4.22 billion”, Microsoft’s revenues for the same period were “$8.67 billion” (Microsoft Corp 1).
Microsoft has been so successful because its desktop operating system has been the most dominant one in the industry worldwide and its desktop applications virtually control the market. Microsoft’s strategies have been diverse and effective. They have embraced and extended Internet technology and made great gains in this area by giving its Internet browser technology away for free. Microsoft’s practices have been so successful in stifling the competition that they currently face charges of running a monopoly by the U.S. Federal Government. A measure of their success has also come from enormous advertising campaigns, the creation of the Microsoft/NBC alliance to form a new network, and the formation of powerful alliances with no less significant companies than IBM.
Oracle’s strategy has been to remain a leader in its information management systems by offering continual innovations that make information management software easier to use, allows for more complete levels of integration and makes design and creation possible without sophisticated programming knowledge. They have innovative and ambitious plans for the future. They are striving to create low-cost networks of computers that stores information on networks instead of desktops. The company plans to supply the software to manage these network computers that are storehouses of information. Similar to Microsoft, Oracle Corp. has also been successful by using the strategy of forming alliances with other powerful computer industry companies. Netscape is one of Microsoft’s main rivals and Oracle has recently signed a strategic agreement with the to integrate and distribute their flagship products. Like Microsoft Explorer is bundled with Windows97, so the alliance between Netscape and Oracle will allow for the company to bundle Netscape Navigator with the ...