This past year, we expanded our global allyship program, adapting learning experiences for the work from home conditions of COVID As we reflect on our opportunity to address racial injustice, we announced our aspiration to increase representation and strengthen our culture of inclusion, including a commitment to double the number of Black and African American and Hispanic and Latinx people managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders in the US by If we commit to being customer obsessed, operating as One Microsoft, and becoming more diverse and inclusive, I believe there is no limit to what we can achieve.

The world is at an inflection point, and digital technology will be key to defining what comes next. Over the next decade, technology spending as a percentage of gross domestic product is projected to double.

And, we are well positioned to not only participate in that growth but drive it by expanding our impact and building the key technologies that empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. This share repurchase program commenced in December and was completed in February This share repurchase program commenced in February , following completion of the program approved on September 20, , has no expiration date, and may be terminated at any time.

Shares repurchased during the fourth quarter of fiscal year were under the share repurchase program approved on September 18, Shares repurchased during the third quarter of fiscal year were under the share repurchase programs approved on both September 20, and September 18, All other shares repurchased were under the share repurchase program approved on September 20, All share repurchases were made using cash resources.

The dividend declared on June 17, was included in other current liabilities as of June 30, Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We strive to create local opportunity, growth, and impact in every country around the world. Our platforms and tools help drive small business productivity, large business competitiveness, and public-sector efficiency. They also support new startups, improve educational and health outcomes, and empower human ingenuity.

We continue to transform our business to lead in the new era of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. We bring technology and products together into experiences and solutions that unlock value for our customers.

Our unique role as a platform and tools provider allows us to connect the dots, bring together an ecosystem of partners, and enable organizations of all sizes to build the digital capability required to address these challenges. In this next phase of innovation, computing is more powerful and ubiquitous from the cloud to the edge.

Founded in , we develop and support software, services, devices, and solutions that deliver new value for customers and help people and businesses realize their full potential. We offer an array of services, including cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services, platforms, and content, and we provide solution support and consulting services. We also deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience. Our products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; and video games.

We also design, manufacture, and sell devices, including PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, other intelligent devices, and related accessories. To achieve our vision, our research and development efforts focus on three interconnected ambitions:. Our growth depends on securely delivering continuous innovation and advancing our leading productivity and collaboration tools and services, including Office, Dynamics, and LinkedIn. Microsoft Teams is enabling rapid digital transformation by giving people a single tool to chat, call, meet, and collaborate.

Microsoft Relationship Sales solution brings together LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Dynamics to transform business to business sales through social selling. Dynamics for Talent with LinkedIn Recruiter and Learning gives human resource professionals a complete solution to compete for talent. Microsoft Power Platform empowers employees to build custom applications, automate workflow, and analyze data no matter their technical expertise.

These scenarios represent a move to unlock creativity and discover new habits, while simplifying security and management. Organizations of all sizes have digitized business-critical functions, redefining what they can expect from their business applications. This creates an opportunity to reach new customers and increase usage and engagement with existing customers. In the new remote world, companies have accelerated their own digital transformation to empower their employees, optimize their operations, engage customers, and in some cases, change the very core of their products and services.

Partnering with organizations on their digital transformation during this period is one of our largest opportunities and we are uniquely positioned to become the strategic digital transformation platform and partner of choice; their success is our success.

Our strategy requires continued investment in datacenters and other hybrid and edge infrastructure to support our services. Azure is a trusted cloud with comprehensive compliance coverage and AI-based security built in. Our cloud business benefits from three economies of scale: datacenters that deploy computational resources at significantly lower cost per unit than smaller ones; datacenters that coordinate and aggregate diverse customer, geographic, and application demand patterns, improving the utilization of computing, storage, and network resources; and multi-tenancy locations that lower application maintenance labor costs.

As one of the two largest providers of cloud computing at scale, we believe we work from a position of strength. Being a global-scale cloud, Azure uniquely offers hybrid consistency, developer productivity, AI capabilities, and trusted security and compliance. We see more emerging use cases and needs for compute and security at the edge and are accelerating our innovation across the spectrum of intelligent edge devices, from IoT sensors to gateway devices and edge hardware to build, manage, and secure edge workloads.

With Azure Stack, organizations can extend Azure into their own datacenters to create a consistent stack across the public cloud and the intelligent edge. Our hybrid infrastructure consistency spans identity, data, compute, management, and security, helping to support the real-world needs and evolving regulatory requirements of commercial customers and enterprises.

We are accelerating our development of mixed reality solutions with new Azure services and devices. The opportunity to merge the physical and digital worlds, when combined with the power of Azure cloud services, unlocks the potential for entirely new workloads which we believe will shape the next era of computing.

The ability to convert data into AI drives our competitive advantage. We are accelerating adoption of AI innovations from research to products. Our innovation helps every developer be an AI developer, with approachable new tools from Azure Machine Learning Studio for creating simple machine learning models, to the powerful Azure Machine Learning Workbench for the most advanced AI modeling and data science.

We strive to make computing more personal by putting users at the core of the experience, enabling them to interact with technology in more intuitive, engaging, and dynamic ways. In support of this, we are bringing Office, Windows, and devices together for an enhanced and more cohesive customer experience. Windows 10 serves the enterprise as the most secure and productive operating system. It empowers people with AI-first interfaces ranging from voice-activated commands through Cortana, inking, immersive 3D content storytelling, and mixed reality experiences.

