Microsoft engineering groups

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Microsoft engineering groups are the operating divisions of Microsoft. Starting in April 2002, Microsoft organised itself into seven groups, each an independent financial entity. [1] In September 2005, Microsoft announced a reorganization of its then seven groups into three. [2] In July 2013, Microsoft announced another reorganization into five engineering groups and six corporate affairs groups. [3] A year later, in June 2015, Microsoft reformed into three engineering groups. [4] In September 2016, a new group was created to focus on artificial intelligence and research. [5] On March 29, 2018, a new structure merged all of these into three. [6] [7]

Contents

As of 2023, there are four groups:

Experiences + Devices

This group produces consumer and enterprise experiences, spanning from Windows products and devices to Microsoft 365 productivity subscription solution. Experiences and Devices is led by Rajesh Jha; Windows and Devices is led by Panos Panay; Office Product Group is led by Joe Belfiore; Web Experiences and Advertising is led by Mikhail Parakhin.

Windows + Devices

Windows is an operating system by Microsoft. Windows is available in different families, catering to different kinds of devices. [8]

The Microsoft hardware division is responsible for producing self-branded hardware and various lines of consumer electronics products. They consist of:

Microsoft 365 and Office

Microsoft Office is a line of office software, provided by Microsoft. Office [23] [24] includes Word (a word processor), Excel (a spreadsheet program), PowerPoint (a presentation software), OneNote (a notetaking program), Outlook (an email program, frequently used with Exchange Server), OneDrive (a cloud storage and file hosting service) and Teams (a unified communication and collaboration platform). It also encompasses other products (not bundled in Office suite) like Microsoft Access, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Visio and Microsoft SharePoint. Web services connected via Microsoft accounts such as Outlook.com (a free web-based service previously branded as Hotmail), Outlook on the web, Sway and To Do are also part of Office.

Skype

Skype [25] is an application that specializes in providing video chat and voice call services. Users can exchange text and video messages, files and images, and create conference calls. Other applications developed alongside Skype are Skype Translator, Skype Qik and GroupMe. Originally launched in 2003, it was bought by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion. [26]

Web Experiences and Advertising

Bing (known previously as Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search) is a web search engine (advertised as a "decision engine" [27] ) from Microsoft. As of October 2018, Bing is the third largest search engine globally, with a query volume of 4.58%, behind Google (77%) and Baidu (14.45%). [28] A complete list of search offerings from Bing can be found here. Under Bing, below non-search offerings are also listed:

MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft. It was launched in August 1995. The current website and suite of apps offered by MSN was first introduced by Microsoft in 2014 as part of a complete redesign and relaunch. [34] The redesign of MSN proved positive and helped increase traffic with an additional ten million daily visitors after two months. [35] MSN is based in the United States and offers international versions of its portal for dozens of countries around the world. [36]

Cloud + AI

This group focuses on building the core foundations. It was originally the Cloud and Enterprise group until March 2018, when it was expanded with the Windows core platform team merged into it. Led by Scott Guthrie.

Azure

Microsoft Azure [37] is the company's cloud computing platform that hosts virtual machines, websites and more. It provides both platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services and supports many different programming languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems. It was launched in 2010. Within the Azure team

Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio [38] the set of programming tools and compilers. The software product is GUI-oriented and links easily with the Windows APIs but must be specially configured if used with non-Microsoft libraries. Visual Studio supports development for both native Windows platform and .NET Framework. It was launched in 1995.

Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software applications. Microsoft Dynamics was previously a separate engineering unit until it got reorganised into the Cloud & Enterprise Group in June 2015. [39]

Servers

Microsoft Servers [40] (previously called Windows Server System) is a brand that encompasses Microsoft's server products. This includes the Windows Server editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system itself, as well as products targeted at the wider business market. [41] Microsoft's server products are further categorized into four groups namely, Operating systems, Productivity, Security and Microsoft System Center. A complete listing of product offerings can be found here.

