Microsoft: A Look Back at 50 Years of Highs and Lows
Founding and Early Years
Created in 1975 by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft today is one of the five Big Tech titans.
Office 365: A Game-Changer
Microsoft Office, the company’s suite of software products containing Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, was launched in 1989 and hit shelves a year later. Over time it became the go-to home computer software across the world. Two decades later, the company rebranded it to the cloud-based Office 365, with a new licensing structure and payment via an online subscription-based system. Released on the market in 2011, it also allowed consumers to pick and choose, allowing those not using Microsoft’s operating system (Windows) – Mac users for example have MacOS – to buy and run 365 products.
Internet Explorer: A Browser’s Rise and Fall
Microsoft’s web browser Internet Explorer, first launched in 1995, reached its peak dominance of the market share in the early 2000s when it was the browser for up to 95% of world users, according to the web analytics site, WebSideStory. But the browser was beleaguered with security issues, even prompting PC World magazine to dub version 6 as the "least secure software on the planet". Internet Explorer’s market share was progressively battered down as users turned increasingly to other browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox. In 2022, Microsoft finally retired Internet Explorer, replacing it with Microsoft Edge, which has a market share of 5.3%, far behind Chrome at 66.3% and Safari with 18%, according to Statcounter data for February 2025.
Kin: A Flop
While the first fifty years of Microsoft is by and large a phenomenal success story, there have been a fair share of flops along the way too. Chief among those was the Kin, Microsoft’s foray into social networking on mobile phones. In development for two years, it launched on the US market in 2010, sold by Verizon, but after only around three months the provider pulled it off the shelves due to dreadful sales. The planned European launch was then scrapped and Kin took its place in the annals of Microsoft’s worst flops in history.
Windows: Still Dominant
Microsoft’s flagship operating system, Windows, ran on 70.5% of the world’s desktop computers in February 2025, far ahead of Apple Mac’s OS X (15.8%), according to StatCounter. This dominance over global PCs has contributed to Microsoft – like the other four Big Tech companies Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – drawing scrutiny from US and European antitrust investigators, sometimes resulting in hefty fines.
Market Capitalization and AI Investments
With Apple and Nvidia, Microsoft has one of the world’s largest market capitalisations at around US$2.9 trillion, as of the end of March. One thing sure to feature in Microsoft’s story to come is artificial intelligence. It has made massive investments in the sector, one of the first tech giants to do so, and has earmarked US$80 billion for AI between July 2024 and July 2025. One of its key partnerships has been with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. However, the emergence in 2025 of China’s AI start-up model DeepSeek, trained at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s systems, has stunned Silicon Valley.
Conclusion
Microsoft’s 50-year journey has been marked by both triumphs and setbacks. From the success of Office 365 to the flop of Kin, the company has faced its fair share of challenges. However, its continued investment in AI and cloud computing, as well as its dominance in the PC market, suggest a bright future ahead.
FAQs
Q: What is Microsoft’s flagship operating system?
A: Microsoft’s flagship operating system is Windows.
Q: What is Office 365?
A: Office 365 is a cloud-based suite of software products containing Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Q: What happened to Internet Explorer?
A: Microsoft retired Internet Explorer in 2022, replacing it with Microsoft Edge.
Q: What is AI, and how is Microsoft investing in it?
A: Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making. Microsoft has made massive investments in AI, earmarking US$80 billion for AI between July 2024 and July 2025.