Our ambition for Windows 10 monetization opportunities includes gaming, services, subscriptions, and search advertising. We are committed to designing and marketing first-party devices to help drive innovation, create new device categories, and stimulate demand in the Windows ecosystem.

We recently added several new products and accessories into the Surface family, including Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2. To expand usage and deepen engagement, we continue to invest in content, community, and cloud services as we pursue the expansive opportunity in the gaming industry. We are broadening our approach to how we think about gaming end-to-end, from the way games are created and distributed to how they are played and viewed across PC, console, and mobile.

We have a strong position with our large and growing highly engaged community of gamers. Xbox Game Pass, with over 10 million members from 41 countries, is a community with access to a curated library of over first- and third-party console and PC titles. In a time of great disruption and uncertainty, customers are looking to us to accelerate their own digital transformations as software and cloud computing play a huge role across every industry and around the world.

We continue to develop complete, intelligent solutions for our customers that empower people to stay productive and collaborate, while safeguarding businesses and simplifying IT management. Our goal is to lead the industry in several distinct areas of technology over the long-term, which we expect will translate to sustained growth. We are investing significant resources in:.

Our future growth depends on our ability to transcend current product category definitions, business models, and sales motions. We have the opportunity to redefine what customers and partners can expect and are working to deliver new solutions that reflect the best of Microsoft. The COVID pandemic is having widespread, rapidly evolving, and unpredictable impacts on global society, economies, financial markets, and business practices.

Federal and state governments have implemented measures in an effort to contain the virus, including social distancing, travel restrictions, border closures, limitations on public gatherings, work from home, supply chain logistical changes, and closure of non-essential businesses. To protect the health and well-being of our employees, suppliers, and customers, we have made substantial modifications to employee travel policies, implemented office closures as employees are advised to work from home, and cancelled or shifted our conferences and other marketing events to virtual-only through fiscal year The COVID pandemic has impacted and may continue to impact our business operations, including our employees, customers, partners, and communities, and there is substantial uncertainty in the nature and degree of its continued effects over time.

Refer to Risk Factors in our fiscal year Form K for a discussion of these factors and other risks. We work to ensure that technology is inclusive, trusted, and increases sustainability. In January , we announced a bold new environmental sustainability strategy focused on carbon, water, waste, and ecosystems. By Microsoft will be carbon negative, and by Microsoft will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in We also launched a new initiative to use Microsoft technology to help our suppliers and customers around the world reduce their own carbon footprint.

The investments we make in sustainability carry through to our products, services, and devices. We design our devices, from Surface to Xbox, to minimize their impact on the environment. Our cloud and AI services help businesses cut energy consumption, reduce physical footprints, and design sustainable products.

Lastly, this work is supported by using our voice to support policies we think can advance sustainability efforts. Our future opportunity depends on reaching and empowering all communities, and we are committed to taking action to help address racial injustice and inequity.

With significant input from employees and leaders who are members of the Black and African American community, our senior leadership team and board of directors has developed a set of actions to help improve the lived experience at Microsoft and drive change in the communities in which we live and work.

These efforts include increasing our representation and culture of inclusion by doubling the number of Black and African American people managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders in the United States by ; engaging our ecosystem by using our balance sheet and engagement with suppliers and partners to extend the vision for societal change; and strengthening our communities by using the power of data, technology, and partnership to help improve the lives of Black and African American citizens across the United States.

With a continued focus on digital transformation, Microsoft is making efforts to help ensure that no one is left behind, particularly as economies start to recover from the COVID pandemic. We operate our business and report our financial performance using three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.

Our segments provide management with a comprehensive financial view of our key businesses. The segments enable the alignment of strategies and objectives across the development, sales, marketing, and services organizations, and they provide a framework for timely and rational allocation of resources within businesses. Additional information on our operating segments and geographic and product information is contained in Note 19 — Segment Information and Geographic Data of the Notes to Financial Statements.

Our Productivity and Business Processes segment consists of products and services in our portfolio of productivity, communication, and information services, spanning a variety of devices and platforms.

This segment primarily comprises:. Office Commercial is designed to increase personal, team, and organizational productivity through a range of products and services. Growth depends on our ability to reach new users in new markets such as first-line workers, small and medium businesses, and growth markets, as well as add value to our core product and service offerings to span productivity categories such as communication, collaboration, analytics, security, and compliance.

Office Commercial revenue is mainly affected by a combination of continued installed base growth and average revenue per user expansion, as well as the continued shift from Office licensed on-premises to Office CALs provide certain Office Commercial products and services with access rights to our server products and CAL revenue is reported with the associated Office products and services.

Office Consumer is designed to increase personal productivity through a range of products and services. Growth depends on our ability to reach new users, add value to our core product set, and continue to expand our product and service offerings into new markets.

Office Consumer revenue is mainly affected by the percentage of customers that buy Office with their new devices and the continued shift from Office licensed on-premises to Microsoft Consumer subscriptions. Office Consumer Services revenue is mainly affected by the demand for communication and storage through Skype, Outlook.

Talent Solutions provide insights for workforce planning and tools to hire, nurture, and develop talent.

Learning Solutions, including Glint, help businesses close critical skills gaps in times where companies are having to do more with existing talent. Marketing Solutions help companies grow relationships between businesses.

Sales Solutions help companies strengthen customer relationships, empower teams with digital selling tools, and acquire new opportunities. Finally, Premium Subscriptions enables professionals to manage their professional identity, grow their network, and connect with talent through additional services like premium search.

