Redmond Re-org Gets Cloudy
Microsoft announced a new Server and Cloud division today that combines Windows Azure and the Windows Server and Solutions groups.
The new Server and Cloud division is part of the Server & Tools Business headed by Bob Muglia.
The Windows Azure development team is part of this transition and will no longer report to Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect.
Instead, the dev team is part of the new Server and Cloud division headed by Amitabh Srivastava, a senior vp who reports to Muglia.
The Windows Server and Solutions Group remains under Bill Laing, a corporate vp, who will now report to Srivastava.
The Windows Azure Team blog didn't reveal much. It pointed to the explanation on the Windows Server Weblog, its new counterpart:
"This change reflects the alignment of our resources with our strategy, and represents a natural evolution for Microsoft as the Windows Azure business moves from an advanced development project to a mainstream business, as we announced last month at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC).
SCD will deliver solutions that help our customers realize even greater benefits from Microsoft’s investments in on-premises and cloud technologies. And the new division will help strengthen an already solid and extensive partner ecosystem…
Together, Windows Server, Windows Azure, SQL Server, SQL Azure, Visual Studio and System Center help customers extend existing investments to include a future that will combine both on-premises and cloud solutions, and SCD is now a key player in that effort."
If you thought cloud computing wasn't in your future, think again. While "advanced development project" and "mainstream business" may be a bit premature, it's clear that Microsoft is betting heavily on developers to realize its on-premises and cloud vision in 2010. Ray Ozzie or not, developers will populate Microsoft's cloud.
What's your take on these latest developments? Express your thoughts below or drop me a line at krichards@1105media.com
Posted by Kathleen Richards on 12/08/2009 at 1:45 PM