Bill Gates - Business Essays

BILL GATES: THE MAN WHO REVOLUTIONIZED THE BUSINESS WORLD
When you think about computer software, you have to think Microsoft. You yourself probably have this software running your computer at home or work. Bill Gates is the CEO, cofounder, chairman, and owner of Microsoft Corporation, the largest and most powerful software company in the world.

William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1995 in Seattle, Washington. He had an uneventful childhood and was very well raised. His great-grandfather was a state legislator and mayor, his grandfather was the vice president of a national bank, and his father was a prominent lawyer. As a young boy, Bill went to Sunday school and even sang in the church choir. Additionally, he was a boy scout, but he never really showed any interest for either of these activities. Gates was an odd child and spent long periods of time in his room, alone in deep thought. He showed a great love for science and also had strong

math skills. He actually scored perfectly on the math section of the SAT. Anne Stephens, who was his high school English teacher, was astonished at his powerful memory. She recalls Gates had remembered a 3-page soliloquy for a school play in one reading. Oftentimes he read and even tried taking up the trombone. He had no real interest in philosophy but thought of himself as a scientist. Once, gates told a teacher that one day he would be a millionaire. This statement would later be grossly underestimated. Worth over $85 billion, gates is one of the wealthiest men on the planet. In the fall of 1968, Gates was entering the 8th grade at Lakeside School, which was very intense academically. Paul Allen, his best friend, entered the 10th grade. At Lakeside, they became lost in computers. They would often skip classes to go to the computer room and as a result, they used up all of the schools computer time in only a few weeks {Wallace, 1992, p. 27}. When the computer classes started in January of 1969, Gates and Allen realized their passion for programming. Because very few teachers had any knowledge of computers, they taught themselves with every manual they could muster. Soon they both would be restricted to computer time because of the schools increasing electric bill. As a result of a series of mishaps, Gates and Allen found themselves programming at the school. The math teacher at lakeside, who had been responsible for class scheduling, died tragically in a plane accident. As a result, the two were offered $2,400 worth of computer time in exchange for a program which would schedule classes. They worked day and night and Gates soon found that he could place himself in all girls’ classes every period. Gates and Allen soon would found a company called Traf-O-Data {Wallace, 1992, p. 42-43}. This was a program that would regulate traffic data generated by the gray boxes on Seattle streets. Entering Harvard with a law major, Gates and Allen wrestled with the idea of starting a software company. Eventually, their vision expanded into the multi-billion dollar empire known as Microsoft. Gates has been referred to as the “Edison” of software. He is responsible for such notorious programs as Windows 95, WinWord,

Microsoft Internet Explorer, and countless others. In August of 1995, Microsoft announced the release of Windows 95, worldwide. This new and innovative operating system would drastically change the worlds’ view of computers. Just four days following the release, Microsoft estimated that more than 1 million copies were purchased by customers at retail stores in North America. By October 1995, 7 million copies were purchased. This means that at least 7 million people were becoming more computer literate. Microsoft’s practices have been under investigation by the Justice Department for monopolistic practices. However, it also has been the leading company for new ventures. In November of 1995, Microsoft announced that MSN (The Microsoft Network), had enlisted over 525,000 members in only its first three months of service. Today, it is one of the world’s largest Internet Service Providers. Gates’ vision of “A personal computer on every desk, in every home” was the foundation of Microsoft and I believe should be the foundation of the future. For the Fiscal year ending June 2005, Microsoft had revenues $39.79 billion. Today, the company employs 61,000 people in 102 countries. The new challenge for Gates: keeping its software stronghold as “customers start to move beyond the PC.”