How Microsoft Evolved

The evolution of Microsoft under Satya Nadella provides a blueprint for how to transition companies from one focus to another.  

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SHOW NOTES:

• Bill Gates write about “Internet Tidal Wave” (1995)
• Microsoft Revenues (since 2000)
• How Microsoft Shifted from Software to the Cloud (2014)
• Microsoft Revenue Breakdown by Products (2022)
• CAPEX spending by the leading cloud vendors (2001-2021)
• Microsoft acquisitions 
• History of Microsoft Azure 
• How the Windows team transitioned to cross-platform 

HOW MICROSOFT EVOLVED FROM A CLOSED SW COMPANY TO CLOUD COMPANY

• 2001: $31B, 2007: $62B, 2014: $88B, 2019: $153B, 2022: $198B
• 90+ acquisitions since 2014
• Office 365, Gaming (XBox), GitHub, LinkedIn

HOW TO FOCUS ON CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND SUBTRACTIONS

• 2001: XBox, Office 365
• 2008: Azure
• 2017: Microsoft Teams
• 2018: GitHub
• Be patient: Many of Microsoft’s investments required 10+ years to grow
• Buy new capabilities: Acquisitions
• Break the limitations to expand markets: Move to cross-platform support (Office on MacOS, SQL on Linux, Linux in Aure, Bing with Google) - see Red Hat with RHEL, IBM with IBM Cloud or Mainframe, Cisco with SW+Hardware
• Embrace new business models: SaaS services, pay-as-you-go Cloud services
• Invest for the Future: Microsoft has caught up to Google in CAPEX spending

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