上周一，我在微軟呆了一整天的時間，這是一家相對低調、稍顯古怪而又比較自信的公司。

薩蒂亞·納德拉擔任微軟首席執行官已近五年，他清楚地知道，全世界都認為微軟已經東山再起，但拒絕對此大肆宣揚。他在談及微軟曾經處于霸主地位的Windows軟件時表示：“當公司的首要特許權產品不復往日風采時，推到重來是一件困難的工作。我一直在觀察那些已然做到這一點的公司，并希望借此獲得啟發?！?/p>

在這個凸顯微軟獨到之處的一天之中，納德拉在活動伊始和結束之時發表了講話，聽眾是一小群記者。像蘋果和亞馬遜這樣的同行直到產品即將銷售之時才會向外界透露其產品信息。作為對比，微軟則向人們展示了構建其未來大作的幾乎所有理念，從“魔法視窗”雙面顯示技術到量子計算，再到其HoloLens“混合現實”平臺。

異常幸運的是，微軟多年前便開始著手打造其Windows授權產品的替代品——多面手Azure云服務業務，它目前僅次于亞馬遜市場領先的云服務。（上周二，微軟宣布其云服務勝出，一舉拿下Walgreens Boots多年期服務合約。）Azure則順理成章地成為了微軟“智能邊緣”（intelligent edge）策略的核心組成部分：所有可能大熱的設備和服務都將使用和培育公司的增長引擎Azure。

納德拉完成了一個幾乎不可能完成的任務，讓微軟成為了科技行業一家怡然自得的公司。史蒂夫·鮑爾默的日子一去不復返，當時，這家總部位于華盛頓州雷德蒙德市的公司對于競爭對手的設備可謂是不屑一顧，而微軟如今則是盡可能地做好人。納德拉僅將三家公司看作主要競爭對手：亞馬遜、谷歌和阿里巴巴。他說：“這些公司都是擁有平臺業務的大型綜合型企業，但我們只是一家有著少量綜合業務的平臺公司?！保ㄔ诒粏柤霸谥袊就劣兄鴱姶笤茦I務的阿里巴巴時，納德拉回答道：“在中國有所建樹的企業都有實力走出國門?！保?/p>

微軟的重振以及全球資本對其仇視的消失讓公司成為了多個前沿的政策領袖?？偛貌祭隆な访芩褂谏现芤坏难葜v中花了很長的時間介紹了科技行業在解決社會問題方面所能發揮的作用，其中的一些問題因科技和相關公司而變得更加嚴重。他指出，微軟將通過政策途徑來解決三個方面的問題：接觸科技的機會，尤其是美國鄉村地區的寬帶問題；教育水平低下人群的技術技能差距；經濟飛速增長所帶來的挑戰，尤其是科技行業所在主要城市區域缺乏經濟住房的問題。上周四，微軟計劃宣布一項由其領導的普吉特灣地區動議，旨在增加當地的住房供應量。

微軟還面臨著很多挑戰：其很多小型業務的業績并不理想；它看到了“無縫”計算的未來，但它在關鍵的智能手機市場卻沒有話語權；全球經濟的下滑將拖累微軟以及所有企業。

然而，就公司的重生而言，無論是實際層面還是象征層面，微軟正在拆除其西雅圖郊區巨大的建筑群，并修建新的建筑、地下車庫（汽車將從主園區消失）以及與公共交通相連的環保連接。

微軟曾是科技行業萬人恨、萬人踩的公司，只不過人們已經開始淡忘這段歷史。然而，就低調、古怪和自信而言，其他公司可能難以望其項背。（財富中文網）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

I spent Monday at Microsoft, a relatively humble, relatively quirky, and relatively confident company.

Satya Nadella, just shy of five years into his tenure as Microsoft’s CEO, is well aware of the world’s view of his company’s rejuvenation—and he refuses to gloat out loud. “When you have major franchises that run out steam,” he says, referring to Microsoft’s once-dominant Windows software, “to reinvent yourself is hard work. I’m always looking for inspiration” from companies that have done it.

Nadella spoke to a small group of journalists at the beginning and end of a day packed with evidence of Microsoft’s uniqueness. Peers like Apple and Amazon share relatively little with the world until the day they’re ready to sell it. Microsoft, by contrast, offers glimpses of seemingly every idea that might be its next big thing, from “magic window” two-way display technology to quantum computing to its HoloLens “mixed-reality” platform.

To its great good fortune, Microsoft several years ago hit on a replacement to its Windows franchise, the multi-faceted Azure cloud-services business that is No. 2 to Amazon’s market-leading product. (On last Tuesday, Microsoft announced its latest cloud services win, signing Walgreens Boots to a multi-year deal.) Azure, in turn, is the center of Microsoft’s “intelligent edge” strategy: Every potential hit device and service leverages and feeds Azure, the company’s growth engine.

Nadella has pulled off the seemingly impossible in making Microsoft the feel-good company of the tech industry. Gone are the days of Steve Ballmer, when devices by competitors were four-letter words in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft now plays nice whenever possible. Nadella identifies only three primary competitors: Amazon, Google, and Alibaba. “All are aggregators with platform businesses,” he says. “We are a platform business with a small aggregation business.” (Asked about Alibaba, a cloud powerhouse in its home country, Nadella replied: “Anyone who is doing well in China can get outside it.”)

The company’s resurgence and the evaporation of animosities once endured in global capitals allow it to be a policy leader on multiple fronts. President Brad Smith spoke last Monday at length about what the tech industry can do to alleviate societal problems, some of which technology and its companies have exacerbated. He says Microsoft sees three ills it will address through policy means: access to technology, particularly broadband in rural America; the gap in technical skills among the poorly educated; and challenges posed by explosive economic growth, notably the lack of affordable housing in the major urban areas where tech does business. On last Thursday, Microsoft plans to announce an initiative it is leading in the Puget Sound area to add to the housing supply.

Microsoft faces plenty of challenges. The track record of its smaller bets is poor. It sees a future of “seamless” computing but doesn’t have a position in the critical smartphone market. A global economic slowdown would hurt it along with everyone else.

And yet, in a physical and metaphorical sign of its rebirth, Microsoft is tearing up huge swaths of its suburban Seattle campus to build new buildings, underground garages (cars will disappear from the main campus), and eco-friendly links to public transit.

But it’s tough to remember anymore when Microsoft was the most hated company in tech or the flattest of doormats either. Other companies could do a lot worse than humble, quirky, and confident.