MICROSOFT CORPORATION

INTRODUCTION
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in
Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells
computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services.
CEO: Satya Nadella
Founded: April 4, 1975, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Headquarters: Redmond, WA, United States of America
Founders: Bill Gates, Paul Allen

COMPANY PERSPECTIVES
To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.

Key Dates:
1975:
Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen; they sell BASIC, the first PC
computer language program to MITS Computer, Microsoft's first customer.
1981:
Microsoft, Inc. is incorporated; IBM uses Microsoft's 16-bit operating system for its first
personal computer.
1982:
Microsoft, U.K., Ltd. is incorporated.
1983:
Paul Allen resigns as executive vice-president but remains on the board; Jon Shirley is
made president of Microsoft (he later becomes CEO); Microsoft introduces the Microsoft
Mouse and Word for MS-DOS 1.00.
1985:
Microsoft and IBM forge a joint development agreement.
1986:
Microsoft stock goes public at $21 per share.
1987:
The company's first CD-ROM application, Microsoft Bookshelf, is released.
1990:
Jon Shirley retires as president and CEO; Michael R. Hallman is promoted in Shirley's
place; the company becomes the first PC software firm to surpass $1 billion of sales in a
single year.
1992:
Bill Gates is awarded the National Medal of Technology for Technological Achievement.
1993:
The company introduces Windows NT.

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1995:
Bill Gates publishes his first book, The Road Ahead.
1996:
The company acquires Vermeer Technologies and its software application, FrontPage.
1997:
The Justice Department alleges that Microsoft violated a 1994 consent decree concerning
licensing the Windows operating system to computer manufacturers.
1998:
The U.S. Department of Justice files two antitrust cases against Microsoft, alleging the
company had violated the Sherman Act.
2000:
The company acquires Visio Corporation, its largest acquisition to date.
2001:
Microsoft Windows XP is released internationally.
2003:
Microsoft launches Windows Server 2003.

COMPANY HISTORY:
With annual revenues of more than $32 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the largest
software company in the world: it is a cultural phenomenon. The company's core business is
based on developing, manufacturing, and licensing software products, including operating
systems, server applications, business and consumer applications, and software development
tools, as well as Internet software, technologies, and services. Led by Bill Gates, the world's
wealthiest individual and most famous businessman, Microsoft has succeeded in placing at least
one of its products on virtually every personal computer in the world, setting industry standards
and defining markets in the process.
Origins of an Empire
Bill Gates was born in Seattle in 1955, the second of three children in a well-to-do family. His
father, William H. Gates II, was a lawyer, while his mother, Mary Gates, was a teacher, a regent
of the University of Washington, and member of several corporate boards. Gates was first
exposed to computers at school in the late 1960s with his friend Paul Allen, the son of two
Seattle librarians. By the time Gates was 14, the two friends were writing and testing computer
programs for fun and profit.
In 1972 they established their first company, Traf-O-Data, which sold a rudimentary computer
that recorded and analyzed traffic data. Allen went on to study computer science at the
University of Washington and then dropped out to work at Honeywell, while Gates enrolled at
Harvard. Inspired in 1975 by an issue of Popular Electronics that showed the new Altair
microcomputer kit just released by MITS Computer, Gates and Allen wrote a version of BASIC
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for the machine. Later that year Gates left college to work full time developing
programming

