"Ironically, when you go all the way back to where Microsoft started the company, it was a company that actually was built on this open innovation philosophy of publishing our application programming interfaces for things like DOS and Windows," Kaefer said. "Now over time, I think other companies leapfrogged us in the ability to be open in a variety of different ways beyond just the API set."

Microsoft itself is bolstering its efforts in IP (intellectual property) licensing. The company is trying to understand how it can create technologies and find homes for some of those outside the company, according to Kaefer. Additionally, the company is exploring inbound IP acquisitions.

The company this week announced it has licensed 3-D technology codenamed TouchLight to Eon Reality.

Microsoft's willingness to experiment with business models, while already having a successful business model of its own, was applauded by event speaker Henry Chesbrough, executive director of the Center for Open Innovation in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

"They're actively experimenting with, in very careful ways, a variety of different things," Chesbrough said.