Today we headed to European Headquarters for Microsoft. Microsoft's France Headquarters as well as their European Headquarters are in Paris. We visited with some people from their European Headquarters. It was very interesting! We were hosted by Jacques and Wendy two of the employees in the International Division. We discussed Microsoft and their role in the computer Industry. It was interesting to see that Microsoft is becoming more of a platform business. They are developing new technologies and then wanting other companies to come along and market and sell the technology. Part of the reason for this is the sheer size of the Microsoft.
We also had a guy named Ray Pinto come and speak to us and he talked about the future of Microsoft and how they are moving into a Cloud Computing System. The idea is that your health records, birth certificate, credit card information, etc. will all be stored in “cloud databases” that individuals will have access to. He discussed the challenges with this in terms of privacy and security and how both of these must be addressed for cloud computing to really work.
As we walked around the various departments it was interesting to see their mainframe computers behind glass walls and to hear about some of the technology expanses they are making. On one particular poster of Microsoft’s partners there was an Apple logo. I asked our host with the competitive nature if Microsoft and Apple team up on technology projects together. He said that they are a partner with the Microsoft Office Suite and thus are considered a corporate partner.
I really appreciated the honesty of the Microsoft employees. Jacques at one point said something to the extent that Microsoft didn’t expect the iPad to become as popular as it has and Ray also mentioned competition from Apple and other companies like Google as a good thing because it keeps Microsoft on their toes moving forward.
They took us up to the top floor of the building where they had an apartment set up that is from the not-too-distant-future. The computer and TVs were wired together and there were several things that were all automated and controlled by your computer. We all got to try out the new CONNECT gaming system and it was WAY fun! It’s cool because it hasn’t even hit the market yet and we got to try it out and have fun. It was amazing because you didn’t need a remote or anything it just scanned you and mimicked your movements.
Overall, I was very impressed with Microsoft and learned a lot in realizing that they are not just a company that makes Windows and related products, but that their technology and expansion will continue to affect every market in the future.
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