LinkedIn has over million members and has offices around the globe. Growth will depend on our ability to increase the number of LinkedIn members and our ability to continue offering services that provide value for our members and increase their engagement. LinkedIn revenue is mainly affected by demand from enterprises and professional organizations for subscriptions to Talent Solutions, Learning Solutions, Sales Solutions, and Premium Subscriptions offerings, as well as member engagement and the quality of the sponsored content delivered to those members to drive Marketing Solutions.

Dynamics revenue is driven by the number of users licensed, expansion of average revenue per user, and the continued shift to Dynamics , a unified set of cloud-based intelligent business applications. Competitors to Office include software and global application vendors, such as Apple, Cisco Systems, Facebook, Google, IBM, Okta, Proofpoint, Slack, Symantec, Zoom, and numerous web-based and mobile application competitors as well as local application developers.

Apple distributes versions of its pre-installed application software, such as email and calendar products, through its PCs, tablets, and phones. Cisco Systems is using its position in enterprise communications equipment to grow its unified communications business. Google provides a hosted messaging and productivity suite. Slack provides teamwork and collaboration software. Zoom offers videoconferencing and cloud phone solutions. Skype for Business and Skype also compete with a variety of instant messaging, voice, and video communication providers, ranging from start-ups to established enterprises.

Okta, Proofpoint, and Symantec provide security solutions across email security, information protection, identity, and governance. Web-based offerings competing with individual applications have also positioned themselves as alternatives to our products and services. We compete by providing powerful, flexible, secure, integrated industry-specific, and easy-to-use productivity and collaboration tools and services that create comprehensive solutions and work well with technologies our customers already have both on-premises or in the cloud.

LinkedIn faces competition from online professional networks, recruiting companies, talent management companies, and larger companies that are focusing on talent management and human resource services; job boards; traditional recruiting firms; and companies that provide learning and development products and services.

Marketing Solutions competes with online and offline outlets that generate revenue from advertisers and marketers, and Sales Solutions competes with online and offline outlets for companies with lead generation and customer intelligence and insights.

Dynamics competes with vendors such as Oracle, Salesforce. Our Intelligent Cloud segment consists of our public, private, and hybrid server products and cloud services that can power modern business and developers. Azure is a comprehensive set of cloud services that offer developers, IT professionals, and enterprises freedom to build, deploy, and manage applications on any platform or device. Customers can use Azure through our global network of datacenters for computing, networking, storage, mobile and web application services, AI, IoT, cognitive services, and machine learning.

Azure enables customers to devote more resources to development and use of applications that benefit their organizations, rather than managing on-premises hardware and software. Our server products are designed to make IT professionals, developers, and their systems more productive and efficient. Server software is integrated server infrastructure and middleware designed to support software applications built on the Windows Server operating system. This includes the server platform, database, business intelligence, storage, management and operations, virtualization, service-oriented architecture platform, security, and identity software.

We also license standalone and software development lifecycle tools for software architects, developers, testers, and project managers. GitHub provides a collaboration platform and code hosting service for developers. CALs provide access rights to certain server products, including SQL Server and Windows Server, and revenue is reported along with the associated server product.

Enterprise Services, including Premier Support Services and Microsoft Consulting Services, assist customers in developing, deploying, and managing Microsoft server and desktop solutions and provide training and certification to developers and IT professionals on various Microsoft products. Our server products face competition from a wide variety of server operating systems and applications offered by companies with a range of market approaches. Vertically integrated computer manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Oracle offer their own versions of the Unix operating system preinstalled on server hardware.

Nearly all computer manufacturers offer server hardware for the Linux operating system and many contribute to Linux operating system development. The competitive position of Linux has also benefited from the large number of compatible applications now produced by many commercial and non-commercial software developers. A number of companies, such as Red Hat, supply versions of Linux.

We compete to provide enterprise-wide computing solutions and point solutions with numerous commercial software vendors that offer solutions and middleware technology platforms, software applications for connectivity both Internet and intranet , security, hosting, database, and e-business servers. IBM and Oracle lead a group of companies focused on the Java Platform Enterprise Edition that competes with our enterprise-wide computing solutions. In middleware, we compete against Java vendors.

Our database, business intelligence, and data warehousing solutions offerings compete with products from IBM, Oracle, SAP, and other companies. We believe our server products provide customers with advantages in performance, total costs of ownership, and productivity by delivering superior applications, development tools, compatibility with a broad base of hardware and software applications, security, and manageability.

Our Enterprise Services business competes with a wide range of companies that provide strategy and business planning, application development, and infrastructure services, including multinational consulting firms and small niche businesses focused on specific technologies.

Our More Personal Computing segment consists of products and services that put customers at the center of the experience with our technology.

The Windows operating system is designed to deliver a more personal computing experience for users by enabling consistency of experience, applications, and information across their devices. Windows OEM revenue is impacted significantly by the number of Windows operating system licenses purchased by OEMs, which they pre-install on the devices they sell.

In addition to computing device market volume, Windows OEM revenue is impacted by:. Windows Commercial revenue often reflects the number of information workers in a licensed enterprise and is relatively independent of the number of PCs sold in a given year. Patent licensing includes our programs to license patents we own for use across a broad array of technology areas, including mobile devices and cloud offerings.

Windows IoT extends the power of Windows and the cloud to intelligent systems by delivering specialized operating systems, tools, and services for use in embedded devices. We design, manufacture, and sell devices, including Surface and PC accessories.

