14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8’s early uptake doesn’t seem to be too impressive, the Surface tablet is yet to take off, Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger will be soon retired, and Windows XP will go dark in less than one year.
All these decisions turned Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer into one of the most criticized executives lately, as lots of users around the world blame him for the company’s new strategy and the way it responded to the received feedback.
But Colin Gillis, technology analyst at BGC Partners, told BBC that Steve Ballmer has also done quite a lot of good things at Microsoft’s helm, so he doesn’t deserve to be so heavily criticized.
“Kinect at the time was the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in history, XBox was also fast selling. And that was a very competitive marketplace,” he was quoted as saying.
“He's built up a multi-billion-dollar enterprise business, but the flipside is the computing landscape has shifted and Microsoft has not shifted well with it - this is the rise of smartphones and tablets.”
Many blame Steve Ballmer for the new direction adopted by the Windows platform, as the tech giant decided to dump the traditional and utterly popular Start Menu and go for a new Start Screen specifically designed for touch devices.
What’s more, Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge with the Windows division until late 2012, decided to leave the company due to what seemed to be a growing tension between him and Ballmer. No official reason has been provided, but sources familiar with the matter hinted that Sinofsky had wanted to steal Ballmer’s job and become the new Microsoft CEO.
Gillis says that Ballmer probably made a few mistakes when it comes to leadership, including letting Sinofsky leave, but those who wish to criticize him should also take into account the good things he did since he became CEO.
“A lot of it is down to the leadership. It's fair to critique him in that area. But if you're going to penalise him in the areas where he's late to market you also need to give him credit for areas where he was successful.”