Editing MicroStrategy (section)

==History==
[[File:MicroStrategy logo.svg|thumb|right|250px|Logo prior to 2025]]

Saylor started MicroStrategy in 1989 with a consulting contract from [[DuPont]], which provided Saylor with $250,000 in start-up capital and office space in [[Wilmington, Delaware]]. Saylor was soon joined by company co-founder [[Sanju Bansal]], whom he had met while the two were students at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT).<ref name="Glasser96">{{Cite news |last=Glasser |first=Jeff |date=July 15, 1996 |title=From the Ground Up and Up |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/washtech/daily/june96/061596saylor.htm}}</ref> The company produced software for [[data mining]] and [[business intelligence]] using [[Nonlinear system|nonlinear mathematics]],<ref name=Jaffe00 /> an idea inspired by a course on systems-dynamics theory that they took at MIT.<ref name="Salter00">{{Cite news |last=Salter |first=Chuck |date=March 31, 2000 |title=People and Technology - MicroStrategy Inc. |work=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]] |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/39401/people-and-technology-microstrategy-inc}}</ref>

In 1992, MicroStrategy gained its first major client when it signed a $10 million contract with [[McDonald's]]. It increased revenues by 100% each year between 1990 and 1996.<ref name=Glasser96/> In 1994, the company's offices and its 50 employees moved from Delaware to [[Tysons Corner, Virginia]].<ref name="Leibovich02">{{Cite news |last=Leibovich |first=Mark |date=January 6, 2002 |title=MicroStrategy's CEO Sped to the Brink |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/01/06/microstrategys-ceo-sped-to-the-brink/7a0ab40f-1d6e-42f3-8f28-b907de3c8d67/}}</ref>

On June 11, 1998, MicroStrategy became a [[public company]] via an [[initial public offering]]. The company sold 36 million shares of its common stock, each share priced at $6, under the stock ticker "MSTR" on the [[NASDAQ]] stock exchange.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leibovich |first=Mark |date=August 9, 1998 |title=JOURNEY INTO THE SECRET HEART OF CAPITALISM |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/08/09/journey-into-the-secret-heart-of-capitalism/8a958de1-7a7d-4b7a-b8c5-3055c0508ad5/}}</ref>

In 2000, MicroStrategy founded [[Alarm.com]] as part of its [[research and development]] unit.<ref name="Takahashi09">{{Cite news |last=Takahashi |first=Dean |date=February 17, 2009 |title=Alarm.com buys out its owners for $27.7 million |work=[[VentureBeat]] |url=https://venturebeat.com/2009/02/17/alarmcom-buys-out-its-owners-for-277-million/}}</ref>

On March 20, 2000, after a review of its accounting practices, MicroStrategy announced that it would restate its financial results for the preceding two years.<ref name="Hilzenrath00a">{{Cite news |last=Hilzenrath |first=David S. |date=March 22, 2000 |title=For MicroStrategy, A Matter of Timing |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2000/03/22/for-microstrategy-a-matter-of-timing/aa8a33c7-d0d1-4824-8436-bd59a3a03a45/}}</ref> Its stock price, which had risen from $7 per share to as high as $333 per share in a year, fell to $120 per share, or 62%, in a day in what is regarded as the bursting of the [[dot-com bubble]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 20, 2000 |title=MicroStrategy plummets |publisher=[[CNN Money]] |url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/03/20/companies/microstrategy/}}</ref> 

Following MicroStrategy Inc.'s March 20, 2000 announcement that it had significantly overstated its 1998 and 1999 revenues, approximately two dozen class action securities fraud actions were filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against MicroStrategy.<ref>{{Cite case |title=In re Microstrategy Inc. Securities Litigation, No. CIV.00-473-A {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/in-re-microstrategy-inc-securities-litigation-4 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241228193727/https://casetext.com/case/in-re-microstrategy-inc-securities-litigation-4 |archive-date=2024-12-28 |access-date=2025-01-01 |language=en}}</ref> In December 2000, the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] brought charges against the company and its executives.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=SEC Brings Civil Charges Against MicroStrategy, Three Executive Officers for Accounting Violations |date=December 14, 2000 |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/headlines/microstr.htm}}</ref> A lawsuit was subsequently filed against MicroStrategy and certain of its officials over fraud.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 15, 2000 |title=MicroStrategy Chairman Accused of Fraud by S.E.C. |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/15/business/microstrategy-chairman-accused-of-fraud-by-sec.html|last1=Norris |first1=Floyd}}</ref> In December 2000, Saylor, Bansal, and the company's former [[CFO]] settled with the SEC without admitting wrongdoing, each paying $350,000 in fines. The officers also paid a combined total of $10 million in [[Disgorgement (law)|disgorgement]]. The company settled with the SEC, hiring an independent director to ensure regulatory compliance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lau |first=Debra |date=December 18, 2000 |title=Forbes Faces: Michael Saylor |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/2000/12/18/1218faces.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hilzenrath |first=David S. |date=December 15, 2000 |title=Saylor, Associates Settle Fraud Charges |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2000/12/15/saylor-associates-settle-fraud-charges/a69bcb25-99d4-4018-9f9f-0eb0e22f37b3/}}</ref>