Our devices are designed to enable people and organizations to connect to the people and content that matter most using Windows and integrated Microsoft products and services.

Surface is designed to help organizations, students, and consumers be more productive. Growth in Devices is dependent on total PC shipments, the ability to attract new customers, our product roadmap, and expanding into new categories. Our gaming platform is designed to provide a variety of entertainment through a unique combination of content, community, and cloud. Our exclusive game content is created through Xbox Game Studios, a collection of first-party studios creating iconic and differentiated gaming experiences.

We continue to invest in new gaming studios and content to expand our IP roadmap and leverage new content creators. These unique gaming experiences are the cornerstone of Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service and gaming community with access to a curated library of over first- and third-party console and PC titles.

The gamer remains at the heart of the Xbox ecosystem. We continue to open new opportunities for gamers to engage both on- and off-console with both the launch of Project xCloud, our game streaming service, and continued investment in gaming hardware. Project xCloud will provide players with more choice over how and where they play. Xbox Live enables people to connect and share online gaming experiences and is accessible on Xbox consoles, Windows-enabled devices, and other devices.

Xbox Live is designed to benefit users by providing access to a network of certified applications and services and to benefit our developer and partner ecosystems by providing access to a large customer base.

Xbox revenue is mainly affected by subscriptions and sales of first- and third-party content, as well as advertising. Growth of our Gaming business is determined by the overall active user base through Xbox enabled content, availability of games, providing exclusive game content that gamers seek, the computational power and reliability of the devices used to access our content and services, and the ability to create new experiences through first-party content creators.

Our Search business, including Bing and Microsoft Advertising, is designed to deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience. We have several partnerships with other companies, including Verizon Media Group, through which we provide and monetize search queries. Growth depends on our ability to attract new users, understand intent, and match intent with relevant content and advertiser offerings.

Windows faces competition from various software products and from alternative platforms and devices, mainly from Apple and Google. We believe Windows competes effectively by giving customers choice, value, flexibility, security, an easy-to-use interface, and compatibility with a broad range of hardware and software applications, including those that enable productivity. Devices face competition from various computer, tablet, and hardware manufacturers who offer a unique combination of high-quality industrial design and innovative technologies across various price points.

These manufacturers, many of which are also current or potential partners and customers, include Apple and our Windows OEMs. Xbox Live and our cloud gaming services face competition from various online gaming ecosystems and game streaming services, including those operated by Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Tencent. We also compete with other providers of entertainment services such as Netflix and Hulu.

Our gaming platform competes with console platforms from Nintendo and Sony, both of which have a large, established base of customers. We believe our gaming platform is effectively positioned against, and uniquely differentiated from, competitive products and services based on significant innovation in hardware architecture, user interface, developer tools, online gaming and entertainment services, and continued strong exclusive content from our own first-party game franchises as well as other digital content offerings.

Our search business competes with Google and a wide array of websites, social platforms like Facebook, and portals that provide content and online offerings to end users. We have operations centers that support operations in their regions, including customer contract and order processing, credit and collections, information processing, and vendor management and logistics.

In addition to the operations centers, we also operate datacenters throughout the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Asia, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. To serve the needs of customers around the world and to improve the quality and usability of products in international markets, we localize many of our products to reflect local languages and conventions. Localizing a product may require modifying the user interface, altering dialog boxes, and translating text.

Our devices are primarily manufactured by third-party contract manufacturers. We generally have the ability to use other manufacturers if a current vendor becomes unavailable or unable to meet our requirements.

The majority of our hardware products contain components for which there is only one qualified supplier. Extended disruptions at these suppliers could lead to a similar disruption in our ability to manufacture devices. We develop most of our products and services internally through the following engineering groups.

Internal development allows us to maintain competitive advantages that come from product differentiation and closer technical control over our products and services. It also gives us the freedom to decide which modifications and enhancements are most important and when they should be implemented.

We strive to obtain information as early as possible about changing usage patterns and hardware advances that may affect software and hardware design. Before releasing new software platforms, and as we make significant modifications to existing platforms, we provide application vendors with a range of resources and guidelines for development, training, and testing.

Generally, we also create product documentation internally. We protect our intellectual property investments in a variety of ways. We work actively in the U. We are a leader among technology companies in pursuing patents and currently have a portfolio of over 63, U. From time to time, we enter into broader cross-license agreements with other technology companies covering entire groups of patents.

We also purchase or license technology that we incorporate into our products and services. At times, we make select intellectual property broadly available at no or low cost to achieve a strategic objective, such as promoting industry standards, advancing interoperability, or attracting and enabling our external development community.

Our increasing engagement with open source software will also cause us to license our intellectual property rights broadly in certain situations. While it may be necessary in the future to seek or renew licenses relating to various aspects of our products, services, and business methods, we believe, based upon past experience and industry practice, such licenses generally can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms.

We believe our continuing research and product development are not materially dependent on any single license or other agreement with a third party relating to the development of our products.

Our success is based on our ability to create new and compelling products, services, and experiences for our users, to initiate and embrace disruptive technology trends, to enter new geographic and product markets, and to drive broad adoption of our products and services.

We invest in a range of emerging technology trends and breakthroughs that we believe offer significant opportunities to deliver value to our customers and growth for the Company.

Based on our assessment of key technology trends, we maintain our long-term commitment to research and development across a wide spectrum of technologies, tools, and platforms spanning digital work and life experiences, cloud computing, AI, devices, and operating systems.