languages for the Altair, and he and Allen relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be near
MITS Computer, where Allen took a position as director of software development. Gates and
Allen named their partnership Micro-soft. Their revenues for 1975 totaled $16,000.
A year later, Gates published "An Open Letter to Hobbyists" in the Altair newsletter, in which he
enjoined users to avoid illegally copied software. Arguing that software piracy prevented "good
software from being written," Gates wrote prophetically, "Nothing would please me more than
being able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software." In
November 1976 Allen left MITS to devote his full attention to Microsoft, and the company's
tradename was registered. In 1977 Apple and Radio Shack licensed Microsoft BASIC for their
Apple II and Tandy computers, with the Apple license going for a flat fee of $21,000. As Apple
sold a million machines complete with BASIC, Microsoft's unit revenues dropped to two cents a
copy.
That same year Microsoft released its second programming language, Microsoft FORTRAN,
which was followed in 1978 by a version of COBOL. Both were written for the CP/M operating
system, one of many available in the rapidly expanding but still unstandardized microcomputer
market. As CP/M was adopted by computer manufacturers including Sirius, Zenith, and Sharp,
Microsoft became the leading distributor for microcomputer languages. By the end of 1978
Microsoft had 13 employees, a sales subsidiary in Japan, and $1 million in revenues. The
following year Gates and Allen moved the company to Bellevue, Washington.
The Early 1980s: Associations with IBM and Apple
Microsoft's big break came in 1980 as IBM began developing its Personal Computer, or PC.
While IBM contracted Microsoft to develop languages for the PC, IBM's first choice to provide
an operating system was the leader in the field, Digital Research; however, IBM and Digital
Research were unable to agree on terms, so the contract for the operating system was awarded to
Microsoft. As Microsoft was under a tight deadline and did not have an operating system of its
own, the company purchased the rights to one from Seattle Computer Products for $75,000.
Originally dubbed Q-DOS (for "Quick and Dirty Operating System"), the product was renamed
MS-DOS (for "Microsoft Disk Operating System") and modified for IBM's purposes. Under the
terms of the agreement, Microsoft retained the right to sell the operating system to other
companies and to consumers, while IBM could not. Neither company could have foreseen the
value of this arrangement: as other manufacturers developed hardware compatible with the IBM
PC, and as personal computing became a multibillion-dollar business, the fast and powerful MSSir Adamjee Institute of Management Sciences
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DOS became the industry's leading operating system, and Microsoft's revenues
skyrocketed.
In 1981 the company was incorporated as Microsoft, Inc., with Gates as president and chairman
and Allen as executive vice-president. The company closed the year with 128 employees and
revenues of $16 million. Two years later Allen left Microsoft after being diagnosed with
Hodgkin's disease. He remained on the board of directors and continued to hold more than 10
percent of the company's stock. Also in 1983 Microsoft launched a word processing program,

Word 1.0, in an effort to supplant the category leader, WordStar. Word did not become a success
until its greatly improved version 3.0 was released in 1986, whereupon the application became
Microsoft's best-selling product.
Throughout its history, Microsoft has been known for releasing products that were initially
unsuccessful but eventually grew to dominate their categories.
Microsoft worked closely with Apple during the development of Apple's Macintosh computer,
which was introduced in 1984. Revolutionary in its design, the Mac featured a graphical user
interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its
programs simple to use and easy to learn, even by computer novices. Microsoft introduced Mac
versions of BASIC, Word, and the spreadsheet program Multiplan, and quickly became the
leading supplier of applications for the Mac. Revenues jumped from $50 million in 1983 to
nearly $100 million in 1984.
In 1985 Microsoft also introduced Excel 1.0, a Mac spreadsheet product. Based on the earlier
and less successful Multiplan, Excel gradually took hold against its principal competitor, Lotus
1-2-3, and eventually came to account for more than $1 billion of Microsoft's annual revenues.
That same year Microsoft began collaborating with IBM on a next-generation operating system,
called OS/2.
The Late 1980s: Emergence of a Corporate Culture
Like most software companies, Microsoft had no dress code (although company lore recounts
that in 1988 senior management did express a preference that employees not go barefoot
indoors). Employees were hired on the basis of sheer intelligence, with the company selecting
only a small fraction of applicants from the more than 100,000 resumes it received each year, and
were expected to work brutal schedules to bring products to market as quickly as possible.
Microsoft paid salaries that were distinctly lower than elsewhere in the industry, even to their

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senior executives, but compensated with generous stock options that made
thousands of Microsoft employees millionaires.
Product Development in the 1990s
In 1993 Microsoft introduced Encarta, the first multimedia encyclopedia on CD-ROM, as well
as the first version of Windows NT, an operating system for users on corporate networks. While
the initial acceptance of Windows NT was disappointing, an upgrade shipped in September of the
following year as NT 3.5 was a dramatic success: winning the PC Magazine award for technical
excellence in system software and named the best operating system product of 1994, the upgrade
boosted sales of NT to more than one million copies by the end of the year. Microsoft announced
an agreement to purchase Intuit, the producer of the leading package of personal financial
software, called Quicken; however, after the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit to prevent the
takeover on the basis of antitrust concerns, Microsoft withdrew its offer.

