Microsoft Partners: Ozzie's Shoes Will Be Tough To Fill
By Kevin McLaughlin, CRN 9:38 PM EST Mon. Oct. 18, 2010
Ray Ozzie is Microsoft's top visionary, an executive who at one time was seen as a possible successor to Bill Gates. So it's not surprising that his decision to step down as chief software architect would have a disquieting effect on channel partners, particularly since Microsoft doesn't plan on replacing him.
Ozzie, the architect of Microsoft's Windows Azure platform-as-a-service, and other cloud initiatives such as Live Mesh, has played a behind-the-scenes role at microsoft that hasn't included much interaction with channel partners. Nonetheless, partners are well aware of the guiding role Ozzie has played in Microsoft's SaaS and cloud computing business and they're curious about who will handle that leadership role in the future.
"When Bill Gates left, Ray Ozzie was a logical choice to fill his shoes," said Ken Winell, CEO of ExpertCollab, a Microsoft solution provider in Florham Park, N.J. "Under Ozzie's leadership, the cloud computing and collaboration environments grew, and I'm concerned over who Microsoft will find to replace him."
However, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has already said he doesn't plan on hiring a replacement for the chief software architect role. Solution providers believe this would be a mistake on Microsoft's part.
Michael Cocanower, president of Phoenix-based Microsoft solution provider ITSynergy, says Ozzie's departure "leaves a real void" in terms of product innovation and leadership. "With Ozzie leaving, and the torch not being passed to anyone, I'm concerned over Microsoft's direction and strategy," he said.
Microsoft's Side Of The Story
Ozzie isn't leaving right away: Microsoft says he'll be staying on for an unspecified period of time to help out with the company's entertainment business. Whatever this means isn't clear: Microsoft may be trying to preempt speculation about the impetus behind yet another high profile executive departure, or it may be looking to leverage Ozzie's visionary thinking in a part of its business that has also seen talented executives jump ship this year.
In any event, Ozzie's departure will give fodder to speculation about internal discord between Microsoft product teams impairing the company's ability to keep pace with smaller, more nimble competitors. In February, Dick Brass, a Microsoft vice president from 1997 to 2004, described Microsoft as a "clumsy, uncompetitive innovator" whose products "are lampooned, often unfairly but sometimes with good reason."
John Parkinson, managing director at ParkWood Advisors, a solution provider in Lake Forest, Ill., says even while Gates was still in charge, product teams at Microsoft have been loath to accept central direction. For Ozzie, working to move the company to a cloud computing strategy, architecture and philosophy "must have been a slog," he said.
"That Ozzie was able to achieve as much as he did is a testament to how fundamentally smart he is and how good his instincts are," Parkinson said. "But Microsoft has become too big for central architectural direction, and it must have been frustrating for him to see the ship turn so slowly towards a direction he saw so clearly."
Another solution provider, who was granted anonymity, speculates that once Ozzie shepherded Windows Azure to its launch, he may have been unwilling to continue dealing with the slow pace of the Microsoft culture. "He has been there long enough to plant the seeds, but probably didn't want to fight the turf battles to prove a point," said the source. "I think of it as like the difference between wanting to design incredible landscaping and not really wanting to cut the grass."
What Impact Will Ozzie's Departure Have?
Speculation about Ozzie leaving Microsoft flared last December when the company unveiled its new Server & Cloud Division (SCD) and named Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools division, as its head. Along with that move, Microsoft transferred leadership of the Windows Azure development team from Ozzie to Muglia.
Obviously Microsoft has plenty of executives who can keep the company's momentum going in cloud computing. The big question is, will losing a visionary thinker like Ozzie hurt Microsoft, or is the company's strategy sufficiently baked at this point where cloud is ready to become another humming Microsoft revenue engine?
Karl Palachuk, founder and CEO of KPEnterprises Business Consulting, a Sacramento, Calif.-based solution provider, doesn't feel Ozzie's departure from the role of chief cloud visionary at Microsoft will have much effect on Microsoft's cloud service offerings.
