Microsoft needs to do the same thing as Google and Apple, he says

Aug 7, 2013 11:52 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is going through a major reorganization process supposed to help the company focus more on devices and services, but despite all these efforts, the tech giant has lost its cool factor.

That’s what former Microsoft evangelist Robert Scoble said in an interview with Fairfax Media, explaining that the Redmond-based company needed to do the same things as Google and Apple.

If his name doesn’t ring any bells to you, Scoble is a former technology evangelist at Microsoft who decided to leave the company in June 2006 to become the vice president of Podtech.net.

At that time, it was believed that Scoble had resigned because he was looking for a higher salary elsewhere.

Innovation is the key, he said, pointing out that Microsoft had completely failed to get itself noticed in the tablet and smartphone markets.

"Since I've left [Microsoft], what have they done that's interesting? Microsoft [Xbox] Kinect is the only thing I can think of and for a company that has 90,000 employees, to have only one product that you can point to that's innovative, that's pretty disappointing I think,” he said according to The Age.

"Compare that to Google, which is showing you self-driving cars, Google Glass and a phone that you can talk to, the Moto X, and on and on — automatic picture improvements on Google+ — It's a much more innovative company that is driving the future harder and faster."

One of the reasons why Microsoft fails to innovate right now is the current leadership, Scoble explained, revealing that Steve Ballmer is actually trying to make more money by rolling out innovative technologies.

“I just don't believe Steve Ballmer really likes the future. When I interviewed [him] he said innovation is something cool that makes a lot of money. And that's absolutely not true. [Google Glass] might never make a dollar but it's new, it's interesting [and] it causes conversations. If you're an innovator, you push the future ahead. You don't care whether it necessarily makes a dollar,” he continued.

Both Google and Apple are now trendsetters in the IT industry, Scoble added, pointing out that both companies are now working on new wearable gadgets.

“They have less than four per cent market share on mobile phones and they're not yet involved in this conversation about what is this new wearable thing. Apple has a watch under development. They're going to be involved,” he stated without commenting on rumors that Microsoft is working on its own smart watch too.