Microsoft has just announced a major reorganization of its Platforms & Services Division. It will now be split into two groups (Windows/Windows Live and Online Services) which will both report to Steve Ballmer. That’s right. Steve Ballmer will now personally be running Windows.
Kevin Johnson, who used to head the Platforms & Services Division, will soon be leaving the company to become the CEO of Juniper Networks. Steven Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan and Bill Veghte will be in charge of the newly created Windows/Windows Live group. Microsoft has not yet chosen a leader for the Online Services group.
The full press release is below.
Microsoft Announces Reorganization of Windows and Online Services Business
Platforms & Services Division to Split Into Two Groups and Report to CEO Steve Ballmer.
REDMOND, Wash. — July 23, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Platforms & Services Division (PSD) will be split into two groups: Windows/Windows Live and Online Services, with both groups reporting directly to CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft also announced that PSD President Kevin Johnson will be leaving the company. Johnson will work to ensure a smooth transition.
“Kevin has built a supremely talented organization and laid the foundation for the future success of Windows and our Online Services Business. This new structure will give us more agility and focus in two very competitive arenas,” Ballmer said. “It has been a pleasure to work with Kevin, and we wish him well in the future.”
Effective immediately, senior vice presidents Steven Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan and Bill Veghte will report directly to Ballmer to lead Windows/Windows Live. The Windows organization recently announced strong annual sales, with more than 180 million copies of Windows Vista sold globally, and it has driven more than 100 million installs of its Windows Live suite. The organization’s innovation pipeline includes a new version of Windows Internet Explorer, the next version of Windows and the next generation of the Windows Live product suite.
In the Online Services Business, Microsoft will create a new senior lead position and will conduct a search that will span internal and external candidates. In the meantime, Senior Vice President Satya Nadella will continue to lead Microsoft’s search, MSN and ad platform engineering efforts. Microsoft recently announced a strategy to redefine search through innovations in the user experience and business models. As an example, the company’s cashback search program, announced in May, is already generating strong momentum among online shoppers and advertisers.
In addition, Senior Vice President Brian McAndrews will continue to lead the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions Group (APS). APS has great momentum, having signed more than 100 new publisher deals in the past year. McAndrews will continue to focus on the display advertising opportunity for Microsoft, driving execution and integration of advertising assets, including recent acquisitions such as Massive Inc., Navic Networks, ScreenTonic SA and YaData Ltd.
“Our Windows business is firing on all cylinders,” Ballmer said. “We see tremendous opportunity in search and advertising, and we have a clear strategy for investing in success today and growth in the future.”
“Microsoft is a special place and presents opportunity to so many,” Johnson said. “I have been so fortunate to have experienced 16 amazing years of building Microsoft’s business, learning from great leaders in the company and working with phenomenally talented people.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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It is time Microsoft showed us - what is their Internet Roadmap.
Do they plan to still play catch-up with Google, or do they have a new and innovative web strategy that is going to take the Web in a new direction.
Maybe they should explore the words of wisdom that the great Mr Gibbons said about the future. ‘The future is already here. It just has not been evenly distributed?’.
I for one am waiting with big interest.
This is probably the best thing that has happened to Microsoft in a long time. Kevin Johnson was the Terry Simmel of Microsoft; no knowledge of technology, absolute no vision but smooth talk, focus on organizational heirarchies. Under him, MSFT has become Yahoo in its own way.
the new team will hopefully bring back the tech fire back to the company. and save it from the same fate as Yahoo and AOL.
@Moe
You mean Mr. Gibson?
Google is playing catchup with itself as they try to be everything to everyone, and often missing the mark in pretty embarrassing ways (if you look closely)
Making us into Ballmersoft!
Good luck Kevin!
If history repeats itself this will mean nothing.
The future is already here. We dont need another website or application.
ladies and gentleman the internet has bottomed out. no more widgets, search engines, gadgets, spapplications, video view sites, fancy picture shakers..Please! we have enouth to work with.
Search and algorithims are dying and vertical LOCATION Engine networks are the future. Some get it, some got it, some dont have a clue.
Internet innovation is overloaded and bottomed out. There is only so much good stuff to go around.
The future is “hear” its just some have a problem listening.
http://www.killerstartups.com/.....or-network
Jerry just called Steve to see if he could land the job as Head of the Online Services Group, only to be told that he was already on the other line with Sue…
Yes, split Microsoft into more pieces that can produce competing or overlapping products, use different logos, color schemes, and UI conventions, etc. etc.
Very true that, their branding mess is running very deep…
Don’t forget their brand naming “methodology”, that’s where all of the confusion begins:
http://businessmindhacks.com/p.....eally-dead
Ok, so this is good news or bad news for investors?
So what does this actually mean??? Does it mean that Spaces and other products which are not a direct extension of Windows get rebranded something other than Windows Live? Or does this mean more competing projects over different teams?
All this would appear as deeply weird, except for the idea that this could be a prelude to some sort of spin-off plus cash to Yahoo deal that Henry Blodget over at AlleyInsider had championed early on.
If they aren’t going for that, then this is truly bizarre, and will come back to bite them. Windows is their least defensible position in the long run, and adding in Hotmail, etc. doesn’t do a thing for them in this regard, while they should instead be INTEGRATING search and ads more tightly with all of these properties.
Think about it: Google really had no business rolling out Google Desktop, except that MSFT’s own native search in their own OS still sucks to this day…
Ballmer (in his internal memo): “To keep today’s Windows applications alive, vibrant, and exciting, we need both—applications that run everywhere and rich client applications.”
Wrong. What he meant to say/should have said was:
“To keep Windows alive, we need… rich client applications…”
Problem is, the browser as client is getting richer by the minute…
(Arrington’s post calling for an open-sourced $200-400 tablet that runs on a baseline linux kernel and browser only, anyone?)
Shouldn’t Online Services be renamed Windows Live.
Why have Windows/Windows Live and Online Services. Isn’t Windows Live a big part of Microsoft’s Online Services.
Answers on a Postcard please, to the usual address
Microsoft , sorry - I mean MSN, sorry - I mean Live, sorry I mean Windows etc, etc.
so when is it coming out and wat stores is it comin out in
I am interesting in how the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions Group (APS) is working.