Steve Ballmer

We had a development agreement with a company called Sybase to do the SQL database because we were trying to figure out all these pieces IBM would have. And we didn't have any of that. An operating system alone is not going to do it. You need all these other components. And if you want to have backend infrastructure, we started scrambling on that in the 80s.

So we had all these infrastructure pieces that we had to build if we wanted to sell to, I'll say, business customers. We weren't even thinking about, when you say enterprises, sometimes people think very large companies. But we couldn't sell the companies of 20 people without some of this stuff, or 50 people.

So we had all these infrastructure pieces that we had to build if we wanted to sell to, I'll say, business customers. We weren't even thinking about, when you say enterprises, sometimes people think very large companies. But we couldn't sell the companies of 20 people without some of this stuff, or 50 people.

Well, Paul Allen. I mean, Paul's the key. Paul is the one who said, Build said, we're never going to be a hardware company. And when the Altair came out, the first real sort of microprocessor-based computer, Paul says, okay, let's write all the software that these things will ever need. Yeah. So Bill and I had a lot of the execution around that, but that was the push.

Well, Paul Allen. I mean, Paul's the key. Paul is the one who said, Build said, we're never going to be a hardware company. And when the Altair came out, the first real sort of microprocessor-based computer, Paul says, okay, let's write all the software that these things will ever need. Yeah. So Bill and I had a lot of the execution around that, but that was the push.

And Paul was cracking on me in the early 80s to start building an apps group. Come on, Steve. Come on, Steve.

And Paul was cracking on me in the early 80s to start building an apps group. Come on, Steve. Come on, Steve.

And there was a VisiCalc spreadsheet. Come on, Steve. Word processors. Come on, come on, come on. Let's get the talent. Let's get going. And, you know, we were doing mostly college hiring at the time. And so, you know, okay. And then we met this guy, Simone, who had been at Xerox PARC. Charles Simone, right? Charles Simone, exactly. And he came.

And there was a VisiCalc spreadsheet. Come on, Steve. Word processors. Come on, come on, come on. Let's get the talent. Let's get going. And, you know, we were doing mostly college hiring at the time. And so, you know, okay. And then we met this guy, Simone, who had been at Xerox PARC. Charles Simone, right? Charles Simone, exactly. And he came.

We met him through a mutual friend at 3Com Corporation who had been at PARC. And he really was the first leader of the apps business. But we licensed. I mean, look, we worked with other people the way IBM worked with us. We went to Sybase and 3Com and let's work together. It wasn't exactly a JDA, joint development agreement, but we worked with those guys the way IBM worked.

We met him through a mutual friend at 3Com Corporation who had been at PARC. And he really was the first leader of the apps business. But we licensed. I mean, look, we worked with other people the way IBM worked with us. We went to Sybase and 3Com and let's work together. It wasn't exactly a JDA, joint development agreement, but we worked with those guys the way IBM worked.

I mean, look, the analogy now is a little bit Microsoft working with OpenAI. When the big company works with the new company, right? How does that all play out over time? But I took over system software in 84. So that's when we're starting all this stuff. And you could say I was a little bit more enterprise-y.

I mean, look, the analogy now is a little bit Microsoft working with OpenAI. When the big company works with the new company, right? How does that all play out over time? But I took over system software in 84. So that's when we're starting all this stuff. And you could say I was a little bit more enterprise-y.

The liftoff there, though, is mostly on Windows and applications, right? The liftoff isn't really enterprise. I mean, look, it was not until the late 2000s. People would say, you guys might find this funny or maybe even know it. Customers say, you're not an enterprise company. You're not an enterprise company. As late as when? Oh, late 2000s. Really?

The liftoff there, though, is mostly on Windows and applications, right? The liftoff isn't really enterprise. I mean, look, it was not until the late 2000s. People would say, you guys might find this funny or maybe even know it. Customers say, you're not an enterprise company. You're not an enterprise company. As late as when? Oh, late 2000s. Really?

Yeah. Our licensing, we had to evolve in the early 90s and then again in the late 90s. No, we didn't have those things. So no, we weren't an enterprise software company.

Yeah. Our licensing, we had to evolve in the early 90s and then again in the late 90s. No, we didn't have those things. So no, we weren't an enterprise software company.

That's how you viewed it. Certainly, it wasn't before 2005. It wasn't the beginning of my tenure. We were still trying to prove that we were an enterprise company. And now I just find it cuckoo that all Microsoft is characterized as an enterprise company, which I'm not – I mean, I think it's more complicated than that, but I'm not going to say that that's not the primary muscle. For sure it is.

That's how you viewed it. Certainly, it wasn't before 2005. It wasn't the beginning of my tenure. We were still trying to prove that we were an enterprise company. And now I just find it cuckoo that all Microsoft is characterized as an enterprise company, which I'm not – I mean, I think it's more complicated than that, but I'm not going to say that that's not the primary muscle. For sure it is.

But, you know, me, the company, I mean, I was hell-bent and determined to prove we were an enterprise company.