#6 Microsoft

Top 50 rank: 17

Rank in Computer Software: 6 (Previous rank: 5)

Overall score: 6.15

Steve Ballmer is CEO of Microsoft.

Headquarters: Redmond, WA.

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational software corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. Microsoft is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies.

Why it's admired:

While revenues in the latest quarter were up 5.3 percent, the once dominant Microsoft is facing an uphill battle, as consumers are slow to adopt Windows 8. However, Windows, along with Office, continues to be its most profitable product and the company is experiencing growth in its enterprise-based divisions as opposed to its traditional consumer based market. Microsoft still has a few tricks up its sleeve with its ownership of the Xbox, Skype and its cloud based file-sharing/storage solutions. As users become more accustomed with Windows' presence across multiple platforms, the company is expecting to have solid, if not spectacular results.

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