A Scope Of Microsoft Essay Research Paper free essay sample

A Scope Of Microsoft Essay, Research Paper There are many factors that must be considered when scoping out a company for a possible amalgamation or acquisition. I being the Chief executive officer of a major competitory package fabricating company expression for many things. Thingss such as strategic planning, fiscal public presentation, technological progresss and selling chances are merely some of the factors that must be looked at when sing another company for acquisition. In this instance, Microsoft Corporation is our mark. I will be analyzing the above-named factors before doing my determination on whether or non an acquisition will be executable. Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by William H. Gates III. The company, which was inspired by Gates, had a vision of computing machines powered by package developed by the company being a manner of life. The end was to incorporate computing machines into people s mundane lives. The company started out in Gates garage with crude engineering and limitless aspiration. Today the company has grown to be the universe s figure one package developer and maker. The company offers a really diverse line of merchandises runing from place user applications to high tech concern package. Microsoft develops and manufactures a full line of games, web publication, and most significantly, it s figure one piece of package, Windows 2000 and ever-popular Office 2000. The universe fundamentally runs on Microsoft package. The package is shipped with 70 % of the universe s computing machines giving Microsoft a sum of over 19 billion dollars in grosss for 1999. Microsoft has late emerged in the universe of Internet Service Providers ( ISP s ) to go a rival of the well-known America Online. The Microsoft Network ( MSN ) as it is known offers users the same advantages of the taking ISP s while integrating its ain engineering to do the on-line experience more user friendly and technologically advanced than the others. MSN allows users to interface their on-line work with their regular operating package to let for easier web publication, more advanced multimedia presentations, and quicker processing clip. There have been many issues refering Microsoft s schemes. Many say that the company is merely in the market to take over and monopolise. As a affair of fact, the United States Government is presently in a civil anti-trust instance against the company. Evidence and unfavorable judgment has been brought against them in order to seek to halt them from monopolising. In the past five old ages, Microsoft has made over 40 acquisitions of companies of all sizes. It seems now that they are making more puting in companies instead than taking over. Microsoft holds big investing places in NBC, Nextel Communications, AT A ; T, NTL Inc. , Qwest Communications and United Pan-Europe Communications. Of class those are merely the largest investing places of 200 million dollars and over. There are many other little investing places as good. This is merely one of the schemes of the company, as a consequence of all of their investing places, it allows them to increase their market portion through exposu re in different markets. Another scheme that Microsoft adheres to is to be the most technologically advanced package developer in the market. Microsoft has ever been the leader in engineering when it comes to all types of package, whether it is for place user or concern. It is said that within the following few old ages, many people will get down to populate in smart places. Microsoft is presently developing engineering that will enable a computing machine to run an full family, without the user being place! It is this type of engineering that keeps Microsoft in front of the remainder of the competition. This goes manus in manus with the expected $ 3.8 billion expected investing in R A ; D in financial 2000. It is no admiration why the authorities is seeking to interrupt up this tremendous ace power of a company! A critical scheme that Microsoft is portion of is huge globalisation. Microsoft has selling locations in over 73 states worldwide. This is a large portion of Microsoft s scheme because it allows them to derive exposure all over the universe, which will act upon concerns and places all over the universe to go portion of the Microsoft web of package. Financially Microsoft has ever been a top performing artist. Since the company went public in March of 1986, the company has grown to 325 % of its original size. In financial twelvemonth 1985, the company had a net income of $ 24 million, as of 4th one-fourth 1999 ; the company had a net income of $ 7.7 billion. Entire shareholders equity in financial 99 was over $ 28 billion. Numbers like these are non really common in the package developing and fabrication concern. Most of Microsoft s grosss come from Licensing Agreements. Licensing Agreements are package understandings that companies enter into with Microsoft for the permission to put in and utilize Microsoft package in their concern. When new package is available, the company has a pick to regenerate their lease understanding of usage oth Er package, the latter non being excessively wise. This brings me to the subjects of competition and menaces. True there is competition in the universe of package, tonss of it. The biggest rival with Microsoft is a company called Red Hat. Red Hat manufactures a platform known as Linux. Linux is purely concern application package that is used by big corporations for implementing stock list systems, databases, and the similar. Another beginning of competition comes from a company known as Novell. Novell is known for Novell Netware. This is concern application package that is used chiefly in fiscal establishments like Bankss and securities firm houses. This package is used for logging minutess at Bankss and securities firm houses, while keeping an internal web within the company. Red Hat and Novell merely occupy about 40 to fifty per centum of the market portion combined. One should maintain in head that behind these two package platforms is Microsoft s NT Server Client package powering the waiters that allow the companies to utilize th is package! Basically, even thought there is competition, Microsoft still is able to derive a piece of the market portion by being one measure in front of its competition. A large issue for Microsoft that is going a turning menace to the company is Software Piracy. Software Piracy is committed by doing illegal transcripts of the package and possibly even selling it. This is a really common act today with the easiness of utilizing a Cadmium burner. In fact, many concerns operate on illegal package, which in bend hurts the grosss of Microsoft. Microsoft is presently working on plans that can non be copied to blank discs in order to protect themselves from this menace. Currently, anyone who knows where to acquire the package from illegal web sites can download them perfectly free. Once this package is downloaded to a difficult thrust, it can be written to a Cadmium and so re-written, an infinite figure of times from that one Cadmium that was originally used. It is clear to see that this can go rather harmful if non taken attention of quickly. This is particularly done with concerns. However, they do purchase one transcript of the package from Microsoft an d so copy it onto all of the computing machines in the office, thereby salvaging themselves big sums of money. It is a proved statistic that in some companies, there exists over five 100 transcripts of illegal package that are being used in normal concern operation. It is easy to see how this can make a loss for Microsoft, no uncertainty that this job will be resolved in the hereafter. Another menace to Microsoft as I mentioned earlier is the on-going Anti-trust instance that is presently pending. In this instance, the authorities is seeking to interrupt up Microsoft into possibly a figure of smaller companies, which would let for more competition to come in the market. Bill gates sees this as a better chance to further diversify the line of merchandise that Microsoft delivers. This will really give Microsoft a better opportunity to scope out different markets and possibly develop new merchandises for Personal computer s and concerns that will better enable other states to thrive. As the Chief executive officer of my house, I have a really involved determination to do. I feel that the wisest determination would be to non get Microsoft. Microsoft is a company that is a innovator of package and is to the full established and in order to be able to take them over, my company needs to be able to go on what Microsoft started. My company does non hold the type of financess to be able to take over Microsoft, nor do we hold the market cap to cover a stock for stock purchase. However, there is one consideration that I may do, that is, to organize a joint venture with Microsoft. I feel that this will profit us both in many ways. First, our engineering can be combined in order to do the universes top package developer and maker that will busy every sector of the package industry. Our fabrication workss can be consolidated and re-structured to cut costs, wile accommodating to fabricate the new package line that my company would present. Our direction squad can be re-struc tured as good so that strategic planning and decision-making will better implement our new thoughts and technological progresss. Finally, our market portion will be greatly increased because of the ability to be exposed to states that we are non presently involved in. I feel that a combination of our companies would be likely the most good event that could happen in my company. Microsoft has proven itself to be the figure one package company in the universe ; together we would be unstoppable. One job with this joint venture would be the affair with the pending Anti-Trust instance, which would likely be farther fueled by this joint venture. Whatever the result of the instance, which by the manner seems to be approaching a colony, I feel that the freshly formed company will be the best thing that has happened in package since 1975. **All factual and fiscal information was taken from Microsoft s 1999 Financial Report.