Revenues for 1994 exceeded $4 billion.

In August 1995 Microsoft launched its next version of Windows, called Windows 95, which sold
more than one million copies in the first four days after its release. For the rest of the decade
Microsoft expanded aggressively into new businesses associated with its core franchise. Its
projects included two joint ventures with the National Broadcasting Company under the name
MSNBC: an interactive online news service and a cable channel broadcasting news and
information 24 hours a day. The company's web-based services included the Microsoft Network
online service, a travel agency, local events listings, car buying information, a personal financial
management site, and a joint venture with First Data that allowed consumers to pay their bills
online. Microsoft purchased 11 percent of the cable television company Comcast for $1 billion
and cut a licensing deal with the largest U.S. cable operator.By early 1999 the company had
secured more than 100 licensing agreements with manufacturers of these "intelligent appliances."
Legal Challenges and Competition in the Future
Microsoft's many critics believed that the company's goal in this widespread expansion was to
control every delivery channel of information, thereby providing the means to control the
content. According to Scott McNealy of rival company Sun Microsystems, "By owning the entry
points to the Internet and electronic marketplace, Microsoft has the power to exercise predatory
and exclusionary control over the very means for people to access the Internet and all it
represents."

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The U.S. government apparently agreed. After an intensive investigation of

Microsoft's competitive practices that had gone on for much of the decade, in 1998
the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of 20 state attorneys general filed two antitrust cases
against Microsoft alleging violations of the Sherman Act. The government sought to prove a
broad pattern of anticompetitive behavior on Microsoft's part by demonstrating an array of
claims, including the following: that Microsoft had a monopoly on the market for operating
systems; that the company used that monopoly as a means of preventing other companies from
selling its competitors' products (most notably Netscape's Internet browser); that it was illegal for
Microsoft to bundle its own browser into the operating system Windows 98 as a means of
precluding customers from purchasing Netscape's product; that the company sought to divide
markets with competitors; that Microsoft sought to subvert the Java programming language,
developed by Sun Microsystems, which it viewed as a threat to Windows; and, finally, that
Microsoft's business practices were detrimental to consumers. The case was conducted under a
flurry of media attention, with all parties agreeing that the stakes were extremely high: should
Microsoft win, its brand of extremely aggressive capitalism would secure a legal blessing; should
the company lose, the company could be forced to license the source code for Windows to
competitors, thus destroying its monopoly, or could be broken up into smaller components,
crippling its hold over the marketplace.
Microsoft continued to grow rapidly, increasing its net revenue by 29 percent, to $19.7 billion, in

1999. Additionally, net income rose to $7.79 billion, a dramatic 73 percent increase over 1998.
While the antitrust suit against Microsoft showed threats of a forced breakup of Microsoft,
innovations in the company continued. Encarta Africana, the first complete encyclopedia of
black history and culture, was launched, as well as Shop, Microsoft's first online store.
Unprecedented Growth in 2000 and Beyond
In 2000 Microsoft acquired Visio Corporation, the top supplier of business diagramming and
technical drawing software. The transaction, at approximately $1.3 billion, became the largest
acquisition in Microsoft history. Also in 2000, Microsoft invested $135 million in the software
publisher Corel. Apparently, Corel negotiated the investment, offering to drop "certain legal
actions" it had against the company, even as it had no legal claims filed against Microsoft.
Another transaction--in Microsoft's desire to expand into the television market--involved a $56
million investment in Intertainer Inc, a provider of video-on-demand service. In the same year,
Microsoft increased its employee base by nearly 9,000, from 39,170 to 48,030. The total
expenditures took a temporary toll on Microsoft's net income, which dropped 22 percent, to
$7.35 billion, in 2001. At the same time, net revenue continued to increase, up 10 percent from
2000.
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Meanwhile, the Department of Justice ruled that they would not enforce a breakup
of Microsoft. By the end of 2002, the U.S. District Court approved the settlement
Microsoft reached with the Justice Department.
Microsoft's net revenue increased to $28.37 billion in 2002, while net income rebounded, gaining
6 percent from the previous year. In 2003, Microsoft saw an impressive 28 percent jump in net
income, to reach just below $10 billion. The launching of Windows Server 2003, the largest
software development project in the company's history to date, contributed to the growth.
By 2004, with more than 56,000 employees and anticipated year-end revenues of up to $38
billion, Microsoft continued to hold a strong lead in the computer software industry. With an
emphasis on continuous innovation--including such business products as the BizTalk Server
2004--further success seemed ensured. Still, resentment toward Microsoft was omnipresent. In
April 2004, the company was fined by the European Union for abusing its monopoly on
computer operating systems. The fine, at EUR 497 million ($596 million), was not likely to be
the last for Microsoft.
In 2005 Microsoft announced the release of the Xbox 360 which hit the shelves in November of
2005. In July of the same year Microsoft agreed to pay $775 million in cash and an additional
$75 million in software as settlement on an antitrust claim. Later in the same year an additional
settlement of $761 million dollars was paid out to Real Networks for an additional antitrust
claim. Another important development in 2005 was the announcement of a new version of MSN
search.

