<P> DOS ( Disk Operating System ) was the operating system that brought the company its real success . IBM first approached Microsoft about its upcoming IBM Personal Computer ( IBM PC ) in July 1980 . On August 12 , 1981 , after negotiations with Digital Research failed , IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide a version of the CP / M operating system , which was set to be used in the IBM PC . For this deal , Microsoft purchased a CP / M clone called 86 - DOS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for less than US $100,000 , which IBM renamed to IBM PC DOS . Microsoft did not have an operating system when they closed the deal with IBM and IBM had not done their homework . Due to potential copyright infringement problems with CP / M , IBM marketed both CP / M and PC DOS for US $240 and US $40 , respectively , with PC DOS eventually becoming the standard because of its lower price . 35 of the company 's 100 employees worked on the IBM project for more than a year . When the IBM PC debuted , Microsoft was the only company that offered operating system , programming language , and application software for the new computer . </P>
<P> DOS ( Disk Operating System ) was the operating system that brought the company its real success . IBM first approached Microsoft about its upcoming IBM Personal Computer ( IBM PC ) in July 1980 . On August 12 , 1981 , after negotiations with Digital Research failed , IBM awarded a contract to Microsoft to provide a version of the CP / M operating system , which was set to be used in the IBM PC . For this deal , Microsoft purchased a CP / M clone called 86 - DOS from Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products for less than US $100,000 , which IBM renamed to IBM PC DOS . Microsoft did not have an operating system when they closed the deal with IBM and IBM had not done their homework . Due to potential copyright infringement problems with CP / M , IBM marketed both CP / M and PC DOS for US $240 and US $40 , respectively , with PC DOS eventually becoming the standard because of its lower price . 35 of the company 's 100 employees worked on the IBM project for more than a year . When the IBM PC debuted , Microsoft was the only company that offered operating system , programming language , and application software for the new computer . </P>
who did microsoft strike a deal with to provide dos operating system
who did microsoft strike a deal with to provide dos operating system
IBM
IBM