Microsoft have been reassuring senior managers that company restructuring will continue and that the departure of CEO Steve Ballmer will not damage the process. Ballmer said he will step down within 12 months, after leading Microsoft since January 2000.
Analysts have said that Microsoft under Ballmer has not been as predominant a force, as it was under Bill Gates when he was CEO. Company stock is down around 37 percent under the Ballmer leadership. Last month the company reported sales and profit that missed analyst estimates.
Members of Microsoft's senior management team emailed their staff on August 23rd to say that they are still committed to Ballmers ‘vision and reorganisation'. Microsoft executives have been on the receiving end of job offers since the July restructuring plan and others could possibly leave after stock grants and bonuses get awarded in late August.
Microsoft are currently undergoing internal changes and their board need managers who can execute the reorganisation plan set in place by Ballmer.
Ballmer has been focused on hardware and internet based services, moving away from software side of the business to some degree. Microsoft want to be able to compete against the market leaders in the hardware sector, especially mobile.
Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer of Tigress Financial Partners LLC in New York said “They need to change everything, everything. They need to be better in social, mobile, analytics and cloud, and they really have very little to offer in those areas.”
Kitguru says: There is no indication yet of who will replace Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. The clock is ticking.