In a major reorganisation at American technology giant Microsoft, its Windows Chief Terry Myerson is leaving the company after spending 21 years. With the departure of Myerson, Microsoft has announced a massive reorganization of its engineering teams. The erstwhile Window team has been divided into two engineering teams.
The core operating system group will join “cloud and AI” group, which will oversee all the company’s software platforms, from the Azure cloud service to its software for the internet of things. Rajesh Jha, who now leads parts of the Office team will head this group. Jha has been at the company for 28 years and led much of the team that is credited with the success of the Office 365 cloud subscription service.
The other part of the Windows team, dealing with the operating system will be merged into a new “experiences and devices” group. Scott Guthrie who currently head the Cloud division will lead this second engineering group focused on cloud and AI technology including Azure. Guthrie’s team will also oversee Windows Server and mixed reality, including Hololens.
A third engineering group focusing on AI and research, led by Harry Shum will remain, though some pieces have been shifted to Guthrie’s newly created team.
The reorganisation clearly reflects CEO Satya Nadella priorities. Over the years, he has focused on strengthening cloud business and made Microsoft more open. According to second quarter results, Azure cloud-computing division grew 98 percent, and Office 365 revenue increased 41 percent. On the other hand, Windows along with Xbox and Surface revenue — grew just 2 percent during the most recent quarter.
This reorganisation pitch front-and-center two of Microsoft’s most successful businesses in recent years. Microsoft’s cloud computing division, Azure, has proved one of its fastest growing businesses, and its Office 365 subscription service is gaining quick traction than many expected.
Despite this shakeup, Nadella is of the view that “the future of Windows is bright”. Nadella appears to be focusing the company’s core Windows efforts, Azure, and IoT devices into a team that will infuse artificial intelligent into them.
