Attached.

1. What drove the early success of the IBM PC?
Microsoft's rise in the operating system business was based upon the successful starter of IBM
PC. One cannot understand the emergence of Microsoft without understanding why the IBM PC
launch was successful, and what role Bill Gates and Microsoft played in the success. The IBM PC
got introduced as a response to the early success of the Apple II PC, which had been introduced in
1979 and was the first leader in the embryonic personal computer market. IBM's success got based
on various issues:
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IBM used off the shelf components to make the PC, including an Intel microprocessor and
a Microsoft operating system. This reduced time to market and development expenses.

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IBM had a sales force in place that got focused on corporate America (Apple did not). Sales
fore allowed IBM to drive adoption among enterprises.

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IBM had a powerful brand.

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As sales of the IBM PC grew, other software developers jumped on the bandwagon, writing
applications. These included improved spreadsheet offerings (Lotus 1-2-3) and word
processors (Word Perfect).

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The growing availability of high utility applications for the IBM PC created a positive
complementary network effect. The installed base of PC was directly proportional to the
number of requests written to run on the PC, and the demand for the PC.

As a result of these actions, by 1983, a robust IBM PC ecosystem had been established, enabling
IBM to outsell Apple by a large margin.

2. What part did Bill Gates and Microsoft play in the early success of the IBM PC?
Bill Gates played a crucial role in shaping IBM's early choices and success. The 5150 model
of IBM PC used the Ms-DOS operating system, which aided the PC to transform the realm of
computing business. In the year 1980, Microsoft and IBM partnered in an agreement that IBM
computers will be using the Microsoft operating system. The Ms-DOS Operating system of
Microsoft was founded on the sculpture tech...