act today with the ease of using a CD burner. In fact, many businesses live on on illegal software, which in do work hurts the revenues of Microsoft. Microsoft is currently working on programs that crumbnot be copied to blank disks in order to cheer themselves from this threat. Currently, anyone who knows where to get the software from illegal web sites can download them absolutely free. at a time this software is downloaded to a hard drive, it can be written to a CD and indeed re-written, an infinite number of time from that one CD that was originally used.It is lighten up to see that this can become quite harmful if not taken electric charge of promptly. This is especially done with businesses. However, they do defile one copy of the software from Microsoft and then copy it onto all of the computers in the office, thereby saving themselves large amounts of money. It is a be statistic that in some companies, there exists over five hundred copies of illegal software that are being used in normal business operation. It is easy to see how this can create a evil for Microsoft, no doubt that this bother will be resolved in the future.Another threat to Microsoft as I mentioned before is the ongoing Anti-trust case that is currently pending. In this case, the government is trying to break up Microsoft into perhaps a number of littler companies, which would allow for more competition to enter the market. Bill gates sees this as a better opportunity to unless branch out the line of product that Microsoft delivers. This will rattling give Microsoft a better jeopardy to scope out different markets and perhaps develop new products for PCs and businesses that will better enable other countries to prosper.As the CEO of my firm, I have a very involved conclusiveness to make. I feel that the wisest decision would be to not acquire Microsoft. Microsoft is a company that is a pioneer of software and is richly established and in order to be able to take them over, my company needs to be able to continue what Microsoft started. My company does not have the type of f unds to be able to take over Microsoft, nor do we have the market cap to cover a stock for stock purchase. However, there is one consideration that I may make, that is, to form a colligation venture with Microsoft. I feel that this will benefit us both in many ways.First, our technology can be combined in order to make the worlds top software developer and manufacturer that will occupy every sector of the software industry. Our manufacturing plants can be consolidated and re-structured to rotate costs, wile adapting to manufacture the new software line that my company would introduce. Our management police squad can be re-structured as well so that strategic planning and decision-making will better implement our new ideas and technological advances. Finally, our market share will be greatly increased because of the ability to be exposed to countries that we are not currently involved in.I feel that a combination of our companies would be probably the most beneficial event that co uld occur in my company. Microsoft has proven itself to be the number one software company in the world together we would be unstoppable. One problem with this joint venture would be the matter with the pending Anti-Trust case, which would probably be further fueled by this joint venture. whatever the outcome of the case, which by the way seems to be nearing a settlement, I feel that the new formed company will be the best thing that has happened in software since 1975.