Later in 2006 the introduction of the Zune music player was announced. Later this year
Microsoft announced that they would be offering a $20 billion tender offer as well as a share
repurchase program up to the value of $20 billion over a five year period.
2007 brought the launch of Windows Vista as well as 2007 Microsoft Office which would be
available to consumers around the world after many delays. In 2008 Microsoft launched the
Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and the Visual Studio 2008. In June of 2008 Bill Gates
completed the transition from day to day operations to pursue his charitable foundation, the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Microsoft makes an offer to buy Yahoo in January of 2008 however this transaction was not
successful due to the fact that Yahoo would not take their initial offer of 44.6 billion or a later
offer of 47.5 billion, causing Microsoft to walk away from the transaction. In June of 2009
Microsoft launched their search engine, Bing. Later in 2009 Windows 7 was successfully
launched and quickly became the must have operating system for PC and Netbook users.
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2010 brought variety of innovative programs and products such as Office 2010 in
June as well as the launch of the Kinect for the popular Xbox 360 gaming system
on November 4th, the launch of the new Windows 7 phone on November 10th and the launch of
Microsoft Lync on November 17th. Further product releases in 2011 were the release of
Microsoft Office 365 in June of 2011 as well as the acquisition of Skype for 8.5 billion dollars.
In August of 2012 Microsoft unveiled a new logo at the opening of their 23rd Microsoft store
which was located in Boston. The logo would soon be changed from the classic Microsoft logo
to a tiled logo which features 4 tiled squares in the well-known red, greed, blue and orange color
scheme which is being used on the Windows Phone platform and soon to be Windows 8 and
2008 Office.

MISSION
At Microsoft, our mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their
full potential. We consider our mission statement a commitment to our customers. We deliver on
that commitment by striving to create technology that is accessible to everyoneof all ages and
abilities. Microsoft is one of the industry leaders in accessibility innovation and in building
products that are safer and easier to use.

ABOUT ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY

Accessible technology enables individuals to personalize their technology to make it easier to
see, hear, and use. Accessibility and accessible technology are helpful for individuals who
experience visual difficulties, pain in the hands or arms, hearing loss, speech or cognitive
challenges; and individuals seeking to customize their computing experience to meet their

situational needs and preferences. Accessibility includes:

Accessibility options let you personalize the user experience through

the display, mouse, keyboard, sound, and speech options in Windows
and other Microsoft products.

Assistive technology products are specialty software and hardware

products (such as screen readers and specialty keyboards), that
provide essential computer access to individuals with significant vision,
hearing, dexterity, language, or learning needs.Interoperability
among assistive technology products, the operating system, and
applications is critical to enabling a world of devices accessible to
people of all ages and abilities.

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STRATEGY
Accessibility, as part of overall usability, is a fundamental consideration for
Microsoft during product design, development, evaluation, and release. Microsoft endeavors to
integrate accessibility into planning, design, research, development, testing, and documentation.
Microsoft addresses accessibility by:

Continuing our longstanding commitment and leadership in developing

innovative accessibility solutions.

