More big changes could be on the way for Windows soon. According to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet, Microsoft announced a major reorganization of the…
More big changes could be on the way for Windows soon. According to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet, Microsoft announced a major reorganization of the company today. Foley says that the Windows and Devices Group is being split up, and that its former leader Terry Myerson is leaving Microsoft. Myerson has been with the company since 1997, although he’s only been in charge of Windows since 2013.
Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group (WDG) included not only the teams responsible for the Windows software itself but also the Surface, Xbox, and HoloLens teams. According to Foley, two newer divisions are getting some of the employees from the WDG: a group called Experiences & Devices, and another group called Cloud & AI Platform.
It’s difficult to say exactly what the reoganization means for Windows because it’s not clear which parts of the WDG went where. Foley writes that the Experiences & Devices group is headed by Rajesh Jha, who’s been in charge of Office since 2006. Meanwhile, the Cloud & AI Platform group was created in 2016 and has been led by Scott Guthrie since then.
In a subsequent article, Foley notes that Joe Belfiore will be in charge of the “Windows client experience,” apparently including Windows’ shell UI, Edge, and Cortana. Foley further says Panos Panay will get a Chief Product Officer title but otherwise remains the head of Microsoft devices. Both these managers report to Jha.
In his e-mail to all MS employees, CEO Satya Nadella said that the changes are meant to help Microsoft focus on “the intelligent cloud and the intelligent edge.” He also stated that employees will need to “transcend Conway’s Law. ” Nadella’s sentiment is an interesting one in light of the fact that he just reorganized the company’s structure. Hopefully the changes lead to a more coherent Windows strategy going forward.
