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 Life without Microsoft, pioneered by Bill Gates, one of the most successful and richest individuals of modern history, is difficult to imagine. After all, what would we all be using if we didn't have Word or Excel? It may seem plausible to presume that other major IT corporations like Apple would have taken Microsoft's place, although consider that it was Microsoft that really instigated the computer revolution and the growth of the consumer PC market in the first place.
From a vulnerable start-up firm to a corporation of almost 100,000 employees
In 1979, the computer systems provider Electronic Data Systems made a bid to purchase the four-year-old start-up company Microsoft, which contained no more than 30 employees at the time. However, Gates' asking price was too high for EDS and no deal was formalised. However, had this gone ahead, it would have resulted in an entirely different outcome for the computing world over the course of the next 30 years.
In 2011, Microsoft had a $214.65 billion market cap and generated close to $600 billion in revenue from its Microsoft Partner ecosystem alone in 2010, according to an IDC Paper. Microsoft even acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion dollars in the same year and continues to dominate the PC industry, from gaming devices like the Xbox 360 to Microsoft Office.
The world is dependent on Microsoft in more ways than you can imagine
In 2013, the multinational giant employed approximately 97,000 people across the globe and achieved an operating income of $26.76 billion, although its assets are now estimated to be worth around $142.43 billion. Indeed, with almost 90 percent of computer users currently reliant on a Windows operating system, it seems feasible to assume that Microsoft will remain in the public eye for many years to come.
The Microsoft Certified Partner programme enables companies to provide products or services from Microsoft and offer IT solutions to clients. Today, thousands of companies across the world now earn a living providing IT services to customers, from fixing operating issues to cleaning hard drives and removing PC viruses. Of course, if Microsoft were to cease to exist, all of these IT companies would be out of business, other businesses would be unable to create Word documents or spreadsheets and millions of other computer users across the world would be unable to save files or access data.
DOS was not invented by Microsoft
Despite common misconceptions, Microsoft did not invent the Disk Operating System on its own. The company actually purchased the rights to use this system from a small company based in Seattle and improved the system to make it more functional and marketable. Therefore, surely it could be argued that if Microsoft did not emerge as a key player in the PC market, another company would have take its place instead. Or to phrase it differently: Microsoft has prevented the likes of Apple and other competitors from stealing the market that made it one of the most profitable and largest corporations of all time.
Even after the disaster of Windows Vista, Microsoft still leads the way
Released in 2006, Windows Vista was strongly criticised for its memory protection issues and poor operating performance. However, Microsoft quickly made up for this by introducing Windows 7 in 2009, which correct many of the problems identified in the Vistas series. Like any company, Microsoft has had its ups and downs and its fair share of criticism of the years. One thing it hasn't lost, however, is its market, which applies to both the business world and the consumer world. As long as millions of computer users continue to rely on the Windows operating system on a daily basis, the world needs Microsoft almost as much as it needs food and water.
Editor's Note: Craig Faiers is a senior technical consultant at ARC Systems. He fully appreciates the impact that Microsoft has had on technology in the last three decades and he and his team work with all the major Microsoft applications to bring their clients strong IT solutions to suit their business.
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