In its 46-year history, the past eight years have undoubtedly been among the most successful for Microsoft. Already a major player in the IT space, its revenue more than doubled from $77.8 billion in FY 2013 to $168.1 billion in FY 2021, which is impressive in itself. However, during the period 2010 to 2013, its market cap fluctuated between $215 billion and $295 billion, but in 2014, it broke $300 billion for the first time and hasn’t stopped climbing since, breaching $1 trillion in mid-2019 and smashing the $2 trillion barrier this year. So, what’s the secret to this success?

At first glance, the most obvious turning point was the replacement of Microsoft’s second CEO Steve Ballmer with Satya Nadella. IDC’s associate VP for South, East and West Africa Mark Walker, who worked at Microsoft for a couple of years during Ballmer’s reign, picks up the story.