Nadella shares his thoughts on the decision with the employees at Microsoft and with the world.
Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.(...)
While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.
While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.
In addition to Steve Ballmer leaving as CEO, what other major changes are happening at Microsoft? Well, Bill Gates is stepping down as the Chairman but will assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor. This will find Gates being more involved with the company again and supporting Nadella "in shaping technology and product direction."
Microsoft's stock went up $0.18 immediately following the news today. Sorry Ballmer.
I come to Microsoft and Windows because, as a gamer, it supports the largest breadth of video game history. Since Vista MS are starting to neglect this, alot of older games and technologies are unsupported, they are fortunate we have no choice but to use Windows if we want the support it still does offer, but it still depresses me that history is being lost.
MS, XP was great, more of the same please.
I do agree that I'm not sure what future products Microsoft has in mind, because it feels like (though this is only a personal opinion and purely conjecture) they don't see a future for PCs in the way we use it now. It's almost like we no longer need PCs and will instead do our computing on devices such as phones, tablets, consoles, and Smart TVs/monitors. Their focus on mobile and the cloud is a bit confusing to me though... I know far too little on what the crap the cloud can do, and I don't know what Microsoft will do to convince Samsung, LG, and HTC to use their OS instead of iOS/Android. If they meant hardware, then... Good luck.
Now for the CEO, I have this to say:
Phase 1: FIRE THE ****ING MARKETING AND PR DEPARTMENTS AND LOOK UP THE WORDS "COMMUNICATION" AND "AWARENESS." Hire competent staff who actually notices their customers and third-party developers demands and grievances. Teach every employee how to communicate to one another so everyone stays in the loop. Also teach every employee not to make arrogant assumptions.
Phase 2: ????
Phase 3: Profit!
Best of luck Mr. Nadella. May your non overly-sweaty run pave the way for better foundations and stronger growth for Microsoft.