STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

Of
MICROSOFT

Submitted toDr.Piysuh Verma

Submitted ByNamrata Dhaliwal - 501304028

Kritika Parihar-501304023
Sushant Goswami-501304047

INTRODUCTION
The Organization, which we have selected for the study, is the
MICROSOFT CORPORATION. Microsoft Corporation is one of the bestknown software companies in the world. The corporate is famous for its
Windows and Office software. In addition to software products the
business manufactures and develops consumer electronics such as
tablets and game system. And we would be studying the strategies
adopted by Microsoft with the help of various tools.
Company background
Name

Microsoft Corporation

Industries served

Computer software, Electronics

Geographic areas served Worldwide

Headquarters

U.S.

Current CEO

Steve Ballmer

Revenue

$ 73.72 billion (2012)

Profit

$ 16.97 billion (2012)

Employees

94,000 (2012)

Main Competitors

Apple Inc., Google Inc., Samsung Electronics

Co., Ltd., International Business Machines
Corporation and many others

OBJECTIVES
The definition of business strategy includes six areas of analysis. The
product-market focus is the first step. The underlying capabilities in
implementing a product-market strategy include the technologies,
processes and market access that a firm has. These address the business
and its key success factors. Business strategy includes customer
targeting, product lines and positions, technical capabilities, strategic
processes, and market access.
1. Describe the customer targeting strategy and its requirements.
Without targeting a specific customer segment, it is impossible to
develop effective products or services that meet specific customer
needs and requirements. Each segment, by definition, has a
different set of requirements. While differences may be minor at
time, they affect the decision of the customer to purchase the
product or service.
2. Describe the product line and product positioning strategies for
the market segment. The business unit must decide what it will
offer and how those offerings will be positioned within the
competitive environment. A firm can have one product or a
product line that covers a range of prices with a variety of
features. The price-quality-performance position is a relative
determination compared with competitors' prices, quality levels
and features when comparing your products with alternative
products in the marketplace.
3. Identify the technologies required to implement the productmarket strategy. Technologies provide the basic capabilities
needed to develop products or services, as well as the associated
processes used in developing or delivering them to the
marketplace. Technology determines the range of products and
speed with which they can be developed and delivered to the
marketplace.

4. Identify the strategic process required to implement the productmarket strategy. The core capabilities of a firm are embedded in
the business processes and functions. Strategic processes can
either improve the product or marketing capabilities of a firm.
These processes and functions are the basis of a firms competitive
strengths and weaknesses, and make up the core competencies of
the firm. These skills and capabilities are described in section C
below.
5. Identify the market access strategy. The final element of strategy
requires that a firm have access to its market or customers. Today,
the Internet is considered the new channel for accessing markets.
In the 1960s, 1-800 numbers were the new method of access. At
the same time, discount superstores grew their market share in
retail walk-in sales markets.

TOOLS TO BE USED FOR STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL
PESTEL ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

Porter's 5 Forces
Porter's 5 Forces model is another framework for identifying threats and
opportunities within the firm's environment. It considers the bargaining
position of suppliers and customers (including distributors), the threat of
new entrants and substitutes, as well as competitive factors within the
industry itself.

PEST
the PEST framework is useful for ensuring that you consider a broad
range of possible sources of opportunities and threats. The letters

represent the Political, Economic, Social (or Socio-economic) and

Technological opportunities and threats in the firm's environment.

SWOT
The SWOT is the most basic form of strategic analysis. Simply list the
organizations Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

Before making a strategic decision, it is important to understand how
activities within the organization create value for customers. One way
to do this is to conduct a value chain analysis. Value chain analysis is
based on the principle that organizations exist to create value for their
customers. In the analysis, the organizations activities are divided into
separate sets of activities that add value. The organization can more
effectively evaluate its internal capabilities by identifying and examining
each of these activities. Each value adding activity is considered to be a
source of competitive advantage.