While our main product research and development facilities are located in Redmond, Washington, we also operate research and development facilities in other parts of the U. This global approach helps us remain competitive in local markets and enables us to continue to attract top talent from across the world.

In addition to our main research and development operations, we also operate Microsoft Research. We generally fund research at the corporate level to ensure that we are looking beyond immediate product considerations to opportunities further in the future. We also fund research and development activities at the operating segment level. Much of our segment level research and development is coordinated with other segments and leveraged across the Company.

We plan to continue to make significant investments in a broad range of research and development efforts. We market and distribute our products and services through the following channels: OEMs, direct, and distributors and resellers. Our sales force performs a variety of functions, including working directly with commercial enterprises and public-sector organizations worldwide to identify and meet their technology and digital transformation requirements; managing OEM relationships; and supporting system integrators, independent software vendors, and other partners who engage directly with our customers to perform sales, consulting, and fulfillment functions for our products and services.

We distribute our products and services through OEMs that pre-install our software on new devices and servers they sell. The largest component of the OEM business is the Windows operating system pre-installed on devices. OEMs also sell devices pre-installed with other Microsoft products and services, including applications such as Office and the capability to subscribe to Office There are two broad categories of OEMs.

The second broad category of OEMs are system builders consisting of lower-volume PC manufacturers, which source Microsoft software for pre-installation and local redistribution primarily through the Microsoft distributor channel rather than through a direct agreement or relationship with Microsoft.

Microsoft offers direct sales programs targeted to reach small, medium, and corporate customers, in addition to those offered through the reseller channel. A large network of partner advisors support many of these sales. We also sell commercial and consumer products and services directly to customers, such as cloud services, search, and gaming, through our digital marketplaces and online stores.

In June , we announced a strategic change in our retail operations, including closing our Microsoft Store physical locations. Although each type of reselling partner may reach organizations of all sizes, LSPs are primarily engaged with large organizations, distributors resell primarily to VARs, and VARs typically reach small and medium organizations. ESAs are also typically authorized as LSPs and operate as resellers for our other volume licensing programs. Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider is our main partner program for reselling cloud services.

We distribute our retail packaged products primarily through independent non-exclusive distributors, authorized replicators, resellers, and retail outlets. Individual consumers obtain these products primarily through retail outlets. We distribute our devices through third-party retailers. We have a network of field sales representatives and field support personnel that solicit orders from distributors and resellers, and provide product training and sales support.

Our Dynamics business solutions are also licensed to enterprises through a global network of channel partners providing vertical solutions and specialized services. We offer options for organizations that want to purchase our cloud services, on-premises software, and Software Assurance. We license software to organizations under volume licensing agreements to allow the customer to acquire multiple licenses of products and services instead of having to acquire separate licenses through retail channels.

We use different programs designed to provide flexibility for organizations of various sizes. While these programs may differ in various parts of the world, generally they include those discussed below. SA conveys rights to new software and upgrades for perpetual licenses released over the contract period.

It also provides support, tools, training, and other licensing benefits to help customers deploy and use software efficiently. SA is included with certain volume licensing agreements and is an optional purchase with others.

Enterprise Agreements offer large organizations a manageable volume licensing program that gives them the flexibility to buy cloud services and software licenses under one agreement. Enterprise Agreements are designed for medium or large organizations that want to license cloud services and on-premises software organization-wide over a three-year period. Organizations can elect to purchase perpetual licenses or subscribe to licenses. SA is included. Microsoft Product and Services Agreements are designed for medium and large organizations that want to license cloud services and on-premises software as needed, with no organization-wide commitment, under a single, non-expiring agreement.

Organizations purchase perpetual licenses or subscribe to licenses. SA is optional for customers that purchase perpetual licenses. Open agreements are a simple, cost-effective way to acquire the latest Microsoft technology.

Open agreements are designed for small and medium organizations that want to license cloud services and on-premises software over a one- to three-year period.

Under the Open agreements, organizations purchase perpetual licenses and SA is optional. Under Open Value agreements, organizations can elect to purchase perpetual licenses or subscribe to licenses and SA is included. Select Plus agreements are designed for government and academic organizations to acquire on-premises licenses at any affiliate or department level, while realizing advantages as one organization.

Organizations purchase perpetual licenses and SA is optional. Microsoft Online Subscription Agreements are designed for small and medium organizations that want to subscribe to, activate, provision, and maintain cloud services seamlessly and directly via the web.

The agreement allows customers to acquire monthly or annual subscriptions for cloud-based services. The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program offers customers an easy way to license the cloud services they need in combination with the value-added services offered by their systems integrator, managed services provider, or cloud reseller partner.

Partners in this program can easily package their own products and services to directly provision, manage, and support their customer subscriptions. The Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement allows hosting service providers and independent software vendors who want to license eligible Microsoft software products to provide software services and hosted applications to their end customers. Partners license software over a three-year period and are billed monthly based on consumption.

The Independent Software Vendor Royalty program enables partners to integrate Microsoft products into other applications and then license the unified business solution to their end users. Our customers include individual consumers, small and medium organizations, large global enterprises, public-sector institutions, Internet service providers, application developers, and OEMs. Our practice is to ship our products promptly upon receipt of purchase orders from customers; consequently, backlog is not significant.

