Microsoft Corporation Strategic Plan Case Study PDF

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Developing a new strategic plan for the upcoming new CEO of Microsoft Microsoft corporation case study.

Headquartered in redmond, Washington, Microsoft is the world’s largest software company that develops a variety of software and hardware products and services for customers around the...

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Management in Information Technology

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Microsoft Corporation Strategic Plan Sasi Kiran Patibandla Southern New Hampshire University September 13, 2014

Strategic Plan 2 Microsoft Corporation Strategic Plan Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is an American Multination company. It develops, licenses, manufactures, sells and supports computer software, personal computers and services and consumer electronics. Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office suite, and Internet Explorer web browser are the best know software products of Microsoft [ CITATION Abo1 \l 1033 ]. The company was established on 4th April, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. By Mid 1980s, the company had developed to a dominant position in PC operating systems market with MS-DOS and rose as a leader with Microsoft Windows. By June 2015 the number of Microsoft employees increased to 117,354 [ CITATION Fac \l 1033 ].Microsoft uses Lync server architecture for external communication. It grants remote access to the employees working outside the company network. It allows other companies who uses Lync servers to communicate with Microsoft. This helps Microsoft employees to communicate with skype users. It also supports Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol [ CITATION Ric \l 1033 ]. The company uses SharePoint for its secured internal communications. It supports the ability to publish versions of sites in multiple languages. It also helps to integrate document translation and other automatic-translation scenarios [ CITATION Mic \l 1033 ].

Strategic Plan 3 Organization Decision Making Structure:

IT Values Microsoft believes in dreaming big and following through on those dreams while still maintaining a critical eye on the company's actions. Intellectual Property Licensing Policy Microsoft license out its patents under fair and reasonable terms to other companies that bounds to Microsoft intellectual property rights. Company considers all the requests for licenses, but reserves the rights of some technologies or patents. If Company determines to license

Strategic Plan 4 patents, it licenses their own patents on "commercially reasonable" terms [ CITATION Int \l 1033 ]. Microsoft Intellectual Property Licensing group is responsible for this. Privacy Policy Microsoft with privacy statement, “We care about your privacy” is committed to value customer’s privacy with applicable data protection and privacy laws. This policy explains how they collect data through Microsoft Mobile (data collector) and use it. If the customers is not ready to agree for this policy, they can opt for not buying Microsoft’s products or provide personal data [ CITATION Pri15 \l 1033 ]. Technology Usage Policy All the technology used by employees for performing their job roles such as PCs, mobile phones, online services etc. is covered under this policy. Depending upon the roles, required equipment is allocated and credentials are assigned to employees. Password should not be shared with others and credentials should not be reused on external web sites. The equipment is configured with safeguards such as antivirus, screen locks, fire walls etc. Any technical issues should be communicated to IT Service Desk [ CITATION Acc11 \l 1033 ]. Data security and compliance Microsoft uses SQL Server for data storage, which includes data encryption technologies built on our Trustworthy Computing initiatives. Customer profile Primary customers of Microsoft are PC and mobile manufacturers such as IBM, Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, Samsung etc. One and half billion use Windows every day, more than 1.7 million registered Windows Insider. One in seven people on the earth i.e. more than 1 billion uses MS Office. 9.2 Million Subscribed Office 365. There are more than 6 Million .Net users and 2

Strategic Plan 5 Million Visual Studio users. Outlook had more than 400 Million active users [ CITATION Mic1 \l 1033 ]. The majority of traffic to the Microsoft Website is from people over 35. In fact, more than 22 percent of visitors to the Microsoft site are over age 55 where as its primary competitor, Apple’s majority of traffic is from people under age 45. Most of the Microsoft customers are from average household income who cannot afford Apple. Internal Standards Company operates under its own business conduct which formulates from its business values. Regulatory Compliance This policy maintains perfect and up-to-date knowledge of the laws and regulations which governs the corporation worldwide. Lobbying Under this policy, company protects its shareholder interests by actively lobbying for any issues in Congress which affects the future of the company. Export Policy Under this policy, Microsoft protect national security and conserve limited resources. Fair Information Practices Under this policy, Company maintain an online environment which is safe for Internet users. It also includes educational initiative to better help consumers use the Internet wisely. Diversity Diversity at workplace boosts up innovation, Microsoft maintains diversity while complying with Equal Opportunity regulations. [ CITATION Con \l 1033 ]

Strategic Plan 6 IT Vision and Mission Vision Diversity and inclusion are the integral parts of Microsoft’s Vision and business success. Microsoft believes that the association of different cultures, ideas and perspectives is an asset for organizational that results in greater creativity and innovation. In order to achieve this, Microsoft mainly focus on People, Culture and Customers [ CITATION AVi \l 1033 ]. Mission “Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more” [ CITATION Abo1 \l 1033 ]. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis takes a look of internal and external positives of the company and lays them out in an easy to analyze format. Despite of its simplicity SWOT analysis can bring a company's positioning into focus so that its management can start to improve problem areas and make the most of what it is best at. Strengths Following are the some of the strengths of Microsoft Corporation 

Brand loyalty- From many years, Microsoft has been the main OS and software supplier, which brought about more than 90% market share for PC OS. Almost all of us grew up utilizing its simple to use OS and are accustomed with it and will continue utilizing it. Couple of different brands are skilled to contend with Microsoft consequently. Indeed, even open source OS, which are totally free and appropriate to use for basic client, think that it’s difficult to pull in clients.

