What is Microsoft?

What it is

Microsoft is a software and cloud company based in Redmond, Washington. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded it in 1975. It grew on MS-DOS and then Windows, the operating system on most business PCs, and on Office, the suite that includes Word, Excel and Outlook.

Today most of what a business buys from Microsoft is a subscription. Email, Office and Teams come as Microsoft 365, paid per user each month. Servers and databases can be rented by the hour in Azure. Windows itself still comes with the PC.

The main product lines

• Windows: the operating system on desktops and laptops. Offices need the Pro edition. Our Windows licensing guide explains Home versus Pro.
• Microsoft 365: business email, the Office apps, OneDrive and SharePoint for files, and Teams for chat and meetings. Plans are compared in our Microsoft 365 licensing guide.
• Sign-in and device management: Entra ID controls who can log in and Intune manages company laptops and phones. Both are part of Microsoft 365.
• Azure: Microsoft's cloud, where a business rents servers, storage and databases without buying hardware. See our Azure guide.
• Windows Server and SQL Server: the server operating system and database that many business applications still require.
• Surface and Xbox: Microsoft also makes hardware, including Surface laptops and tablets and the Xbox game console.

Why it matters to a business

• One account for everything: a Microsoft 365 work account signs a person in to email, files, Teams and their Windows PC, so that account is worth protecting with multi-factor sign-in.
• Licenses are a running cost: each person needs the right plan, and unused licenses keep billing until someone removes them.
• The business owns the tenant: the Microsoft 365 account that holds a company's mail and files should belong to the company and not to a former employee or an outside vendor.
• Microsoft is not the only option: Linux runs many servers, and some companies use Google Workspace for mail. Many offices mix them.

How KawaConnect works with Microsoft

KawaConnect is an official Microsoft reseller. A business can buy its Microsoft 365 licenses through us on one invoice with its IT support. Start at our Microsoft reseller page.

We set up and run Microsoft 365 for clients: Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams, Entra ID and Intune, migrations from other systems, Microsoft 365 backup, and sign-in protection with MFA and conditional access. That work is described on the Microsoft 365 service page. We supply business PCs with Windows Pro, and in Azure we help with cloud and hybrid setups, migrations and recovery planning.

Learn more

• Microsoft on WikipediaThe company's history, products and business, from 1975 to today.
• Microsoft 365 on WikipediaAn overview of the product family, its plans, and how it grew out of Office.
• Microsoft Azure on WikipediaAn overview of Microsoft's cloud platform and the services it offers.
• Microsoft 365 websitePlan comparisons and what each Microsoft 365 app does.
• Microsoft LearnOfficial documentation and training for Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune, and Azure.