The Microsoft 365 Copilot app brings together your favorite apps in one intuitive platform that keeps your data secure with enterprise data protection. Create equitable learning environments that help students develop knowledge with familiar apps essential to both academic and future career success. Spark creativity and collaboration in any learning environment with a variety of Microsoft 365 apps and free templates to choose from. Find your favorite apps, your files, and your inspiration with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on the web. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app brings together your favorite apps and Copilot in one intuitive platform. Anyone in your organization can quickly create documents, presentations, and worksheets within a single, unified app experience.
Business category
- The operating system was the first to require Microsoft Product Activation, an anti-piracy mechanism that requires users to activate the software with Microsoft within 30 days.
- The company also released the Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, which had built-in support for internet applications.
- Moon Invoice’s Invoice Maker & Estimate Creator automates business finance tasks with customizable templates, and instant printing and sharing via WhatsApp or email.
We thank all developers for their dedication and innovation and look forward to another year of groundbreaking apps. Native Windows integration (taskbar pinning, quick‑launch and offline access) helps users act faster without context switching. Other highlights include system-wide audio control, latency-free mixing and seamless integration with any Windows app, empowering creators, educators and enthusiasts to achieve studio-level results from their desktop. Moises Live is an exclusive app that sets a new standard for music apps by harnessing real-time AI audio separation technology. Developers can run ngrok as a background service, benefiting from integration with Windows security and app management tools.
In June 2016, Microsoft announced a project named Microsoft Azure Information Protection. The successor to Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile, was released November 20, 2015. On July 29, 2015, Microsoft released the next version of the Windows operating system, Windows 10. On January 21, 2015, Microsoft announced the release of their first Interactive whiteboard, Microsoft Surface Hub (part of the Surface family). On September 15, 2014, Microsoft acquired the video game development company Mojang, best known for its wildly popular flagship game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (~$3.25 billion in 2024).
Skeptics questioned the system software vendor’s decision to produce application software. The first operating system publicly released by the company was a variant of Unix announced on August 25, 1980. It was an immediate success; 5,000 cards, a large number given the microcomputer market at the time, were purchased in the initial three months at $349 (~$1,112 in 2024) each and it was Microsoft’s number one revenue source in 1980. It develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. When Microsoft launched several versions of Microsoft Windows in the 1990s, they had captured over 90% market share of the world’s personal computers.
On April 25, 2014, Microsoft acquired Nokia Devices and Services for $7.2 billion (~$9.37 billion in 2024). The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) was launched in October 2013 and Microsoft was part of the coalition of public and private organizations that also included Facebook, Intel and Google. On September 3, 2013, Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia’s mobile unit for $7 billion (~$9.27 billion in 2024). Microsoft filed a patent application in 2011 that suggests that the corporation may use the Kinect camera system to monitor the behavior of television viewers as part of a plan to make the viewing experience more interactive. To cope with the potential for an increase in demand for products and services, Microsoft opened a number of “holiday stores” across the U.S. to complement the increasing number of “bricks-and-mortar” Microsoft Stores that opened in 2012.
Microsoft investing $17.5 billion in India for AI and cloud infrastructure
Microsoft entered the multibillion-dollar game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo, with the release of the Xbox. It sported several new features such as enhanced multimedia abilities and consumer-oriented PC maintenance options, but is often regarded as one of the worst versions of Windows due to stability problems, restricted real mode DOS support and other issues. The next update to the consumer line, Windows ME (or Windows Millennium Edition), was released on September 14, 2000. On June 15, 2000, the company released a new version of its hand-held operating system, Windows CE 3.0. Part of this ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court, and eventually settled with the U.S. The documents also alluded to legal and other actions against Linux as well as other open source software.
present: Acquisitions, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows 11
On October 8, 2017, Joe Belfiore announced that work on Windows 10 Mobile was drawing to a close due to lack of market penetration and resultant lack of interest from app developers. Microsoft released Windows XP and Office XP in 2001, a version that aimed to encompass the features of both its business and home product lines. On February 17, Microsoft released an update to its business line of software in Windows 2000.
- On June 15, 2006, Bill Gates announced his plans for a two-year transition period out of a day-to-day role with Microsoft until July 31, 2008.
- With the release of the Microsoft Mouse on May 2, 1983, Microsoft continued to expand its product line in other markets.
- Windows CE 2.0, the handheld version of Windows, was released this year, including a host of bug fixes and new features designed to make it more appealing to corporate customers.
Learning reimagined
Following the release of Windows Phone, Microsoft underwent a gradual rebranding of its product range throughout 2011 and 2012—the westernfx corporation’s logos, products, services and websites adopted the principles and concepts of the Metro design language. On May 10, 2011, the company acquired Skype Technologies for US$8.5 billion (~$11.7 billion in 2024). On April 12, 2010, Microsoft launched their Kin phone line, a result of their acquisition of Danger Incorporated in 2008. On June 26, 2009, Microsoft started taking pre-orders at a discounted price for Windows 7 which was launched on October 22, 2009.
