Dates recorded by the company
Microsoft records its founding in 1975, incorporation in June 1981 and public stock offering in March 1986. Its historical timeline also identifies the August 1981 introduction of IBM's personal computer with MS-DOS. Microsoft's 50-year retrospective identifies Bill Gates and Paul Allen as founders. These milestones describe Microsoft's history; they do not establish that it alone created the digital revolution.
Microsoft historical timeline · Microsoft 50-year retrospective
A platform business in a wider ecosystem
The useful business question is how a platform connects software, developers, hardware suppliers and customer demand. Adoption of one product does not establish the profitability or security of every later product. The photo shows actual Microsoft offices in Vancouver, Canada; the accompanying data-centre image is illustrative and is not identified as a Microsoft installation. Current financial assessment requires dated company filings rather than figures carried forward from an old overview.
