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Microsoft Case Study
Executive Summary
Background
Organization History
After dropping out of Harvard in 1975, Bill Gates went on to creating Microsoft in Albuquerque (relocating to Seattle in 1979). While still at Harvard, Gates and his partner, Paul Allen, wrote a version of BASIC (a programming language for Altair), only to later start developing software to help users write their own programs.
In 1980, IBM approached Gates in hopes of having Microsoft develop the operating system for its PC’s. Concurrently, Microsoft purchased QDOS from a Seattle programmer and renamed it Microsoft Disk Operating System (better known as MS-DOS). Allen left the company in 1983, but Gates continued developing MS-DOS. In the mid-1980’s, Microsoft presented Windows – a MS-DOS version that appropriated features from its rival, Apple’s Macintosh (later also introducing Windows NT to compete with UNIX). Gates became a billionaire in 1986 when Microsoft went public.
In 1988, as Microsoft continued dominating this industry, the U.S. Justice Department filed antitrust charges against Microsoft, stating that its operations were limiting consumer’s choices, only to eventually reach a settlement between the two parties. Such agreement left Microsoft intact, however, restrictions were dictated. To being with, Microsoft had to agree to a uniformly licensed operating system, also further allowing computer manufacturers to include rivals’ software with Windows. An ongoing investigation occurred simultaneously with the European Union, in which Microsoft was also ordered to offer European computer manufacturers a stripped d ...