Microsoft's reputation is soaring as trust in the tech industry flounders, according to new research
- The Reputation Institute, a 20-plus-year-old reputation-measurement firm, has released its annual report on the tech industry.
- The top 10 most reputable tech companies of 2019, in alphabetical order, are: Adobe, Dell Technologies Garmin, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix, Samsung, and Texas Instruments.
- However, the tech industry as a whole is dragged down by public perception over a host of other issues from data privacy fiascos to sexual harassment scandals.
- One company among the top 10 was named the most-improved, zooming up eight points over 2018: Microsoft.
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The Reputation Institute, a 20-plus year old reputation-measurement firm, has released its annual report on the tech industry.
The top 10 most reputable tech companies of 2019, in alphabetical order, are: Adobe, Dell Technologies Garmin, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix, Samsung, and Texas Instruments.
In a survey of 2,575 individuals, and a collection of a total of 4,978 data points, the report found that the tech industry has a mediocre reputation compared to other industries. It's not as beloved as the food and beverage industry, or retail or hospitality; but it is more reputable than automotive, health care, pharma and - in last place - the airlines.
The best part of the tech industry's reputation is each company's products, which account for over one-third of each company's reputation score.
However, the tech industry as a whole is dragged down by public perception over governance practices (such as cyber security and data privacy issues), citizenship issues (employee activism and walkouts over their employers' doing business with ICE), and workplace issues (fair pay, sexual harassment scandals).
Given this as a backdrop, one company, Microsoft, was named the most-improved company among the top 10 most reputable companies in tech.
And its score, up about eight points over 2018, was mostly due to its improved reputation for its leadership, under CEO Satya Nadella and its cofounder, board member and philanthropist Bill Gates. Other tech companies in the most improved category include Dell, Netflix, IBM, and Texas Instruments.
Microsoft has always enjoyed a high reputation in the Reputation Institute surveys, but this year it earned praise from respondents for high quality products and services, its leadership, and its governance.
CEO Nadella has been widely praised for revamping Microsoft's traditional cut-throat competitive culture into a kinder, gentler version of itself - more willing to work with former rivals like Apple, as well as being a better corporate citizen in general. It is seen as leading the push for ethical regulations on AI, for instance, after some of its AI products were, years ago, accused of racial bias.
Nadella even published a book about revamping Microsoft's culture where he also traced his own personal journey as an immigrant from India into the leader of one of the world's biggest tech companies. He reorganized Microsoft into a cloud computing giant, after it had been left behind in the smartphone revolution.
Netflix also did well in this survey. It was named the No. 1 most reputable company for products and services, as well as for governance. Texas Instruments landed on top for innovation; Intel was top for performance. Dell won the top spots for both citizenship and workplace.