For Education
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced the acquisition of American video game developer and holding company Activision Blizzard in an all-cash deal worth $68.7 billion. In the same month, Microsoft acquired Australia-based video editing software company Clipchamp. The announcement came with confusion after Microsoft announced Windows 10 would be the last version of the operating system; set to be released in the third quarter of 2021. On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire video game company ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for about $7.5 billion, with the deal expected to occur in the second half of 2021 fiscal year. Apple has imposed a strict limit on “remote desktop clients” which means applications are only allowed to connect to a user-owned host device or gaming console owned by the user.
We are proud to announce this year’s winners, each exemplifying technical excellence, user satisfaction and transformative potential. The announcement underscores the growing global competition among major technology companies to expand in India, which has become one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets. NEW DELHI (AP) — Microsoft on Tuesday announced its biggest-ever Asia investment, amounting to $17.5 billion, in India over the next four years to advance the country’s cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Within hours, CrowdStrike released a patch for the faulty update that prevented future crashes, but affected computers had to be fixed manually, so problems persisted for some time. In January 2023, CEO Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would lay off some 10,000 employees.
Empower your students and teachers to achieve more
Finally, a great deal of controversy took place when a set of internal memos from the company were leaked on the Internet. Microsoft launched its Indian headquarters as well, which would eventually become the company’s second largest after its U.S. headquarters. Windows 98 came with Internet Explorer 4.0 SP1 (which had Windows Desktop Update bundled), and included new features from Windows 95 OSR 2.x including the FAT32 file system, and new features designed for Windows 98, such as support for multiple displays.
1994: Windows and Office
In guise of competing with other Internet Companies such as the search service Google, in 2005 Microsoft announced a new version of its MSN search service. However, Microsoft encountered more turmoil in March 2004 when antitrust legal action would be brought against it by the European Union for allegedly abusing its market dominance (see Microsoft Corp. v. Commission). In 2004, the company released Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, a version of Windows XP designed for multimedia abilities, and Windows XP Starter Edition, a version of Windows XP with a smaller feature set designed for entry-level consumers. The console was also outsold by the Wii, which introduced gesture control and opened up a new market for video games. Microsoft launched their second console, the Xbox 360, in 2005 – which was more successful than the original.
In May 2016, the company announced it will lay off 1,850 workers, taking an impairment and restructuring charge of $950 million (~$1.21 billion in 2024). It employs higher-end processing power and new software, can distinguish between fine movements (such as a thumb movements), and can determine a user’s heart rate by looking at his/her face. Later, in 2006, the company launched Microsoft adCenter, a service that offers pay per click advertisements, in an effort to further develop their search marketing revenue. Windows Server 2003 was launched, featuring enhanced administration abilities, such as new user interfaces to server tools.
The year 1998 was significant in Microsoft’s history, with Bill Gates appointing Steve Ballmer as president of Microsoft but remaining as chair and CEO himself. In November 1996, Microsoft Office 97 was released, which is the first version to include Office Assistant. While Microsoft largely failed to participate in the rise of the Internet in the early 1990s, some of the key technologies in which the company had invested to enter the Internet market started to pay off by the mid-90s.
More apps in one place
On March 26, 2020, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Affirmed Networks for about $1.35 billion (~$1.61 billion in 2024). In January 2019, Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 Mobile would end on December 10, 2019, and that Windows 10 Mobile users should migrate to iOS or Android phones. In December 2018, Microsoft announced Project Mu, an open source release of the UEFI core used in Microsoft Surface and Hyper-V products. On March 1, 2016, Microsoft announced the merge of its PC and Xbox divisions, with Phil Spencer announcing that Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps would be the focus for Microsoft’s gaming in the future. During the previous summer of 2015 the company wrote down $7.6 billion (~$9.8 billion in 2024) related to its mobile-phone business and fired 7,800 employees from those operations.
By then Forrester Research considered Microsoft, Ashton-Tate, Lotus Development, and Borland the “Big Four” of personal computer software. OS/2 was marketed in connection with a new hardware design proprietary to IBM, the PS/2. Ireland became home to one of Microsoft’s international production facilities in 1985, and on November 20 Microsoft released its first retail version of Microsoft Windows (Windows 1.0), originally a graphical extension for its MS-DOS operating system. With the release of the Microsoft Mouse on May 2, 1983, Microsoft continued to expand its product line in other markets. Later, the market saw a flood of IBM PC clones after Columbia Data Products successfully cloned the IBM BIOS, quickly followed by Eagle Computer and Compaq. Claiming more than a million installed MS-DOS machines, founder and chairman Bill Gates has decided to certify Microsoft’s jump on the rest of the industry by dominating applications, operating systems, peripherals and, most recently, book publishing.