In July 2016, Microsoft moved the Windows Server team and its related products to the Windows and Devices Group, further justifying one Windows core across all platforms. [42]

Microsoft underwater data center

In 2016, Microsoft made plans to operate an experimental underwater server farm off the coast of Orkney. [41] The nitrogen-atmosphere enclosed server farm was actually moved into position under the sea in May 2018, and included 855 servers. Powered exclusively by electricity from the Sun and wind, the server farm operated for two years, until May 2020, when the experiment ended, the enclosed tube was recovered, and brought to the surface for analysis. Preliminary results showed only 8 of the 855 servers failed during the two-year test, a failure rate of just 1/8 that of Microsoft's above ground server farms. [43] [ needs update ]

Technologies + Research

This group was created in September 2016 to emphasize the company's presence on artificial intelligence. It was formed when parts of the former Apps and Services group came together with the research team to form a fourth engineering group. [5] [44] Led by Harry Shum.

Research

Microsoft Research was created with the intent to advance state of the art computing and solve difficult world problems through technological innovation in collaboration with academic, government, and industry researchers.

See also

Related Research Articles

Microsoft Windows is a product line of proprietary graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and sub-families that cater to particular sectors of the computing industry -- Windows (unqualified) for a consumer or corporate workstation, Windows Server for a server and Windows IoT for an embedded system. Defunct families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft</span> American multinational technology corporation

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft's best-known software products are the Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity applications, and the Edge web browser. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. Microsoft ranked No. 14 in the 2022 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue; and it was the world's largest software maker by revenue in 2022 according to Forbes Global 2000. It is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MSN</span> Collection of Internet sites

MSN is an American web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Microsoft</span> Overview of and topical guide to Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation based in Redmond, Washington, USA and founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing. Due to the scope and size of the company, it encompasses a broad range of topics mostly revolving around critical analysis and the company's products and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skype for Business</span> Enterprise instant messaging and video conferencing software by Microsoft

Skype for Business is an enterprise software application for instant messaging and videotelephony developed by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. It is designed for use with the on-premises Skype for Business Server software, and a software as a service version offered as part of 365. It supports text, audio, and video chat, and integrates with Microsoft 365 components such as Exchange and SharePoint.

Microsoft is a multinational computer technology corporation. Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its current best-selling products are the Microsoft Windows operating system; Microsoft Office, a suite of productivity software; Xbox, a line of entertainment of games, music, and video; Bing, a line of search engines; and Microsoft Azure, a cloud services platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Phone</span> Family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft

Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design language. Unlike Windows Mobile, it was primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MSN Messenger</span> Instant messaging client

MSN Messenger, later rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, was a cross-platform instant-messaging client developed by Microsoft. It connected to the now-discontinued Microsoft Messenger service and, in later versions, was compatible with Yahoo! Messenger and Facebook Messenger. The service was discontinued in 2013 and was replaced by Skype.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows RT</span> 2012 device-oriented operating system from Microsoft

Windows RT is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. It is a version of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 built for the 32-bit ARM architecture (ARMv7). First unveiled in January 2011 at Consumer Electronics Show, the Windows RT 8 operating system was officially launched alongside Windows 8 on October 26, 2012, with the release of three Windows RT-based devices, including Microsoft's original Surface tablet. Unlike Windows 8, Windows RT is only available as preloaded software on devices specifically designed for the operating system by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Microsoft mobile services are a set of proprietary mobile services created specifically for mobile devices; they are typically offered through mobile applications and mobile browser for Windows Phone platforms, BREW, and Java. Microsoft's mobile services are typically connected with a Microsoft account and often come preinstalled on Microsoft's own mobile operating systems while they are offered via various means for other platforms. Microsoft started to develop for mobile computing platforms with the launch of Windows CE in 1996 and later added Microsoft's Pocket Office suite to their Handheld PC line of PDAs in April 2000. From December 2014 to June 2015, Microsoft made a number of corporate acquisitions, buying several of the top applications listed in Google Play and the App Store including Acompli, Sunrise Calendar, Datazen, Wunderlist, Echo Notification Lockscreen, and MileIQ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Build</span> Annual conference event held by Microsoft

