Microsoft engineering groups


Microsoft engineering groups are the operating divisions of Microsoft. Starting in April 2002, Microsoft organised itself into seven groups, each an independent financial entity. In September 2005, Microsoft announced a reorganization of its then seven groups into three. In July 2013, Microsoft announced another reorganization into five engineering groups and six corporate affairs groups. A year later, in June 2015, Microsoft reformed into three engineering groups. In September 2016, a new group was created to focus on artificial intelligence and research. On March 29, 2018 a new structure merged all of these into three.
As of 2019, these four groups are:
This group produces experiences, from Windows products to devices, to enterprise. Microsoft 365 is the subscription solution that brings it all together.

Windows experience

is an operating system by Microsoft. Windows is available in different families, catering to different kinds of devices.
is a line of office software, provided by Microsoft. Office includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive and Teams. It also encompasses other products like Microsoft Access, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Visio and Microsoft SharePoint. Web services connected via Microsoft accounts such as Outlook.com, Outlook on the web, Sway and To Do are also part of Office.

Skype

Skype 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.

Devices

The Microsoft hardware division is responsible for producing self-branded hardware and various lines of consumer electronics products. They consist of:
MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft. It was launched on 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. The redesign of MSN proved positive and helped increase traffic with an additional 10 million daily visitors after two months. MSN is based in the United States and offers international versions of its portal for dozens of countries around the world.

Servers

Microsoft Servers 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. 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.

Cloud + AI Platform

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

is the company's cloud computing platform that hosts virtual machines, websites and more. It provides both platform as a service and infrastructure as a service 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
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

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

Artificial Intelligence and 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. Led by Harry Shum.

Bing

Bing is a web search engine from Microsoft., Bing is the third largest search engine globally, with a query volume of 4.58%, behind Google and Baidu. A complete list of search offerings from Bing can be found here. Under Bing, below non-search offerings are also listed:
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.