Microsoft
Colin Aylward is a Principal Group Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft, leading the Site Reliability Engineering team for Microsoft's first-party engineering system since July 2004. With extensive experience in IT operations and consulting, Aylward has previously worked as an IT Operations Consultant for Volt and TEKsystems, where roles included improving system stability and security for digital delivery platforms and regional banking databases. Prior to that, Aylward served as an Implementation Consultant at Iron Mountain, developing automated code for data validation, and as an IT Operations Analyst at Market Matrix, responsible for the maintenance of multiple customer sites. Aylward holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from Seattle University, alongside a Certificate in Computer Science Fundamentals and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship from the University of Washington Bothell School of Business.
Microsoft
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Founded by childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Redmond Washington, Microsoft began its operations as a computer software company. They quickly became a household name within the computer operating system market when it was founded in 1975. With their successful IPO a few years later, they went on to acquire several large operations such as LinkedIn and Skype giving them total market dominance. With the shift to a devices and services strategy and under new leadership, Microsoft went on to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. In 2019, they made history as the third US public company to reach 1 trillion market cap, and most recently, they have been valued at over 2 trillion. Today, Microsoft generates revenue by developing, licensing, and supporting a wide range of software products and services, by designing and selling hardware, and by delivering relevant online advertising to a global customer audience. In addition to selling individual products and services, they offer suites of products and services such as consulting to computer system integrators and developers. However, they are mostly known for Microsoft Windows Operating System, Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer web browser. More specifically, their products include operating systems for personal computers, servers, phones, and other intelligent devices; server applications for distributed computing environments; productivity applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games; and online advertising. They also design and sell hardware including the Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment console, Kinect for Xbox 360, Xbox 360 accessories, and Microsoft PC hardware products