Strategic Plan 7 

Brand reputation- As per Interbrand, Microsoft is the 5th greatest brand in the world, which is valued at $ 57.8 billion. It is listed as 7th most reputable business in the world by Forbes. Brand reputation helps in gaining sales and the market share.

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Easy to use software. Many of the Microsoft products such as Windows OS, Office software etc. are easy to use and have great quality. Because of which Microsoft’s products are very popular.

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Strong distribution channels- Microsoft is collaborated with many major PC hardware companies such as Dell, Lenovo, Samsung, and Toshiba and top PC retailers to make sure computers would be sold with already pre-installed Windows software. To tighten the relationships with the companies, Microsoft also invested major share in companies such as Dell and Nokia.

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Robust financial performance- From 2008 to 2012 the revenue of Microsoft increased by 20%. It holds more than $63 billion of cash and cash equivalents which can be used in mergers, acquisitions and investments into R&D.

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Acquisition of Skype. With almost 300 million users, Skype is a noteworthy of Microsoft's online vicinity and have a considerable measure of potential in creating income from online advertising. [ CITATION Jon \l 1033 ]

Weaknesses Following are some of the drawbacks of Microsoft Corporation 

Poor acquisitions and investments- Only some of the acquisitions of Microsoft were succeeded and helped the company in gaining profits, new skills and competencies. The multimillion acquisitions of Microsoft such as Massive, LinkExchange, WebTV, and Danger were some of the examples which failed and very soon shut down or divested.

Strategic Plan 8 

Dependence on hardware manufacturers- One of the biggest drawback of Microsoft is, being a giant software corporation, it never produced its own hardware and always depends on PC hardware manufacturers to design the products that run Windows Operating System. If these companies find a cheap and popular alternative OS, they may simple choose the alternative dropping the Microsoft aside.

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Criticism over security flaws- There are many critiques against Windows OS saying that Microsoft OS is weak and cannot resist virus. Compared to its core competitor Mac OS, Windows OS is the least protected.

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Mature PC markets- very recently Microsoft has entered the mobile technology sector and many PC manufacturing companies had already proved themselves in the mobile markets. Microsoft with its OS and software is finding difficulty to gain its market share in this industry.

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Slow to innovate- Microsoft has immense R&D resources and incredible position to enter new markets with innovative product however continually neglected to do as such. It had a chance to be the first player in online advertising however missed the open door. Its passage to versatile OS was additionally past the point of no return, while Google and Apple caught the market share. [ CITATION Jon11 \l 1033 ]

Opportunity Following are some of the opportunities of Microsoft Corporation to gain competitive advantage 

Cloud based services- Microsoft has the opportunity to expand in cloud services and software since the demand for cloud-based services is increasing.

Strategic Plan 9 

Mobile advertising- Microsoft has the opportunity to gain its position in mobile markets with its mobile OS since Mobile advertising markets are expected to raise over the next few years.

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Mobile device industry- Smartphones and tablets markets are expected to grow progressively over the next few years and Microsoft can utilize this opportunity by releasing many of its own tablets and a new smart phones.

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Growth through acquisitions- Microsoft has piles of cash and cash equivalents left over. It can use this reserve of cash for acquiring new startups which brings the company new technology, competences, and skills to the business. [ CITATION Mic14 \l 1033 ]

Threats Following are some of the threats to Microsoft Corporation which can alter its development. 

Intense competition in software products- Microsoft is in high pressure to release successful OS in PC and mobile markets since its competitors such as Google and Apple have already proved their positions in those markets.

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Changing consumer needs and habits- With new emerging technologies, the needs of customers had shifted from buying laptops and standalone PCs to buying smartphones and tablets where the Microsoft has only a little market share and it’s hard for Microsoft to establish itself in those markets.

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Open source projects- Many new open source projects had entered the market and few of them were successful, such as new Linux OS and Open Source Office. These sources are free and can become an alternative to expensive Microsoft’s products.

