The role of Microsoft in the growth of IT is unparalleled. Perhaps the biggest change it caused was making computer technology accessible to people across the world.
The history of Microsoft began when Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the MITS Altair 8800, the first microcomputer. This happened in 1975.
Bill Gates was still a student at Harvard. He then discontinued his studies, and started working on ‘Micro-Soft’.
The company was established on April 4th, 1975. The hyphen was later removed, and the trade name ‘Microsoft’ was registered officially in 1976. In the same year, Microsoft became independent from MITS, and focused on developing programming languages.
Microsoft then worked with technology giant IBM for a brief period and in 1981 they introduced the operating system called MS DOS. This made Microsoft a major player in the industry.
The years that followed witnessed other significant projects from the company. Some of them are – the Windows, a graphical operating systems collective, Office XP, a popular business software suite, Xbox 360, which provided it complete entertainment experience, Surface 3 tablets etc.
In September 2016, Microsoft announced the formation of the Artificial Intelligence (Al) and Research Group.