If you want to understand how the big tech companies operate Companies, just follow the money.
Three companies dominate the technology landscape of 2014: Apple, Google and Microsoft. Although they compete directly and indirectly in different departments, each company has its own distinct financial personality.
The best way to understand the differences between these three companies is to look at the detailed reports they are required to submit each quarter.
Let's look at the sources of revenue for each of them, as reported in their quarterly reports for the second half of 2013.
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Apple is a hardware company first and foremost, with the vast majority of its revenue coming from products that did not exist seven years ago: iPhone and iPad. What is even more impressive is how the business has managed to have revenue from music sales through iTunes and apps as the iOS market has grown.
Before two years, the income Google's revenue came almost entirely from advertising. The picture changed slightly with Google's attempt to move into hardware production, through the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, as you can see in the chart. Until the sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo that brought things back to where they were. The "Other" category, which includes digital content and non-Motorola hardware products, is still a small fraction of the company's revenue.
Microsoft
Starting last summer, Microsoft changed the way it reports its revenue, which makes it nearly impossible to make a direct comparison of how business has been over the past two years. In 2014, Microsoft is dominated by software and business services, as shown by the two slices in the circle. Commercial Licensing, which accounts for about half of Microsoft's revenue, covers the products Windows Server, τις Volume Licensing εκδόσεις των Windows και του Office για τις businesses. Τα Επαγγελματικά Λοιπά συμπεριλαμβάνουν τις ταχέως αυξανόμενες υπηρεσίες της επιχείρησης της εταιρείας, όπως το Windows Azure και τις εμπορικές εκδόσεις του Office 365.
The first publication was ZDNet