As of June 30, , we employed approximately , people on a full-time basis, 96, in the U. Of the total employed people, 56, were in operations, including manufacturing, distribution, product support, and consulting services; 55, were in product research and development; 40, were in sales and marketing; and 12, were in general and administration. Certain of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements.

Our Internet address is www. At our Investor Relations website, www. Our goal is to maintain the Investor Relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about us, including:.

The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC. In addition to these channels, we use social media to communicate to the public. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material to investors. We encourage investors, the media, and others interested in Microsoft to review the information we post on the social media channels listed on our Investor Relations website.

We generate revenue by offering a wide range of cloud-based and other services to people and businesses; licensing and supporting an array of software products; designing, manufacturing, and selling devices; and delivering relevant online advertising to a global audience. Our most significant expenses are related to compensating employees; designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling our products and services; datacenter costs in support of our cloud-based services; and income taxes.

Our industry is dynamic and highly competitive, with frequent changes in both technologies and business models. Each industry shift is an opportunity to conceive new products, new technologies, or new ideas that can further transform the industry and our business. At Microsoft, we push the boundaries of what is possible through a broad range of research and development activities that seek to identify and address the changing demands of customers and users, industry trends, and competitive forces.

The markets for software, devices, and cloud-based services are dynamic and highly competitive. Our competitors are developing new software and devices, while also deploying competing cloud-based services for consumers and businesses. We must continue to evolve and adapt over an extended time in pace with this changing environment.

The investments we are making in infrastructure and devices will continue to increase our operating costs and may decrease our operating margins. Our success is highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. We hire a mix of university and industry talent worldwide. Aggregate demand for our software, services, and devices is correlated to global macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, which remain dynamic.

Our international operations provide a significant portion of our total revenue and expenses. Many of these revenue and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U. As a result, changes in foreign exchange rates may significantly affect revenue and expenses. Strengthening of the U. In fiscal year , the COVID pandemic impacted our business operations, including our employees, customers, partners, and communities, and we saw the following trends in our financial operating results.

In the Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud segments, cloud usage and demand increased as customers shifted to work and learn from home. We also experienced a slowdown in transactional licensing, particularly in small and medium businesses, and LinkedIn was negatively impacted by the weak job market and reductions in advertising spend.

In the More Personal Computing segment, Windows OEM, Surface, and Gaming benefited from increased demand to support remote work-, play-, and learn-from-home scenarios, while Search was negatively impacted by reductions in advertising spend. The COVID pandemic may continue to impact our business operations and financial operating results, and there is substantial uncertainty in the nature and degree of its continued effects over time. Our revenue fluctuates quarterly and is generally higher in the second and fourth quarters of our fiscal year.

Second quarter revenue is driven by corporate year-end spending trends in our major markets and holiday season spending by consumers, and fourth quarter revenue is driven by the volume of multi-year on-premises contracts executed during the period. We report our financial performance based on the following segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. Additional information on our reportable segments is contained in Note 19 — Segment Information and Geographic Data of the Notes to Financial Statements.

We use metrics in assessing the performance of our business and to make informed decisions regarding the allocation of resources. We disclose metrics to enable investors to evaluate progress against our ambitions, provide transparency into performance trends, and reflect the continued evolution of our products and services.

Our commercial and other business metrics are fundamentally connected based on how customers use our products and services. Financial metrics are calculated based on GAAP results and growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Our commercial business primarily consists of Server products and cloud services, Office Commercial, Windows Commercial, the commercial portion of LinkedIn, Enterprise Services, and Dynamics. Our commercial metrics allow management and investors to assess the overall health of our commercial business and include leading indicators of future performance. Commercial portion of revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations, which includes unearned revenue and amounts that will be invoiced and recognized as revenue in future periods.

Revenue from our commercial cloud business, which includes Office Commercial, Azure, the commercial portion of LinkedIn, Dynamics , and other commercial cloud properties. Metrics related to our Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud segments assess the health of our core businesses within these segments. The metrics reflect our cloud and on-premises product strategies and trends. Revenue from Office Consumer products and cloud services, including Microsoft Consumer formerly Office Consumer subscriptions and Office licensed on-premises.

The number of Office Commercial seats at end of period where seats are paid users covered by an Office Commercial subscription. Metrics related to our More Personal Computing segment assess the performance of key lines of business within this segment. These metrics provide strategic product insights which allow us to assess the performance across our commercial and consumer businesses. As we have diversity of target audiences and sales motions within the Windows business, we monitor metrics that are reflective of those varying motions.

Revenue from sales of Windows Pro licenses sold through the OEM channel, which primarily addresses demand in the commercial market. Revenue from sales of Windows non-Pro licenses sold through the OEM channel, which primarily addresses demand in the consumer market.

Revenue from Windows Commercial products and cloud services, comprising volume licensing of the Windows operating system, Windows cloud services, and other Windows commercial offerings. Revenue from Xbox content and services, comprising Xbox Live transactions, subscriptions, cloud services, and advertising , video games, and third-party video game royalties.

Intelligent Cloud revenue increased, driven by server products and cloud services. More Personal Computing revenue increased, driven by Windows and Surface. Gross margin percentage increased, driven by sales mix shift to higher margin businesses. Gross margin percentage increased slightly, due to gross margin percentage improvement across each of our segments and favorable segment sales mix.

Gross margin included a 5 percentage point improvement in commercial cloud, primarily from Azure. Research and development expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with product development.

Research and development expenses also include third-party development and programming costs, localization costs incurred to translate software for international markets, and the amortization of purchased software code and services content.

