Company: Microsoft
Date: 2014-02-26
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Well managed, good working environment, smart people, but slow
Pros: Microsoft is a good place to work. The offices are nice, the people are smart. The company tries hard to focus on employee development. 

Considering the size of the company, Microsoft is a well run business in most respects. Planning processes are well defined and executed. Organization structure is clear. People are very willing to work in a matrix and collaborate.
Cons: Speed. While more aggressive companies are focused on what they will ship 3 weeks or 3 months from now, Microsoft operates on very long cycles - 2 to 4 years. As a result, Microsoft has the unique ability to be both too early and too late in a given market. 

Take mobile or tablets. Microsoft shipped product years before other companies. But when Apple demonstrated the first successful model, it took years for Microsoft to emulate. 

Political complexity. Efforts to operate as "one Microsoft" often hinder success of individual groups. Take Office for the iPad. Where is it? Office Mac is also a terrible product. 

Leadership is a mixed bag. The leadership ranks at Microsoft include some of the best and some of the worst leaders you will find. Question of luck.