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Microsoft: leader of the big tech gang

The enterprise software specialist has more resilience than tech rivals relying on advertising
November 24, 2022
  • Dominant position in several markets
  • Differentiated consumer exposure

Of all the big tech businesses, Microsoft (US:MSFT) is best placed to weather the upcoming recession. Unlike its rivals it barely relies on advertising revenue. Instead, it sells essential software to businesses. Advertising budgets are one of the first to be cut in hard times; IT budgets are the last.

Tech giant Meta (US:META) recognises Microsoft’s leading position. It has turned to Microsoft as a partner to provide the enterprise software for its new virtual reality headsets Quest Pro and Quest 2. Meta owns the leading hardware in the industry but has been criticised for the quality of its user interface. It sees Microsoft’s decades of experience as the solution. Users will be able to stream any Office 365 product from the Azure cloud onto their Meta headset.

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