14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s recent upper management shuffle is a reiteration of the company’s increased focus on cloud and AI, and according to one former employee, it is also living proof that Windows is becoming a non-core business for the once-software giant.
Tim Sneath, who spent no less than 17 years at Microsoft, says in a blog post that “it’s incredible to see Windows demoted to a product without a seat at the highest table,” given the firm’s push for cloud services.
Satya Nadella announced in an email to employees late last week that Windows chief Terry Myerson would leave the company, while Joe Belfiore would lead the Windows experience team. Several groups of the OS division would transition to other teams, including the kernel unit which will become a part of Azure.
“The Microsoft I first loved is no more”
This is an indication that Microsoft no longer sees Windows as the core of everything, Sneath explains, and this could eventually lead to changes in terms of the company’s relationship with partners as well.
“If you’re an ecosystem partner of Microsoft, the lesson is clear — in the same way as Windows is no longer a core business, unless you’re focused on the cloud, you’re not a strategic partner,” Sneath writes.
The former Microsoft employee goes on to explain that while this transition to cloud and AI is what brings home the back for the company, leaving clients and Windows behind is “a seismic shift for the company and its culture.”
“Throughout the majority of my time at Microsoft, Windows was the company’s centerpiece, not just in terms of being the largest revenue contributor, but even more so, the gravitational force that influenced every strategic decision,” he explains.
Sneath ends by saying that despite Microsoft adjusting its priorities, the focus on cloud, AI, and enterprises will help it remain a successful company, “just in a different arena.”