MICROSOFT RANKED NO.4 INNOVATIVE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS COMPANY
Under CEO Satya Nadella, who succeeded Steve
Ballmer in February 2014, Microsoft has re-engineered itself in multiple ways
to ensure that decades-old cash cows such as Windows and Office are part of
technology’s future rather than legacies of a more PC-centric past. The company
has invested in AI; championed bots as a new computing paradigm; and developed
ambitious apps for platforms such as iOS and Android rather than trying to
weaken the competition by tying its core assets directly to Windows.
One core tenet of Nadella's leadership has
been his focus on accessibility and inclusive design so that Microsoft products
are available to the one billion people around the world who may require
additional assistance due to being differently abled. Emblematic of this
mission is the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which is designed for gamers
with limited mobility. Originally a hackathon project, it takes into
account people who don’t have fine motor skills or control of both hands
and all their digits. Because of the high number of variables that could affect
a user's ability, as well as the switches, joysticks, mounts and any other
input devices users may already have to enable play, the Adaptive Controller
spreads out the possible inputs in a single-file line to improve ease of use.
The rectangular device is designed to sit on a player's lap, allowing for more
comfortable and longer play than may have previously been possible for users
for whom holding a traditional controller can be overly taxing. Grooves
and symbols guide users to the right ports. Even the packaging materials were
redesigned with accessibility in mind. Many of the team's efforts are
informing the company's thinking for all its products moving forward.
Another key trait of today’s Microsoft is its
willingness to design its own hardware to show off what its software can do. In
2016, the company shipped commercial and developer editions of HoloLens, an
augmented-reality headset that runs a “holographic” edition of Windows 10. It
also launched Surface Studio, an all-in-one PC with a pressure-sensitive pen
and a 28” display that doubles as a drawing table.
Plus, thanks to Microsoft's $2.5 billion
acquisition of Minecraft, a video game that has become a cultural
phenomenon, the company has a foothold with younger audiences. Millions of
families around the world already pay for Minecraft licenses;
with the unveiling of Minecraft: Education Edition last year,
schools are now lining up, too.
So far, investors are excited by Nadella’s
vision: Microsoft’s stock, which was famously stuck in the doldrums during the
Ballmer era even as Apple surged, reached an all-time high in January 2017, and
ended up growing by about 30% over the year. Among the company’s 2017 landmark
moments? The release of a Surface laptop and the Xbox One X, as well as new
Mixed Reality headsets. Meanwhile, Microsoft has continued to turn AI and bots
into products that appeal to businesses and consumers at the massive scale that
Microsoft is most comfortable addressing.
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