Nadella was in charge of Enterprise and cloud for Microsoft, so to me, having him being named CEO seems like more of the same. I was kind of hoping for something different from Microsoft—a visionary, somebody that could really change things for them. Microsoft needs to move quickly and confidently in the mobile space to make up for what they’ve already lost.
Microsoft names Nadella as next CEO
Still, this sounds like there is some chance of letting go of “Windows-everywhere”.
Let’s wait and see.
But I share your scepticism. It seems like Microsoft isn’t going to change anytime soon and that’s their loss as much as ours.
It looks like no one at MS has the courage to actually go through with a plan and drag their software and services into the current century.
They should’ve hired Scott Forestall. That would’ve been interesting.
What qualifications does he have to be CEO of a conglomerate like Microsoft?
Or maybe this is Microsoft finally coming to its senses and realizing that it is, in fact, an enterprise company and not a consumer company.
I don’t know. Maybe none, but it would’ve been very interesting.
It all really hinges on what they’re trying to accomplish. With Microsoft. Do they want to morph into a “devices” company like Apple, a “web/services” company like Google/Amazon, or do they want to double down on enterprise? To me, I think they own enterprise & should focus on something new. Of course I’m biased, I have zero interest in enterprise & it doesn’t affect me at all.
It’s been stated many times that Forstall shared several qualities of young Steve Jobs, (smart, focused, aggressive, determined, etc.). Young Steve did great at Apple, was forced out, then returned to do even greater things. This could’ve been his “return” but to Microsoft instead. They may have missed a huge opportunity. Or it may have been a disaster. I’m certainly not qualified to actually make decisions like that, but I would’ve been very interested to watch it.
Who’s to say he isn’t a visionary? Their Cloud offerings are top notch.
I wish him well.
My thoughts exactly. What are the things that they currently do well?
Microsofts’ attempts at being an integrated consumer electronics company burned everyone. It burned the Enterprise customers and it was too “out of the box” for their everyday consumers.
“Enterprise and cloud”
That’s Microsoft’s fallback plan in a nutshell. Can’t do anything but bleed money in the consumer space (except for the console gaming niche.) So they’re going to fall back on their core competency: milking corporate IT.
Doesn’t matter. Microsoft is clueless and desperate. Forstall is an egomaniacal empire-building dickhead. Perfect match.
Maybe this is Microsoft finally admitting and embracing who they are in this industry. They’re not Apple, they’re not a consumer “Devices” company, and Ballmers sudden obsession with restructuring the company overnight into Apple is what got him canned. Enterprise and Cloud might not be as exciting and sexy as a consumer device company, but thats what Microsoft ACTUALLY is. Their cloud offerings are quite good (from what I hear), and we all know their enterprise strength.
Hearing Bill Gates welcome video for Nadella and him saying “Mobile is a challenge, Cloud is an opportunity” sort of reinforces that Microsoft has maybe come to terms with who they are. Instead of chasing the DNA of Apple under Ballmer recently, that just did not mold well with Microsofts culture.
I still don’t get what would make him qualified to be CEO of Microsoft. Especially when Steve Jobs obviously didn’t think he was qualified to be CEO of Apple.
Because? I’m not saying I disagree, but what qualifications does MS need in a CEO and why?