Microsoft Teardown
CLOUD, AI, & SUBSCRIPTIONS AND THE
NEXT TRILLION-DOLLAR COMPANY
2018
2
Microsoft Teardown
INTRO
We dive into the strategies Microsoft is pursuing across cloud,
enterprise IT, AI, gaming, and more to see how the company is
positioning itself for the future.
As the world’s most valuable company, and with a current market
cap hovering around $780B, Microsoft may be the next company to
reach the $1T threshold.
While it may not grab as many headlines as its buzzier tech giant
counterparts, the company is quietly adapting across its core
business areas, led by a future-focused Satya Nadella.
Since assuming the CEO role in 2014, Nadella has deprioritized
the Windows offering that initially helped Microsoft become
a household name, refocusing the company’s efforts on
implementing AI across all its products and services.
That’s not the only change: in addition to an increased focus on
AI, cloud and subscription services have become unifying themes
across products. And to maintain its dominance in enterprise
technology, Microsoft is expanding in new areas — like gaming
and personal computing — that leverage the company’s own
cloud infrastructure.
Below, we outline Microsoft’s key priorities, initiatives, investments,
and acquisitions across its various business segments.
Microsoft Teardown
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Microsoft Teardown
Table of Contents
MICROSOFT’S STRUCTURE
& HISTORY
5
MICROSOFT’S PRIORITIES
Cloud
10
Enterprise software & services
27
Artificial intelligence
42
Gaming
55
Devices & hardware
67
Open-source
77
CONCLUSION
85
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Microsoft Teardown
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Microsoft Teardown
KEY SEGMENTS
Microsoft, which has had several structural changes in recent
years, currently buckets its products and services in