14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is going through a major overhauling process that turns the company from the typical software firm that built Windows and Office into a major corporation focused on the mobile first, cloud first world.
With a new CEO at the helm of the company since February 2014, Microsoft has evolved so much that it has become the world’s second most valuable brand after rival Apple.
The World’s Most Valuable Brands list created by Forbes puts Apple on the first place, with a brand value worth $145.3 billion, up 17 percent over 2014.
Microsoft comes in second with a brand worth $69.3 billion, which is more than half the value of Apple, but still up 10 percent as compared to the year before.
Nadella is redefining Microsoft
There is no doubt that Microsoft has indeed increased its brand value in the last 12 months, and a similar trend is expected to be maintained this year because the next few months will be critical to the long-term strategy of the company.
Windows 10 will launch in the summer and will bring major updates to PCs, smartphones, and tablets, while the company is also preparing revolutionary devices such as HoloLens, a headset that allows us to interact with holograms with the power of Windows 10.
More hardware created by Microsoft is also coming, and tablets are very likely to hit the market sometime soon, with Redmond continuously looking into ways to develop premium devices that would truly showcase the capabilities of its software.
Cloud has become a priority under the guidance of Satya Nadella, who himself worked for the cloud services division at Microsoft before replacing Steve Ballmer at the helm of the company, and word has it that Windows too could move to the cloud entirely in the coming years.
Satya Nadella and Microsoft have embarked onto a years-long adventure that could bring us exciting new products beyond the software world, so expect the brand value to continue to grow if the same strategy is maintained.