Much of the company's good fortune comes on the back of a series of acquisitions and a push into the US. Our recent acquisitions are expected to contribute significantly and the second half has begun well.
The company is investing $2bn on this effort - it has made several acquisitions that brought in software for small companies and has placed its former sales head, Orlando Ayala, in charge of the push.
IT budgets will always be a problem for IT managers justifying new technology acquisitions. Microsoft has admitted that customers keen to migrate from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 face a stumbling block in running SQL Server.
Microsoft Business Solutions, which includes Microsoft's CRM software as well as products obtained in its Great Plains and Navision acquisitions, had revenue of $190m, a 41 per cent increase from the same quarter a year earlier.
The software giant has made several security-related acquisitions, including ID management company Alacris last September and hosted email security provider FrontBridge last summer. Microsoft has agreed to acquire Whale Communications, a specialist...
Microsoft's newly-launched Windows Server 2008 has been given a cautious welcome by customers. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer launched Windows Server 2008 this week, calling it the most significant Windows Server release since the first version.