Sales and marketing expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with sales and marketing personnel, and the costs of advertising, promotions, trade shows, seminars, and other programs. General and administrative expenses include payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation expense, severance expense, and other headcount-related expenses associated with finance, legal, facilities, certain human resources and other administrative personnel, certain taxes, and legal and other administrative fees.

We use derivative instruments to: manage risks related to foreign currencies, equity prices, interest rates, and credit; enhance investment returns; and facilitate portfolio diversification.

Gains and losses from changes in fair values of derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments are primarily recognized in other income expense , net. Interest and dividends income decreased due to lower yields, offset in part by higher average portfolio balances on fixed-income securities. Interest expense decreased due to capitalization of interest expense and a decrease in outstanding long-term debt due to debt maturities, offset in part by debt exchange transaction fees and higher finance lease expense.

Net recognized gains on investments decreased due to lower gains and higher other-than-temporary impairments on equity investments, offset in part by gains on fixed income securities in the current period compared to losses in the prior period.

Net gains on derivatives increased due to higher gains on foreign exchange and equity derivatives. Interest and dividends income increased primarily due to higher yields on fixed-income securities. Interest expense decreased primarily driven by a decrease in outstanding long-term debt due to debt maturities, offset in part by higher finance lease expense. Net recognized gains on investments decreased primarily due to lower gains on sales of equity investments. File servers are the most common servers in the world.

Learn more. Active Directory Domain Services on Windows Server is the most popular on-premises identity solution. Hosting applications old and new. Application Hosting. VMs and Containers. Network infrastructure. File servers are the most common servers in the world Windows Server File Servers host billions of files across million of customers for storage and retrieval of files with built-in scale.

Active Directory Domain Services on Windows Server is the most popular on-premises identity solution Active Directory Domain Services hosts and authenticates billions of on-premises user identities across millions of customers to securely manage identity and protect your business. Hosting applications old and new Windows Server hosts millions of apps, from simple IIS web apps to complex apps like SharePoint, Exchange, database, and 3 rd party products with integrated security, high availability, and replication across servers and clusters.

See how customers use Windows Server and Azure to realize their potential. Read the story. Support lifecycles for versions of Windows Server. Get ESUs free. Azure Hybrid Benefit Azure Hybrid Benefit is a licensing benefit that helps you to significantly reduce the costs of running your Windows Server workloads in the cloud.

End-of-support FAQs. Get the most out of Windows Server Protect system integrity from firmware attack with Windows Defender System Guard and isolate critical parts of the system with Virtualization-based security.

Flexible application platform Improve container application deployment with smaller image size for faster download and simplified authentication. Scale containerized applications with Kubernetes using improvements in network policy implementation and integration with industry standard containers. Accelerate modernization of. NET applications. Invest in your career and skills. Featured resources. Windows Server Documentation Learn more. Windows Server Tech Community Join us.

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Comparison of Windows Server Hyper-V Versus vSphere | Aidan Finn, IT Pro

 

What is Windows Server? Windows Server is a server operating system from Microsoft, different from dwtacenter UNIX-based operating system in that it ddatacenter easier management through a better interface.

There are a lot of advantages to the Windows Server. Hazel rock imdb free who use it are able to develop websites using the familiar interface of Microsoft tools such as Web Windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free and Visual Studio.

With ASP. There are older versions of Windows Server that are still in use using older нажмите для продолжения and operating systems, datacebter overall, keeping your Windows Server up to date is important. Wnidows are companies still operating this way. This is why older versions of Windows Server still sell.

Versions of Windows Server prior to Windows Server are fairly similar in the way they operate. By the release of ServerMicrosoft was working on cloud integration full steam standsrd. This was undoubtedly the goal comparixon the inclusion of Hyper-V in the Windows Server version. All of the improvements to the Windows Server system in the dtandard focused on getting the integrated Hyper-V into shape to make Cloud resources as easy to integrate into onsite delivery as local hosts.

The storage system, handled by Hyper-V, was also updated in this version. The Hyper-V virtual switch 201 Hyper-V Replica were included in this release to enhance the uptake of hybrid network strategies. Sindows PowerShell and Server Core grew in importance with this release. The Essentials edition was aimed primarily at small windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free. Update for Windows Server was released in The composition of the operating system made extended use of the PowerShell, with a concentrated and continued effort to provide better server functions onsite and better capability to integrate cloud services.

Security systems and network services were completely rewritten. There were also major overhauls to virtualization and storage systems and Web services were enhanced.

The storage feature windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free included replication for distributed files and improved access stsndard file sharing. The ability to serve mobile devices with software from the server was greatly improved as well. This release also saw the introduction of the PowerShell-basedDesired State Configuration system for improving network configuration management.

Windows Servwr came with a very important server system that appeared bundled with it. It was called the Nano Server. The version of Windows Server also includes Server Core. Additionally, VM systems were added with an encryption system for Hyper-V and the ability to interact with Docker. Microsoft also introduced the Network Controller in Windows Server This enabled administrators to manage both physical stanard virtual network devices from freee console. Windows Server comes in Standard and Datacenter editions, with no R2 version available.

Windows Server is available in 3 editions. The Foundation edition, like it was offered in Windows Serveris no longer available for Windows Server wimdows Windows Server is brand new and brings much more functionality to the table. Since the range of potential deployments makes it impossible to pinpoint any realistic recommended system requirements, you need to always consult the specific product documentation for each of the server windows 10 control panel not showing to determine what you need to deploy the way you want to deploy.