Microsoft Build is an annual conference event held by Microsoft, aimed at software engineers and web developers using Windows, Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft technologies. First held in 2011, it serves as a successor for Microsoft's previous developer events, the Professional Developers Conference and MIX. The attendee price was (US)$2,195 in 2016, up from $2,095 in 2015. It sold out quickly, within one minute of the registration site opening in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Gillett</span> British business executive and technologist

Mark Gillett is a British business executive and technologist. He is currently a partner, managing director and the senior operating partner at Silver Lake Partners, one of the largest global technology investment funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface Pro 2</span> Tablet-hybrid computer device

The Surface Pro 2 is a Surface-series 2-in-1 detachable produced by Microsoft. Unveiled at an event in New York City on September 23, 2013 and released on October 22, 2013, it succeeds the Surface Pro released in February 2013. While maintaining a design similar to the original design of its predecessor, the Surface Pro 2 has improved hardware specifications compared to it, such as a Haswell Intel Core processor and an increased number of storage options, improved versions of the kickstand and cover accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cortana (virtual assistant)</span> Discontinued personal assistant by Microsoft

Cortana was a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft that used the Bing search engine to perform tasks such as setting reminders and answering questions for users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 10</span> Tenth major release of Windows NT, released in 2015

Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 29, 2015. Windows 10 was made available for download via MSDN and TechNet, as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users via the Microsoft Store, and to Windows 7 users via Windows Update. Windows 10 receives new builds on an ongoing basis, which are available at no additional cost to users, in addition to additional test builds of Windows 10, which are available to Windows Insiders. Devices in enterprise environments can receive these updates at a slower pace, or use long-term support milestones that only receive critical updates, such as security patches, over their ten-year lifespan of extended support. In June 2021, Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 editions which are not in the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) will end on October 14, 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 10 Mobile</span> Mobile operating system developed by Microsoft

Windows 10 Mobile was a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.

Windows 10 has several editions, all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while editions such as Enterprise and Education are only available through volume licensing channels. Microsoft also makes editions of Windows 10 available to device manufacturers for use on specific classes of devices, including IoT devices, and previously marketed Windows 10 Mobile for smartphones.

Microsoft, a technology company historically known for its opposition to the open source software paradigm, turned to embrace the approach in the 2010s. From the 1970s through 2000s under CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Microsoft viewed the community creation and sharing of communal code, later to be known as free and open source software, as a threat to its business, and both executives spoke negatively against it. In the 2010s, as the industry turned towards cloud, embedded, and mobile computing—technologies powered by open source advances—CEO Satya Nadella led Microsoft towards open source adoption although Microsoft's traditional Windows business continued to grow throughout this period generating revenues of 26.8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while Microsoft's Azure cloud revenues nearly doubled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft 365</span> Subscription services offered by Microsoft

Microsoft 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerly marketed under the name Microsoft Office, enterprise products and services associated with these products such as Exchange Server, SharePoint, and Viva Engage. It also covers subscription plans encompassing these products, including those that include subscription-based licenses to desktop and mobile software, and hosted email and intranet services.

