Microsoft is the world's largest provider of computer software. It is also a leading provider of cloud computing services, video games, computer and gaming hardware, search engines and other online services. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Wash, and it has offices in more than 60 countries.
The Microsoft Windows operating system began its life as an optional complement to the MS-DOS operating system. The idea of a graphical user interface was introduced by Apple Computer's Apple II and Macintosh. However, thanks to earlier cooperation with IBM, Microsoft managed to convince the hardware giant to provide Microsoft Windows pre-installed on IBM personal computers.
This monumental move made Windows one of the most recognized software titles in history. The Microsoft Office suite of applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access) began its life as Microsoft Works, an Apple Macintosh application that offered the functions of a word processor, spreadsheet and database in one. Microsoft's popular Internet Explorer Web browser was originally a rebranded version of Spyglass Mosaic.
Microsoft's origins are in developer tools. It started with Visual Basic, then grew to Visual C++ and finally Visual C#, which was developed specifically for the .Net platform. Eventually, all of these tools and supporting tools were bundled into one 2002 package; Visual Studio.
Also in 2002, Microsoft launched its .NET framework; a programming model to help developers build applications for Windows. The core components of the .NET platform are the Common Language Runtime, which allows almost any language to be compiled into an intermediate language, and the Framework Class Library, which provides core features for each language.
.NET was initially designed for Windows-only development. But Microsoft extended it to non-Windows platforms, particularly Linux and mobile. This led to platform fragmentation: There was .Net Framework, the original implementation; .Net Core, introduced in 2014 as the successor to Framework that added support for Linux and Mac; and Xamarin, a port of the .Net Framework for Android phones.
In 2019, Microsoft announced that it would combine .Net Framework, .Net Core and Xamarin into a single unified platform called .Net 5 Framework. That was released in 2020.
Microsoft started its hardware division in 1982 to develop a mouse for use with Microsoft Word. In 1995, it introduced its own keyboard with specific keys to operate Windows 95.
In 2001, it launched the Xbox system for game consoles as a direct competitor to established game companies such as Sony and Nintendo. Since then, Microsoft has released several other iterations of the Xbox, including the Xbox 360 in 2005, the Xbox One in November 2013 and the Xbox Series X and Series S in November 2020.
Microsoft also offers the Surface family of tablet computers, which bundles tablet hardware with the Windows operating system. The first Surface appeared in 2012 and has been succeeded by several succeeding models.
There is a plethora of exams to choose from. The exams are categorized by technology and then by position. There are basic exams for those just starting their journey and expert-level exams for IT professionals. You can take the exams in any order that suits your purpose or journey. So there is no right or wrong way, just the way that works for you.
Each exam has set objectives that not only help you select the exams relevant to your experience or career goals, but they are also there to help you study. Each exam has a small "Measured Skills" section that gives you a percentage of how much of the exam will be focused on that topic, and there is also a larger document that breaks down each section in more detail so you can really fine-tune your study plan.
What happens if I don't pass the first time?
Sometimes a person does not pass the exam in one sitting. You must wait at least 24 hours before taking the exam again, and you can retake the exam five times a year (12 months) if necessary.
Technology is an important factor in business growth today. Microsoft, for example, has played a vital role in helping businesses improve their operations. Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975, has taken the lead in the global development of software, services and solutions that improve business. Today, almost every company uses Microsoft technology in its operations to maximize profits, increase sales and optimize profitability. But what is Microsoft's secret and how can its technologies help you grow your business?
Prepare your business for growth
One of the great strengths of Microsoft technologies is that, in addition to optimizing operations and improving performance, they are designed to prepare businesses for growth. Microsoft creates business-focused solutions that, unlike other options on the market, are highly intuitive and specifically designed to help business owners ensure their business continues to grow.
Cost savings
Another major benefit of using Microsoft's services and technologies as a whole is cost savings. Technology is a strategic asset for businesses, and Microsoft is well aware of this. Making the best use of Microsoft's tools will help you better connect with customers, improve productivity and reduce operational costs.
Companies value anything that helps them adjust their operating costs. Low operating costs help them set competitive prices and generate investment and business opportunities. Microsoft has a wide range of solutions that can help companies lower their costs, including solutions for interoperability, data governance and data integration.
Improve automation and productivity
Process automation is essential for today's businesses. Automation simplifies work, shortens the production cycle and increases speed. Microsoft has specific automation solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics that use artificial intelligence to automate multiple business functions.
These types of technologies help reduce time spent on basic, mundane or repetitive tasks, saving employees a lot of time and allowing them to focus on more demanding and meaningful tasks. Automating these tasks with Microsoft technologies helps organizations increase productivity and focus on growth.
Adapting to changes in customer demand
Customer needs are dynamic and constantly changing. To keep customers happy, it is essential for companies to keep up and adapt to new customer preferences and demands as much as possible. What satisfies customers today may not do so tomorrow. Therefore, companies must act quickly and intelligently and adapt their products and services, as well as the experiences offered to customers, to the needs of today and tomorrow.
Microsoft has a number of tools with features that can help generate knowledge about customers and execute strategic actions such as customer segmentation.
Microsoft Azure is an excellent example of technology that supports this flexibility. You can use it to host mobile apps by adding and removing them depending on your customer's demand. Microsoft Azure also allows companies to innovate from the cloud. This tool also provides businesses with great insights to ensure they succeed with cloud migration. This ensures they meet customer needs without compromising user experiences. These and many other Microsoft tools can help you adapt to changes in customer behavior.
