Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: Build an AI App with Azure Using RAG

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. 

Microsoft ranked No. 21 in the 2020 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. It was the world's largest software maker by revenue as of 2016. It is considered one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. Microsoft clocked in a total revenue of $ 143,015 million and employed more than 1,63,000 people in FY 20.

Microsoft has made several acquisitions through its business journey, the most notable ones being Skype, LinkedIn, Yammer, Hotmail etc.

Product/Business Portfolio:

1. Operating System
Microsoft gained its name and fame through its Windows operating system. It still is the most widely used operating system for personal computers. Microsoft started with MS-DOS and launched the first version of Windows in 1994. Microsoft is all set to launch the latest version, Windows 11 in June 2021

2. Office
Another very popular Microsoft product, which is still the market leader in its domain. Office comprises of applications like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneDrive, Sharepoint, OneNote, Outlook, Microsoft Teams

Microsoft also has Office 365, which is the cloud based subscription service of Microsoft Office

3. Azure
Azure is Microsoft’s Cloud Solution which has more than 100 services with great end-to-end tools and is trusted by startups, government organizations and 95% of the Fortune 500 businesses. Azure has more than 100 sub-products and services such as:

• Virtual Machines
• Windows Virtual Desktop
• Azure SQL Database
• App Service
• Azure Cosmos DB
• PlayFab
• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Azure Functions
• Cognitive Services
• Azure Blockchain Service 

4. Surface
Surface is the range of high end laptop computers and tablets by Microsoft

5. Xbox
The range of gaming consoles produced by Microsoft. One of the most sought after gaming hardware which directly competes with Sony Playstation

Microsoft also produces its own video games for Xbox and personal computers

6. Launcher
Microsoft Launcher an application launcher for android mobile platform, developed by Microsoft

7. Virtual Reality
Microsoft HoloLens2

Subsidiaries

• Yammer
• Mojang
• Skype Communication
• Xamarin
• LinkedIn Corporation
• FSLogix, Inc.
• GitHub, Inc.
• Microsoft Research
• Rare
• Avanade
• Ninja Theory
• MileIQ
• Citus Data, Inc.
• Razorfish
• PlayFab, Inc.
• Maluuba
• ProClarity
• Adallom
• Secure Islands

Recent Mergers and Acquisitions:

• To strengthen its firmware analysis and IOT capabilities, Microsoft acquired Refirm Labs for an undisclosed amount in June 2021
• In April 2021, Microsoft acquired the voice to text pioneer Nuance Communications for $19.7 Bn
• Microsoft also took over Marsden Group, a leader in industrial innovation and rapid prototyping in March this year
• The esports tournament platform Smash.gg was acquired by Microsoft in December 2020 for an undisclosed amount

Top 5 Competitors:

• Google
• Amazon
• Apple
• SAP
• IBM