Making the computer easier to see, hear, and use by building

accessibility into Microsoft products and services.

Promoting innovation of accessibility in the development community

and working with industry organizations to encourage innovation; and,

Building collaborative relationships with a wide range of organizations

to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility in meeting the
technology needs of people with disabilities.

PROGRESS
At Microsoft, our commitment to developing innovative accessibility solutions began more than
two decades ago and continues with each new product we develop.
Our accessibility efforts are concentrated in four key areas:
1. Accessibility of our products and services
2. Leadership and awareness
3. Innovation
4. Collaboration

ACCESSIBLITY OF OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Microsoft is making the computer easier to see, hear, and use by building accessibility into our
products and services. Specifically:
Windows 8.
One of the most significant changes in Windows 8 is the introduction of touch-only devices.
With touch devices, you can directly interact with everything on your screen, including
managing accessibility options in the Ease of Access Center. Magnifier can be used with touch
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on the desktop as well as in apps. The built-in text-to-speech program, Narrator,

reads aloud what is selected and is now available in more languages and voices.
On-Screen Keyboard includes text prediction which speeds up typing and can be resized to make
it easier to see. With Speech Recognition you can control your computer by voice, allowing
hands-free use of the device. Built-in support for USB peripherals like head mice, joysticks,
headsets, and input switches provides access for people with even the most severe disabilities.

Office 2013.
Microsoft Office 2013 includes accessibility features that both make it easier for people with
disabilities to use it, and, for content creators to make more accessible documents, presentations,
and other materials. Notable features include Accessibility Checker, Read Mode for a cleaner,
easier-to-read view, ALT text support for pictures, shapes, tables and graphics, and SharePoint
Services accessibility support.

Internet Explorer 11.

Internet Explorer 11 includes accessibility settings to help all users,

including those with disabilities, move around the Internet more easily, see webpages more
clearly, and access information more quickly.

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Office 365.
Microsoft Office 365 is an online subscription service. With Office 365, you automatically get
the latest versions of Office programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Because Office
Online runs in your browser, many familiar accessibility features of your browser are available to
you.

Kinect for Xbox 360.

Interactive entertainment is enjoyed by nearly all peopleincluding people with disabilities.
With speech recognition and enhanced skeletal tracking, the Kinect experience can now be
enjoyed by more users. A number of game titles for Kinect for Xbox 360 can be played by users
with physical or sensory impairments.
Windows is compatible with a wide range of assistive technology products such as screen
readers, magnifiers, and, specialty hardware that meets the accessibility needs of computer users
with disabilities and provide choices in all price ranges.

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Microsoft Customer Support

provides a dedicated support desk for customers who have disabilities or who are looking for
support to use assistive technology, such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech
recognition commands.
Mobile devices
Nokia lumia, Asha and Nokia X are the products of Mcrosoft Corporation.
Meet the worlds most personal phone: Window phone, friends, photos, apps and music all
your favourites come to life, right at your fingertips.

Microsoft hardware
Microsoft Hardware, is a division of Microsoft which designs and
manufactures computer hardware, including a range of input peripherals as
well as the Xbox gaming console, Microsoft Surface tablet, and Zune digital
media player. It also produces drivers and other software for integrating the
hardware with Microsoft Windows and other product
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Cloud platform
Microsofts experience delivering global-scale cloud services into your
infrastructure with new features and enhancements in virtualization,
management, storage, networking, virtual desktop infrastructure, access and
information protection, the web and application platform, and more.
Following are the products of cloud platform:
Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure, created

by Microsoft, for building, deploying and managing applications and services
through a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. It provides both
PaaS and IaaS services and supports many different programming
languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and thirdparty software and systems.

Windows server

Windows Server 2012 R2 brings Microsofts experience delivering globalscale cloud services into your infrastructure with new features and
enhancements in virtualization, management, storage, networking, virtual
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desktop infrastructure, access and information protection, the

web and application platform, and more.