Improve relationships with your customers
Customers are everything to a business. It is virtually impossible to increase sales, achieve business goals and generate growth if we don't create meaningful relationships with our customers. Building and maintaining those relationships starts with being able to properly communicate with your target audience.
Microsoft has excellent communication tools such as Hubspot and Microsoft Teams that can help you improve business communication and build closer relationships with your customers.
Improve system security
Technology has had great positive impact on businesses, but it has also brought with it a number of cybersecurity issues that put business systems at risk. Fortunately, the market is full of data security and system protection solutions that businesses can embrace when they want to prevent security problems and protect their data.
Microsoft provides businesses with several tools designed to enhance security. The most commonly used are:
Improve collaboration
In business, collaboration is key. In 2020, Covid-19 had a major impact on the workforce and forced many companies to switch to telecommuting during the height of the pandemic. Although most businesses are back open and employees are partially back in the office, it seems that remote work will continue to be a part of our lives.
Telecommuting has been a challenge for many organizations striving to maintain productivity despite distance. Telecommuting has many benefits, but it can also hinder communication between employees and make collaboration difficult. That is why more and more companies are investing in technologies that make it easier to collaborate remotely.
Microsoft is one of the leading providers of collaboration technologies. There are several tools from Microsoft that help employees stay in touch from different locations. The best-known examples are SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, etc. These services facilitate communication, file sharing and real-time collaboration.
In short, the world today is moving faster than ever before, especially in business. Technology is partly responsible for this growth, and Microsoft has played a key role in helping organizations cut costs, increase security and improve productivity with its wide range of applications.
If you run a business, it may be a good idea to consider Microsoft services to optimize your core business operations. You can use this enterprise suite to build better relationships with your customers, support remote working, generate leads or improve the productivity of your operations.
Courses for Microsoft are suitable for any IT professional, whether private or business. According to your already acquired training and knowledge, you choose which Microsoft training you start with, or continue with. Do you need advice? Then we are at your service via phone, chat and email.
For each online training course purchased, you have 1 year of access. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for up to 365 days. So you decide when and how long you learn for the training. Is the daytime not convenient? The evening and night are available to you. Even if you go on vacation for a few weeks, this is no problem and you simply pick it up again after your well-deserved vacation.
Whether you are preparing for the exam or not, taking a Microsoft certification training course will teach you the essential skills to make your IT career a success. Check out the chart below for Microsoft certifications and skills in a specific role.
Messaging Administrator Associate
Security Administrator Associate
Microsoft 365 Certified: Developer Associate
Modern Desktop Administrator Associate
Teams Administrator Associate
Teams Voice Engineer Expert
Enterprise Administrator Expert
Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM)
Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (ERP)
Dynamics 365 Sales Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Marketing Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Field Service Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Business Central Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Finance Functional Consultant Associate
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate
Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert
Microsoft Certified Customer Data Platform Specialty
Validate your knowledge of security, compliance and identity concepts and cloud-based Microsoft solutions.
Earn certifications that show you are up to date on current technical functions and requirements. Microsoft has certification programs for many technical functions. Each of these certifications consists of taking a series of exams to earn the certification.
Some career opportunities with Microsoft certifications:
Harvard University classmates Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft in 1975 to develop a compiler for the Altair 8800, a very primitive early computer. Gates contacted the manufacturer Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) and offered to write a program for the new computer. Gates and Allen created an interpreter for BASIC (which was then a mainframe programming language) for use with the Altair.
MITS hired Gates and Allen in 1975. But they left in 1976 to devote more time to their own company, Microsoft, which they founded in 1981.
That year, the company received a contract from IBM to develop an operating system for IBM's personal computer. Called PC-DOS by IBM, Microsoft also marketed its own version, MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). In the early 1980s, the fortunes of both IBM and Microsoft soared.
Microsoft developed a graphical interface that ran on top of DOS called Interface Manager, later renamed Windows upon its release in 1985. This was inspired by the same Xerox PARC research project that Apple used to make an arrow move across a graphical desktop.
OEM Office Elearning Menu has years of experience in providing online courses and training. From Excel, Word and Outlook to high professional ICT training for Cisco, AWS, CompTIA and more.
OEM is an official Microsoft Partner, CertiPort Partner and EC-Council Partner. With over 1000 courses from more than 200 brands, our offer is suitable for every PC user. Whether you are a first time PC user starting up Word for the first time, or an ICT professional wanting to know more about Data Security; OEM has the right course or training for you. Missing a training? Let us know and we will gladly look at the options together.
Each completed course provides you with an official certificate of participation. This is personal and specifically addressed to the student. Every Incompany training course automatically delivers a certificate of participation. For each E-learning course you need to have completed at least 70% of the practical assignments to receive a certificate of participation.
Choose from 1000+ training courses from 200+ brands for your personal and business development.
An Excel course, Word course or even a full Office course always comes in handy. We deal with Microsoft programs on a daily basis and it will save you a lot of time to master them properly.
We also have training courses for ICT professionals at OEM Office Elearning Menu. For example, you will learn to deal with databases, servers, learn programming or even become a certified ethical hacker. Learn everything online through E-learning, through course books, walk-in trainings or through Incompany trainings within the company you work for.