Strategic Plan 10 

Potential lawsuits- Microsoft has as of now been sued many times and lost truly a couple of substantial scale lawsuits. Lawsuits are costly as they involve time and cash. What's more, as Microsoft keeps on working pretty much the same path, there is high likelihood for more expensive lawsuits to come. [ CITATION Jon14 \l 1033 ]

Summary of SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. Brand loyalty 2. Brand reputation 3. Easy to use software 4. Strong distribution channels 5. Robust financial performance 6. Acquisition of Skype Opportunities 1. Cloud based services 2. Mobile advertising 3. Mobile device industry 4. Growth through acquisitions

Weaknesses 1. Poor acquisitions and investments 2. Dependence on hardware manufacturers 3. Criticism over security flaws 4. Mature PC markets 5. Slow to innovate Threats 1. Intense competition in software products 2. Changing consumer needs and habits 3. Open source projects 4. Potential lawsuits

Strategic Outcomes Using these strengths and opportunities Microsoft tried to overcome its weakness such as poor acquisitions and investments, dependence on hardware manufacturers, criticism over

Strategic Plan 11 security flaws, mature PC markets, slow to innovate and threats such as intense competition in software products, changing consumer needs and habits, open source projects, potential lawsuit. SWOT In order to strengthen market standing and competitiveness by acquiring or merging with companies, Microsoft’s strategy is continuing their long standing commitment and leadership in accessibility research, awareness and innovation. Following are the actions made by Microsoft to accomplish this strategy 

While jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS-DOS, on November 20.

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Microsoft announced the release of its version of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987.

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Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office, in 1990. The software bundled separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel

To gain sales and market share via lower prices, more performance features, more appealing design, better quality or customer service, and wider production, Microsoft strategy is making the computer easier to see, hear and use by building accessibility into Microsoft product. On May 22 1990, Microsoft launched Windows 3.0 with a streamlined user interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel 386 processor. On October 25, 2001 Microsoft released Windows XP. And after that version Microsoft change their Windows versions several times to ensure more performance, more appealing design and better quality full Operating System. And the latest version of Microsoft Windows is Windows 7 and the latest trial version is Windows 8.

Strategic Plan 12 Microsoft Office is a proprietary commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft on August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of Office contained Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft also positions Office as a development platform for line-ofbusiness software under the Office Business Applications brand. The current versions are Office 2010 for Windows, released on June 15, 2010; and Office 2011 for Mac OS X, released October 26, 2010. To respond to changing market conditions and other external factors, Microsoft Strategy is facilitating the next generation of accessible technology and moving the industry forward with ground breaking technologies. Microsoft achieved this by introducing us to Microsoft Office to do every type of official work like making CV, Resume, Report by Microsoft Word, Notes by Microsoft Note, Presentations by Microsoft PowerPoint, Accounting programs by Microsoft Excel and these applications are always upgraded by Microsoft Corporation and that is how the next generation are able to access their industry work by technology. To strengthen competitiveness via strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships, Microsoft strategy is building strong, collaborative relationships with a wide range of technology partners and organizations to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility in meeting the technology needs of people with dishabille. Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of UNIX, called Xenix. However, it was MS-DOS that solidified the company’s dominance. After negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS, which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC). In August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of

Strategic Plan 13 MS-DOS. Since IBM copyrighted the IBM PC BIOS and for the relationship with IBM Microsoft introduce the new versions of OS and people meet with the new technology for that partnership. [ CITATION Str \l 1033 ] Vision, Mission, Values Microsoft vision is to create innovative technology which will be accessible to everyone and adapts to everyone's needs. Microsoft considers accessibility as fundamental during product design, development, evaluation, and release. Microsoft has been the industry leader because of the constant research and innovation and the wide range of products and services it provides. Trend suggests that in house developed products have been Microsoft’s strength: Windows OS, Office Suite, Windows Server, etc. Microsoft had released many innovative products and made technology handy and user friendly to everyone. We cannot imagine personal computer without Microsoft operations systems. It achieved its vision strategy with innovative products like Windows OS, Microsoft Office, cloud systems, and windows mobile phones. [ CITATION Vis \l 1033 ] Microsoft Mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential [ CITATION Mis \l 1033 ]. Microsoft released Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) software which helps business people to connect and manage their entire business, from financial and supply chain management and from manufacturing to operations. This helps to make smart decisions. [ CITATION Ent \l 1033 ] Ethics and Law Legal Opportunity In three of the most recent patent disputes against major competitors Google, Microsoft has come out on top.

Strategic Plan 14 Legal Threat Microsoft is a multinational company that does business with groups and people all over the world. With their reach in so many markets and countries, it is no wonder that they are and have been involved in so many different major legal cases. For making ethical decisions, Microsoft follows following procedure [ CITATION Mak \l 1033 ]

Action Plan Organization's action plan describes in great detail exactly how strategies will be implemented to accomplish the objectives developed earlier in this process. The three main objectives of Microsoft are 

Reinvent productivity and business processes

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Build the intelligent cloud platform

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Create more personal computing [ CITATION TOD15 \l 1033 ]

Following is the action plan for Microsoft Corporation to achieve its latest Vision.[ CITATION Gla15 \l 1033 ] Goal

Actions

Outcome

Baseline Year

Strategic Plan 15 Reinvent productivity services for digital work

Expand experience footprint by building more business process experiences, integrated into content authoring and consumption, communication and collaboration tools.

Windows 10 Office for Windows 10

2015

Build a cloud that provides our customers faster time to value, improved agility and cost reduction, and solutions that differentiate their business

Provide a powerful extensibility model that is attractive to third-party developers and enterprises which in turn enables applications to cloud platform and attach differentiated capabilities such as identity management, rich data management, machine learning and advanced analytics B...