SQL server

Build mission-critical applications using high-performance, in-memory

security technology across OLTP, data warehousing, business intelligence
and analytics. SQL Server 2014 is leader for these workloads, according to
Gartner, and uses a common set of tools to deploy and manage databases
both on-premises and in the cloud.

Visual studio
Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from
Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs for Microsoft Windows, as
well as web sites, web applications and web services. Visual Studio uses
Microsoft software development platforms such as Windows API, Windows
Forms, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Store and Microsoft
Silverlight.

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Training and certification

Microsoft provides the training of networking security and database software that is so prevalent
in the business community. Many of the large companies that utilize the Microsoft products
require that their employees hold Microsoft certification as a requirement for employment.

MSDN
Microsoft Developer Network, widely referred to by its abbreviation,
MSDN, is the portion of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's
relationship with developers and testers, such as hardware developers
interested in the operating system (OS), and software developers developing
on the various OS platforms or using the API and/or scripting languages of
Microsoft's applications

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Business and enterprise

To grow a successful business, Microsoft provides services which helps rapid growth in fastest
world.
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics offers a full range of software focused on delivering
business insights that matter to both you and your customers. From
customer relationship management (CRM) software to enterprise resource
planning (ERP), from supply chain management to business intelligence and
reporting, Microsoft Dynamics has a business solution thats just right for
you.

Enterprise and industry solution

Microsoft industry solutions includes the portfolio of Microsoft dynamics products and services
as well as Microsoft health solutions which provides solution for accounting software. Computer
technology, sales solution and others

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Resources for Microsoft partner

Microsoft dynamic solutions are delivered by a global network of Microsoft partners who
provide local, personalized services from planning and implementation to customization to
ongoing support and education. That means customers get world class business solutions from a
local professional who will be there as business conditions change. In addition, hundreds of
development partners provide specialized applications that integrate with our products to meet
unique industry needs.

Microsoft Services
Bing, skype, outlook.com, one drive & MSN are all the websites which provide
services to its users.
Bing
Bing is a new search engine from Microsoft. It's a lot like other search
engines in that it allows you to use keywords to search for web content and it
allows you to search for content based on category searches.
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Skype
Skype is a software application that enables its users to make voice
calls, chat, message and video conference over the Internet.

Outlook.com
Outlook.com is a free email service built to keep you connected across your
devices with powerful organizational tools and a suite of Microsoft apps
and services.

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MSN
MSN (originally The Microsoft Network; stylized as msn) is a collection of
Internet websites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network
debuted as an online service and internet service provider on August 24,
1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system

One drive

One place for everything in your life

Keep all your files and photos in OneDrive. Access and share them from your
phone, tablet, and computer.

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LEADERSHIP AND AWARENESS

At Microsoft, our commitment to developing innovative accessibility solutions

started more than two decades ago. Our commitment to accessibility is reflected in these key
elements:
Sharing information. The Microsoft Accessibility Website and Accessibility Update newsletter
provide information about the accessibility of Microsoft products, including demos, tutorials, and
guides. Accessibility and personalization information is available in many regions and languages
internationally.

Guidance for businesses and schools to provide accessible technology. Microsoft offers a
series of guides to help governments, schools, and business and organizations integrate
technology for individuals with disabilities. Guides include:

Accessibility: A Guide for Educators

Empowering students with disabilities and special needs

Accessibility: A Guide for Businesses and Organizations

Empowering employees, customers, and partners with accessible
technology

Accessibility: A Guide for Government Organizations

Empowering governments and citizens with accessible technology

Guidance for individuals with disabilities. Microsoft also offers guides for individuals on
technology solutions available for all impairment types and severities, including:

Vision Impairments

Dexterity and Mobility Impairments

Hearing Impairments

Learning Impairments

Language and Communication Impairments

Aging-Related Impairments

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Empowering educators and students with accessible technology and training.