References

  1. ↑ "Microsoft Realigns Business Structure, Belluzzo to Transition". Stories. Microsoft. 3 April 2002. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Microsoft Realigns for Next Wave of Innovation and Growth". Stories. Microsoft. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Ballmer, Steve. "One Microsoft: Company realigns to enable innovation at greater speed, efficiency". Microsoft. Microsoft. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Microsoft aligns engineering teams to strategy". Microsoft News Center.
  5. 1 2 "Internal email: Microsoft forms new 5,000-person AI division; key exec Qi Lu leaving after bike injury". GeekWire. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  6. ↑ "Satya Nadella email to employees: Embracing our future: Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge | Stories". Stories. 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Microsoft is ready for a world beyond Windows". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  8. ↑ "Windows 10 has seven editions – here's how to tell which is for you". 29 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide".
  10. ↑ "Tablet operating systems market share worldwide from 1Q'16 to 4Q'20". Strategy-Analytics. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  11. ↑ "A Guided Tour of Windows 10 IoT Core -". 15 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Microsoft Phasing Out Windows Mobile 6.x". Redmondmag.com.
  13. ↑ Sherman, Joshua (30 September 2015). "Goodbye Windows Phone! Windows 10 will take it from here". Digital Trends.
  14. ↑ Reilly, Claire (2017-10-08). "Windows 10 Mobile gets its final death sentence". CNET. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  15. ↑ Krebs, Brian (1 July 2006). "Microsoft to End Support Of Old Windows Versions" – via washingtonpost.com.
  16. ↑ Rundle, Michael. "The biggest Xbox One update in history finally has a launch date".
  17. ↑ "What Impressed Me the Most About Microsoft's HoloLens".
  18. ↑ "The History of the Xbox". 12 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "Midnight Madness Hypes Xbox 360 Launch" . Retrieved 2006-07-03.
  20. ↑ "Xbox 360 sells out within hours". BBC News. 2005-12-02. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
  21. ↑ Tor Thorsen (2005-11-11). "360 to play 200-plus Xbox games". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  22. ↑ Tor Thorsen (2005-12-09). "360 backward-compatibility update re-released". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  23. ↑ Mayo, Benjamin (22 January 2016). "Mac users can now try out new Microsoft Office features early with 'Office Insider' program".
  24. ↑ "Office Mobile apps Word, PowerPoint and Excel see new updates arrive in store". On MSFT. 20 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Microsoft Brings Skype Closer to Unified Business Communication".
  26. ↑ Bright, Peter. "Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5 Billion. Why, Exactly?".
  27. ↑ "Welcome to Discover Bing". Discover Bing. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  28. ↑ "Net Marketshare, Market Share Statistics for Internet Technologies". netmarketshare.com.
  29. ↑ "Here's What's Changing With Bing Ads Now That It Includes AOL".
  30. ↑ "Bing Translator beta app for Windows 10 updated". MSPoweruser. 24 September 2015.
  31. ↑ "Bing Webmaster Tools Warns of Microsoft Edge Compatibility Issues". 8 January 2016.
  32. ↑ "How to Turn On and Use Cortana in Microsoft Edge".
  33. ↑ Bing Pulse real-time polling tools are now Microsoft Pulse real-time polling tools
  34. ↑ Bishop, Todd (September 30, 2014). "MSN's rebirth brings Microsoft's new approach into focus". GeekWire. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
  35. ↑ Finney, Joseph (19 November 2014). "How has Microsoft's redesign of MSN.com affected daily site traffic?". WinBeta.
  36. ↑ "MSN Worldwide" . Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  37. ↑ "Inside Microsoft's Azure Stack Private Cloud". 29 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "Microsoft open-sources Visual Studio Code, launches free Visual Studio Dev Essentials program".
  39. ↑ Foley, Mary Jo (18 June 2015). "How Microsoft's latest reorg will affect Dynamics CRM and ERP. Microsoft is bringing its Dynamics CRM and ERP businesses out of their silo and into the company's Cloud and Enterprise unit". ZDNet.
  40. ↑ Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft rolls out its R Server big-data analytics line-up - ZDNet".
  41. 1 2 Markoff, John (31 January 2016). "Microsoft Plumbs Ocean's Depths to Test Underwater Data Center". New York Times .
  42. ↑ Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft to move Windows Server engineering team into Windows and Devices Group | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  43. ↑ Cellan-Jones, Rory (14 September 2020). "Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two years". BBC News . Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  44. ↑ Linke, Rebecca. "The reasoning behind Microsoft's new A.I. and Research Group". Computerworld. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
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