If you have the budget, Windows Server is a powerful choice, with all of the expected editions to offer you the widest range of productivity. Foundation is designed to give you extreme cost-effectiveness and is ideal for the small budgeted business. You get all ccomparison essential server functionality without virtualization rights. Server licensed and limited to 15 users. Essentials are nearly the same as Foundation, with a bit more functionality and the ability to have up to 25 users.

There is still no virtualization читать полностью. Essentials is ideal for small companies with a bit more budget and maybe an IT employee or two. Standard is great for non-virtualized or lightly virtualized environments. Small to mid companies по этому адресу benefit here, especially with windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free IT department, no matter how big or small.

Includes all features with two virtual instances. Licensing is processor plus CALs. Comparoson editions are also available for Windows Server Windows Server servre the latest and greatest version of Windows Server. It includes new features and functions too numerous to list, beginning with the Windows Admin Center, a server management utility that is designed for Windows Server but it can still servre servers operating Windows Server R2 and Windows Server The utility includes performance monitoring, configuration managementand control of the services that run on each monitored server.

Since traditional defense tactics are no /20544.txt capable of protecting systems and data, advanced threat protection systems are crucial. The ATP monitors account activities, protects log files from unauthorized changes, and keeps track of activities of users around data storage to identify APT intrusion, making this the most secure Windows Server available. If you are running new hardware and software, transitioning to Windows Server is a good idea. Many of the earlier versions are only useful in specific situations and are not capable of powering more modern set-ups.

In addition to these versions, there are specific editions of Windows Server that address different needs. With so many versions and editions floating around, how do you know which version of Windows Server is right for you? One thing to consider when is the budget. Does your company have a large budget or no budget? Older versions wlndows Windows Server are more affordable and more accessible to xerver with limited catacenter, but Microsoft may no longer offer mainstream support for older versions.

This means you are on your own. Depending on your company’s needs, this might be a viable solution, or at least a temporary solution until you can expand your budget. You may have the budget, but your hardware might be out of date. Again, srever you have the money to invest in hardware windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free, you might need to use an older version of Windows Server. When possible, Windows Server is the best option available and the recommended version to use.

If you are looking for older versions, here are some overviews of the most popular of the older versions of Windows Qindows.

We are a Microsoft Certified Partner and a BBB Accredited Business that cares about bringing our customers a reliable, satisfying experience windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free the software products comparisob windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free.

We will be with you before, during, and after all the sales. So, what are you waiting for? As well, you can reach us via Live Chat. Windows Server Windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free of Windows Server prior to Windows Server are fairly similar in the way they operate.

Windows Server Windows Server came with a very important server system that appeared bundled with it. Windows Server Editions Windows Dagacenter is available in 3 editions. This means a company that is very small and has no IT department or even a dedicated IT specialist can benefit from the features and capabilities of this edition.

The Standard edition of Windows Server is for mid to large size companies that need advanced features and virtualize to a lesser extent. This is really one of the most popular editions for a range of businesses. Standard allows for two virtual machines and requires CALs. The datacenter is the workhorse for companies of any size that comparisin high IT requirements and huge IT workloads utilizing many virtual systems.

Datacenter allows for unlimited virtual machines and requires CALs. If you are looking for older versions, here are some overviews of the most popular of the older versions of Windows Server: Windows Server R2 : Developed aerver the foundation of Windows Serverthe Windows Server R2 Standard edition offers more reliability flexibility than the previous version.

Small businesses are able to rely on this server to provide services like DNS, print, remote access, domain, web, and application. There are some great new functions here as well that can assist in ensuring power savings, virtualization, and manageability. Topline remote desktop services make telecommuting and fieldwork easier to manage and more consistent. For now, Windows Windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free is available from trusted resellers like SoftareKeep.

Windows Server Foundation : This version windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free built узнать больше support x64 socket, making it ideal for small businesses. With the Foundation, you can integrate and operate the most ideal and fitting business windows server 2012 standard vs datacenter comparison free with the most important features.

These windowa sharing files, strong security, and sstandard access. Windows Server Enterprise: This is a step up and still great for small businesses. This is particularly great for small businesses that depend on technology and digital processes. Windows Server Enterprise brings you the range and scalability needed to use it for your small business and to keep up with you as your business grows. Much has been said about the superb integration of up to date security settings and its outstanding uptime level.

Includes cost-effective methods for maximizing virtualization. Top-tier applications like messaging serfer, print and file, services, and databases are given higher accessibility.

This version allows unrestricted numbers of Virtual Private Network connections, making it flexible, cost-friendly, and ready comprison grow right along with your business. It has all the basic features for running a small business effectively, efficiently, and on a budget. Windows Server Essentials can be accessed and used by up to 25 users and 50 devices.

 
 

Comparison of Standard and Datacenter editions Windows Server | Microsoft Docs – Industries

 
 
A different version of the Windows Server software was available with Server Core. While reducing overhead, container delivery maintains the necessary security for the software. On May 21 st , Windows Server R2 was introduced and is now the latest version of Windows Server in the market. This was a welcome change for administrators who were more familiar with Unix and Linux systems with existing command-line environments, and it made Windows Server an important competitive product for Microsoft. For companies wanting a hybrid approach, where only some of the server activity is in the cloud, this is also supported with the latest versions of Windows Server. Windows NT 3.