Microsoft provides educators with accessibility guides, curriculum resources,
teacher training workshops, and more to help students with disabilities learn with computer
technology.
Open and transparent communication. Microsoft communicates openly about the accessibility
of our products and engages with stakeholders to resolve accessibility issues. Microsoft selfreports how products and services meet common accessibility requirements.
Creating an International Accessibility Professional Society In an effort to produce more
accessible devices, applications, and content for people of all abilities, Microsoft believes that
Accessibility must mature to form a more scalable, repeatable, and internationally recognized
profession. As a charter member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals
(IAAP), Microsoft is working with a diverse range of corporate and non-profit partners to build a
well-informed, internationally coordinated community.
Informing stakeholders on current topics. From events to breakthroughs in assistive
technology and product news, Microsoft endeavors to keep key stakeholders informed and
prepared. The Microsoft Accessibility blog is updated weekly, and five hot topic flyers were
published for download in FY13:

Windows XP End of Support

Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 8

Creating Accessible Documents with Microsoft Office

Accessibility in K-12 Education

Using Microsoft SharePoint and Visual Studio to Create Accessible Websites

Informing stakeholders on current topics. From events to breakthroughs in assistive

technology and product news, Microsoft endeavors to keep key stakeholders informed and
prepared. The Microsoft Accessibility blog is updated weekly, and five hot topic flyers were
published for download in FY13:

Windows XP End of Support

Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 8

Creating Accessible Documents with Microsoft Office

Accessibility in K-12 Education

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Using Microsoft SharePoint and Visual Studio to Create Accessible

Websites

INNOVATION

Microsoft promotes innovation of accessibility in the development community and works with
industry organizations to encourage innovation by:
Reducing complexity of accessible development. Visual Studio includes features and tools to
make developing accessible apps easier. The Microsoft Accessibility Developer Center provides
guidance, tools, and technologies for developing accessible applications and web content.
Microsoft UI Automation is the accessibility framework for Windows. Web developers will find
the Microsoft Web Accessibility Handbook helpful in creating accessible websites. SharePoint
products and technologies include features that make the software easier for more people to use,
including people who have low vision, limited dexterity, or other disabilities. Developers are
encouraged to develop accessible apps and declare an app as accessible in the Windows Store.
Engaging in research and development. Microsoft engages in accessibility-related research
and development projects including large-scale nationwide studies, targeted usability studies, and
one-on-one interviews. Many current Microsoft research and development projects are related to
making PCs easier to use. Microsoft also participated in the CODE Accessibility Task Force to
promote accessible design, and sponsors the Imagine Cup, the worlds premier student
technology competition in which all eligible students are invited to use their imagination and
passion to create innovative technology solutions to human problems.
People-centric product design. Microsoft envisions a world of accessible, connected devices
that can understand and interpret users needs, preferences, and immediate surroundings. These
innovations have the potential to benefit us allinnovations such as gesture control, speech
recognition, and touch are transforming the way we interact with technology.

COLLABORATION

Microsoft collaborates with a wide range of organizations to raise awareness of the importance
of accessibility in meeting the technology needs of people with disabilities. Collaborative
projects include:
Work with government policymakers. Accessibility is a concern for policymakers and
individuals the world over. Microsoft supports the work of governments to: create policies and
programs that advance broad digital inclusion; promote people-centric design by focusing on
outcomes rather than features; point to existing voluntary market-driven industry standards; are
technology neutral; and, let the marketplace decide how to best serve customers through a

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balance of built-in features, scalable services, and specialized third-party

technologies. Microsoft creates guides for policymakers on matters that affect
computer users.
Collaboration with organizations. Microsoft builds strong relationships with a wide range of
organizations such as G3ICT, the United Nations, Global Coalition on Aging, and Trust for the
Americas, and national disability groups in many countries around the world that advocate on
behalf of people with disabilities. Together we raise awareness about the importance of
accessibility and meeting the technology needs of people with disabilities and those who are
aging.
Supporting the industry. Microsoft works with the Assistive Technology Industry Association
(ATIA) to encourage innovation across platforms and devices. The result is a broad selection of
products for people with disabilities at all price points.
Public-private partnerships. Seniors are achieving and maintaining a more active lifestyle,
improving their general health, and more safely managing their health data thanks to several
public-private partnerships that include Microsoft, the City of Los Angeles, and the City of New
YORK
Supporting standards. Microsoft collaborates with standards organizations like the Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI), and the W3C Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA),
HTML5, and XAML working groups. The resulting guidance makes it easier for developers to
code accessibility into their applications and for accessibility scenarios to work on Windows 8.

