http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-chief-myerson-out-in-microsoft-reorganization/
Terry Myerson, who has headed up Microsoft’s Windows business since 2013, is leaving the company. Myerson is “pursu(ing) his next chapter outside Microsoft,” said Nadella in his email to the troops. He will stay at Microsoft for a few months to help with the transition, officials said today.
Microsoft is carving up Myerson’s Windows and Devices Group (WDG), moving some pieces of it into one of two new engineering units announced this morning. Some parts of WDG will move under Executive Vice President Rajesh Jha, who is in charge of the new Experiences & Devices org; other components will go to Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie, who is running the newly minted Cloud + AI Platform. Harry Shum, executive vice president of AI & Research, will continue to head up that somewhat streamlined organization, which Microsoft created in 2016.
Now, some of the company’s recent strategy moves make more contextual sense. Last year, Microsoft laid the groundwork designed to make Windows part of a recurring subscription business via Microsoft 365, which is a bundle of Windows 10, Office 365, and elements of the Enterprise Security + Mobility service. It’s also why Microsoft began designing products in a way that brought its Surface hardware, Office software, and Windows operating system together, rather than in their own respective silos.
Microsoft is hoping it can do with Windows what it did with Office. The company managed to turn its individual on-premises Office products into a cloud bundle with Office 365 — which is growing even faster than Microsoft itself expected. (Microsoft officials have predicted the company could have two-thirds of its Office users in the cloud by its fiscal 2019.) Now, it’s trying to do something similar for Windows with Microsoft 365: Create a bundle of cloud services anchored by Windows 10 that will provide the company with a recurring revenue stream.
With today’s moves, Microsoft is not throwing in the towel on Windows or its Surface line.
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