In February 2009, MicroStrategy sold Alarm.com to [[venture capital]] firm [[ABS Capital Partners]] for $27.7 million.<ref name=Takahashi09/> The company introduced [[OLAP]] Services with a shared data set cache to accelerate reports and ad hoc queries.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/software-platforms/microstrategy-launches-in-memory-analysis-engine/d/d-id/1113842| title=MicroStrategy Launches In-Memory Analysis Engine | work=Information Week | date=February 14, 2014}}</ref> In 2010, the company began developing and deploying business intelligence software for mobile platforms, such as the [[iPhone]] and [[iPad]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kayle |first=Alex |date=July 7, 2010 |title=iPad spells end for traditional BI |work=[[ITWeb]] |url=http://v2.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34639%3Aipad-spells-end-for-traditional-bi&catid=69&Itemid=58}}</ref>

In 2011, MicroStrategy expanded its offerings to include a cloud-based service, MicroStrategy Cloud.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Howson |first=Cindi |date=January 31, 2012 |title=MicroStrategy Cloud, Social And Mobile Bets Pay Off |work=[[InformationWeek]] |url=http://www.informationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/microstrategy-cloud-social-and-mobile-be/232500755}}</ref> 

In 2013, MicroStrategy sold [[Angel Incorporated|Angel]] to [[Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories]] for $110 million.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=MicroStrategy Announces Sale of Angel Subsidiary |date=February 26, 2013 |publisher=[[PR Newswire]] |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/microstrategy-announces-sale-of-angel-subsidiary-193265481.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 26, 2013 |title=MicroStrategy To Sell Angel.com Unit To Genesys For $110M |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2013/02/26/microstrategy-to-sell-angel-com-unit-to-genesys-for-110m/}}</ref> 

In January 2014, the company announced a new feature of the platform called PRIME (Parallel Relational In-Memory Engine), co-developed with [[Facebook]].<ref name="idev1" />

In October 2014, the company announced plans to lay off 770 employees, a month after reducing Saylor's salary from $875,000 to $1 at his request.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clabaugh |first=Jeff |date=October 9, 2014 |title=MicroStrategy slashes workforce by 20 percent |work=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/techflash/2014/10/microstrategy-slashes-workforce-by-20-percent.html}}</ref>

In June 2015, MicroStrategy announced the general availability of MicroStrategy 10.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Noyes |first=Katherine |date=June 4, 2015 |title=MicroStrategy 10 promises enhanced BI with more governance, security |work=[[CIO magazine]] |url=http://www.cio.com/article/2931913/microstrategy-10-promises-enhanced-bi-with-more-governance-security.html}}</ref>

In the fall of 2018, the company released MicroStrategy 11.<ref name="Holak">{{Cite news |last=Holak |first=Brian |date=January 8, 2019 |title=MicroStrategy 2019 platform touts 'zero-click' analytics |work=[[Tech Target]] |url=https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/news/252455491/MicroStrategy-2019-platform-touts-zero-click-analytics |access-date=April 2, 2019}}</ref>

In January 2019, MicroStrategy announced the general availability of MicroStrategy 2019.<ref name="Marshall">{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Mo |date=January 7, 2019 |title=MicroStrategy 2019 promises voice queries, hyper-targeted intelligence |work=[[Venture Beat]] |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/01/07/microstrategy-2019-promises-voice-queries-hyper-targeted-intelligence/ |access-date=April 2, 2019}}</ref>

In February 2020, the company announced  MicroStrategy 2020.<ref name="search1">{{Cite web |date=2020-02-05 |title=HyperIntelligence upgrades highlight MicroStrategy 2020 |url=https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/news/252477892/HyperIntelligence-upgrades-highlight-MicroStrategy-2020 |access-date=2020-03-26 |website=TechTarget}}</ref>

In August 2022, the Attorney General for the [[District of Columbia]] sued Saylor for tax fraud, accusing him of illegally avoiding more than $25 million in D.C. taxes by pretending to be a resident of other jurisdictions. MicroStrategy was accused of collaborating with Saylor to facilitate his [[tax evasion]] by misreporting his residential address to local and federal tax authorities and failing to withhold D.C. taxes.<ref>{{cite web |title=AG Racine Sues DC-Based Billionaire Michael Saylor & Software Company Microstrategy for Evading More Than $25 Million in District Taxes |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-sues-dc-based-billionaire-michael-saylor |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=oag.dc.gov}}</ref> MicroStrategy said the case is "a personal tax matter involving Mr. Saylor" and called the claims against the company "false" and it would "defend aggressively against this overreach."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Feiner |first1=Lauren |date=31 August 2022 |title=MicroStrategy Chair Michael Saylor accused of evading $25 million in taxes by DC attorney general |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/31/microstrategy-chairman-michael-saylor-accused-of-tax-evasion-by-dc-ag.html |access-date=1 September 2022 |publisher=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> In June 2024, Saylor and MicroStrategy reached a $40 million settlement agreement with the District of Columbia.<ref name="Hirsch 2024">{{cite news |last1=Hirsch |first1=Lauren |title=MicroStrategy and Its Founder to Pay $40 Million in Tax Fraud Lawsuit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/business/dealbook/microstrategy-michael-saylor-tax-fraud.html |work=[[New York Times]] |date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128102401/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/business/dealbook/microstrategy-michael-saylor-tax-fraud.html |archive-date=28 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

Saylor resigned as CEO effective August 8, 2022. Phong Le, who had been president, succeeded him. Saylor remains the executive chairman of MicroStrategy. In a press release announcing the transition, Saylor said that he would focus on the company's bitcoin acquisition strategy and that Phong would manage overall corporate operations.<ref name="cnbc-2022-08-02" />