The New Microsoft – Fire and Ice

image Today Microsoft made the formal announcement that Satya Nadella will be taking over as the CEO. Congrats to him and to the Microsoft organization AND to the partners that have bet their business on and with Microsoft. I for one wish him well and hope he can help Microsoft enter it’s 5th decade with all the energy, passion and vision as when it all started.

In response to where Microsoft is headed as a Devices & Services business. He said:

“Bring Microsoft assets and ingenuity to bear”
~Satya Nadella, (new) Microsoft CEO

I think Satya will do well. I really appreciated his self-deprecating humor. As the webcast was fading to black he said “If you have to get back to an EBC … because it’s more interesting … please do.”  I like him. He’s a lot like me. At least in this way … He said he buys more books than he can finish.

image Off to a Great Start …

Today Susan Hauser (one of my favorite Microsoft execs) introduced him during the Customer and Partner Webcast. Thank you Susan and Microsoft for allowing us into Satya’s head on his first day in the new role.

Susan had a great line about the New Way to Work:

She said, in today’s world … “We work from home and shop from work.”

Below are a few notes from the webcast and a few more of my thoughts. I’d love to hear your thoughts too. Please drop a comment here. If you want to start a dialogue I’m up for that too.

My Notes & Thoughts

There is a LOT of work ahead. In order to insure customers stay committed to the Microsoft platform AND that partners continue to build and extend the Microsoft platform. I think the partner ecosystem is healthy. Partners Want to Believe. Customers Want to Believe.

I look forward to working with the IAMCP leadership team and our local Pacific Northwest IAMCP chapter (Full Disclosure: I am a co-founder)

Hey IAMCP – We have a new goal. We have had Kevin Turner speak (Thank You KT!) --- now we would like to have Satya address the Puget Sound chapter … preferably as a pre-run to the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July. Consider it a practice run amongst friends.

Satya Said … It’s a Software Powered World

  • It’s a Devices and Services World!

The model will be to build:

  • Mobile First!
  • Cloud First!

Devices – Why do they Matter?

Satya was asked this question. His reply was spot on. He said “Devices are where the experience happens.”

In the Mobility pillar the Microsoft Surface and Nokia Acquisition are critical elements of the Mobile strategy both for Devices & Services.

As many people know … I’m a fan of the Windows Phones and the Surface devices. However, there is work to be done. I hope the Microsoft teams can make some rapid and leapfrogging efforts to build the next generation of devices. Starting with Apps … Hint: We need App Parity.

What the critics might say about Satya:

  • He’s been there 22 years … How could he possibly think and do anything differently?
    • My thinking is … he knows the organization and knows how to get things done.
    • He knows how the engineering teams think and how they work. This is an advantage.
    • He may surprise a lot of people with grand and sweeping changes when he gets the keys to the kingdom.
    • His experiences over the past 22 years … good and bad … should help him lead us to the New Microsoft.

Big Changes are Afoot

At least I hope so. I’m ready to help. You know how to reach me when you are ready.

Again, congratulations to Satya. I look forward to working with you and your team to make a better tomorrow.

Image Credits: Microsoft Corp

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Jeff is a expert in the Enterprise Content Management industry. He is an international speaker and writer on the Intersection of People and Process in Social, Mobile and Cloud Computing. He is a contributing author to Elite Daily and to the Personal Branding Blog. Over the past 20 years he has worked with customers and partners to design, develop and deploy solutions around the world. He has worked for Microsoft, FileNet (IBM), K2, Captaris, Open Text, Kofax, Kodak and Winshuttle. Currently he is the Director of Strategic Alliances and Gimmal.
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