Steve Ballmer

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.

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

Easy. Because that's where IBM could squish us like a bug. If we couldn't sell our stuff to businesses, only to consumers... We knew that by then. We'd only get so far because enterprises wanted some features and enterprise don't like, you know, okay, you can go to computer land and buy a few copies.

Easy. Because that's where IBM could squish us like a bug. If we couldn't sell our stuff to businesses, only to consumers... We knew that by then. We'd only get so far because enterprises wanted some features and enterprise don't like, you know, okay, you can go to computer land and buy a few copies.

Our first sort of software pricing packaging model for the enterprise was not the enterprise agreement. First, it was, you know, we sold you disks. Second, we came up with this notion of what we called select licensing. And you could make your own copies. And you just report how many copies you sold.

Our first sort of software pricing packaging model for the enterprise was not the enterprise agreement. First, it was, you know, we sold you disks. Second, we came up with this notion of what we called select licensing. And you could make your own copies. And you just report how many copies you sold.

You tell us how many copies and just pay us what you did. The Enterprise Honor System.

You tell us how many copies and just pay us what you did. The Enterprise Honor System.