Since the introduction of Windows Vista and the Office 2007 System for businesses in November 2006 and for the general consumers in January 2007, Microsoft has associated the financial success of the company to its flagship products. Almost en entire year since the company's main cash cows shipped to corporate customers via the NASDAQ launch in New York, Chief Executive office Steve Ballmer and Chairman Bill Gates, yet again highlighted the role played by the two products in the strong financial performance delivered in the second half of the 2007 fiscal year, and in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008.

On November 13, Gates participated at his last annual shareholder meeting while still a full Chairman of Microsoft. Starting in mid 2008, Gates will give up his day-to-day role with the Redmond company in order to dedicate himself to the philanthropic work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "Last year, we significantly ramped up our growth by executing well and continuing our strategy of investing broadly in innovation," Ballmer commented. "This year and beyond, we see tremendous opportunities for more strong growth and solid financial returns both from our current businesses and through expansion into new markets."

Ballmer reinstated the company's commitment to keep the growth momentum alive in order to increase shareholder value. In this context, Microsoft will no longer regard Vista and Office 2007 as the main pillars of growth, but also products and services such as Windows Live, Zune and the upcoming Windows Server lineup. Ballmer was not shy about revealing that Microsoft plans to get a strong grip on the online advertising market while gunning after Google. Increasingly, traditional forms of media are transitioned online, and this makes an extensive reach over the Internet audience, be it via search engine or through cloud operating systems such as Windows Live, a crucial aspect of the Microsoft - Google face off.