"You could make the argument that someone needs to be the Cloud Services Czar at Microsoft and orchestrate a united approach," Palachuk said. "Maybe Ozzie was supposed to be doing that, but there's no evidence that any progress was made along those lines. As a result, his departure won't have much impact at all."
http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/227900230/microsoft-partners-ozzies-shoes-will-be-tough-to-fill.htm
Ray Ozzie is Microsoft's top visionary, an executive who at one time was seen as a possible successor to Bill Gates. So it's not surprising that his decision to step down as chief software architect would have a disquieting effect on channel partners, particularly since Microsoft doesn't plan on replacing him.
Ozzie, the architect of Microsoft's Windows Azure platform-as-a-service, and other cloud initiatives such as Live Mesh, has played a behind-the-scenes role at microsoft that hasn't included much interaction with channel partners. Nonetheless, partners are well aware of the guiding role Ozzie has played in Microsoft's SaaS and cloud computing business and they're curious about who will handle that leadership role in the future.
"When Bill Gates left, Ray Ozzie was a logical choice to fill his shoes," said Ken Winell, CEO of ExpertCollab, a Microsoft solution provider in Florham Park, N.J. "Under Ozzie's leadership, the cloud computing and collaboration environments grew, and I'm concerned over who Microsoft will find to replace him."
However, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has already said he doesn't plan on hiring a replacement for the chief software architect role. Solution providers believe this would be a mistake on Microsoft's part.
Michael Cocanower, president of Phoenix-based Microsoft solution provider ITSynergy, says Ozzie's departure "leaves a real void" in terms of product innovation and leadership. "With Ozzie leaving, and the torch not being passed to anyone, I'm concerned over Microsoft's direction and strategy," he said.
Microsoft's Side Of The Story
Ozzie isn't leaving right away: Microsoft says he'll be staying on for an unspecified period of time to help out with the company's entertainment business. Whatever this means isn't clear: Microsoft may be trying to preempt speculation about the impetus behind yet another high profile executive departure, or it may be looking to leverage Ozzie's visionary thinking in a part of its business that has also seen talented executives jump ship this year.
In any event, Ozzie's departure will give fodder to speculation about internal discord between Microsoft product teams impairing the company's ability to keep pace with smaller, more nimble competitors. In February, Dick Brass, a Microsoft vice president from 1997 to 2004, described Microsoft as a "clumsy, uncompetitive innovator" whose products "are lampooned, often unfairly but sometimes with good reason."
John Parkinson, managing director at ParkWood Advisors, a solution provider in Lake Forest, Ill., says even while Gates was still in charge, product teams at Microsoft have been loath to accept central direction. For Ozzie, working to move the company to a cloud computing strategy, architecture and philosophy "must have been a slog," he said.
"That Ozzie was able to achieve as much as he did is a testament to how fundamentally smart he is and how good his instincts are," Parkinson said. "But Microsoft has become too big for central architectural direction, and it must have been frustrating for him to see the ship turn so slowly towards a direction he saw so clearly."
Another solution provider, who was granted anonymity, speculates that once Ozzie shepherded Windows Azure to its launch, he may have been unwilling to continue dealing with the slow pace of the Microsoft culture. "He has been there long enough to plant the seeds, but probably didn't want to fight the turf battles to prove a point," said the source. "I think of it as like the difference between wanting to design incredible landscaping and not really wanting to cut the grass."
What Impact Will Ozzie's Departure Have?
Speculation about Ozzie leaving Microsoft flared last December when the company unveiled its new Server & Cloud Division (SCD) and named Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools division, as its head. Along with that move, Microsoft transferred leadership of the Windows Azure development team from Ozzie to Muglia.
Obviously Microsoft has plenty of executives who can keep the company's momentum going in cloud computing. The big question is, will losing a visionary thinker like Ozzie hurt Microsoft, or is the company's strategy sufficiently baked at this point where cloud is ready to become another humming Microsoft revenue engine?
Karl Palachuk, founder and CEO of KPEnterprises Business Consulting, a Sacramento, Calif.-based solution provider, doesn't feel Ozzie's departure from the role of chief cloud visionary at Microsoft will have much effect on Microsoft's cloud service offerings.
"You could make the argument that someone needs to be the Cloud Services Czar at Microsoft and orchestrate a united approach," Palachuk said. "Maybe Ozzie was supposed to be doing that, but there's no evidence that any progress was made along those lines. As a result, his departure won't have much impact at all."
http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/227900230/microsoft-partners-ozzies-shoes-will-be-tough-to-fill.htm
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