FUTURE PLANNING
I believe this is a landmark moment for the company and for our industry as
a whole. Cloud and mobile technologies are redefining how people work and
play. Three billion people will soon be connected to Internet-enabled devices;
212 billion sensors will come online in a few short

years; trillions will be spent in consumer and business technologies. But its
not about technology for technology's sake! Its our mission to enable the
use of technology to realize the true potential of people, teams and
organizations
As I shared in my email to employees in July, we will be the productivity and platform company
for this mobile-first and cloud-first world. We will empower every person and every organization
on the planet to do more and achieve more. And we will accomplish this by building incredible

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Digital Work and Life Experiences, supported our by Cloud Operating System, the
Device Operating System and Hardware platforms.
In the same way that we aspired to and achieved our original vision of a PC on every desk and in
every home, we will reinvent productivity. This clarity of purpose and boldness of our aspiration
inspires me and all of us at Microsoft.
We began to take steps toward this core focus last fiscal year.
To drive our mobile strategy, we acquired Nokias Devices and Services business, creating an
expanded Microsoft Devices Group that includes Nokia phones, Xbox hardware, Surface,
Perceptive Pixel products and accessories. We also announced Office on iPad, which led to 35
million downloads of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote becoming many of the most
popular applications in the Apple App Store.
In addition, we introduced Cortana, a personal assistant built into Windows Phone 8.1 that learns
and provides information proactively to users, while protecting their privacy. And we launched
the Surface Pro 3, a groundbreaking new tablet built to replace your laptop. Finally, we provided
Windows licenses at zero dollars for any original equipment manufacturer building a device less
than nine inches in size, which we expect to drive an amazing mix of innovative, low-cost
devices for consumers this year.
We continued to build upon our success in the cloud. Commercial cloud revenue hit a $4.4
billion annual run-rate, making us an undisputed leader; we grew Hyper-V to 30.6 percent of the
market, taking share from competitors; and we expanded our datacenter footprint into Australia,
Brazil, Japan and China. We brought industry-leading in-memory technology to the new version
of SQL Server 2014, and we launched two cloud-based services the Enterprise Mobility Suite
for handling identity and security on devices, and the Azure Intelligent Systems Service for
managing the Internet of Things.
Despite this busy year of new products and significant change for the company, we delivered
strong results, including revenue of more than $86 billion, gross margin of nearly $60 billion and
operating income of $27.8 billion. We also returned more than $15.7 billion in cash to our
shareholders, a 27 percent increase from 2013.
Looking forward, we have a rich product road map that positions us to thrive in a mobile-first

and cloud-first world. For example, we recently launched Delve, an Office 365 cloud-based
service that automatically brings relevant documents, data and other artifacts to workers. And we
announced our intention to acquire Mojang the, Stockholm-based game developer of the popular
Minecraft franchise, a game that spans PCs, consoles, tablets and mobile. We also plan to
launch Skype Translator this fiscal year, which has the potential to dramatically break down
language barriers in our communications. And, perhaps most important, we recently previewed
new features and innovations in the next version of Windows, Windows 10.
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All of these new services and experiences will be underpinned by significant

investments in our cloud strategy including building more datacenters and
increasing capacity in existing regions; expanding our hybrid cloud offerings with new releases
of StorSimple, In Mage and other products; and launching new cloud capabilities, such as Azure
Machine Learning, an offering that has the potential to be game-changing in helping people mine
data for predictions.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(In millions, except per share data)
Year ended june30
2013

2014

Revenue
$ 77,849

$ 86,833

Operating income
$ 26,764

$ 27,759

Net income
$ 21,863

$ 22,074

Diluted earnings per share

$ 2.58

$2.63

Cash dividends declared per share

$ 0.92
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments
77,022
Total assets
$ 142,431

$ 1.12
$ 85,709
$ 172,384

Long-term obligations
$ 26,070

$36,975

Stockholders' equity
$ 78,944

$ 89,784

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Bibliography
www.Microsoft.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.google.com
www.bing.com

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