When you don’t have the boss looking over your shoulder constantly, you can often take some time to breathe, reflect and dish out highly coveted truths.
As former Windows chief Terry Myerson beings the long poignant journey of packing up his office at Microsoft and starting the next chapter of his career, he seems to be unburdened by the typical day-to-day candor of being an executive as he penned a relatively candid goodbye letter to employees and fans that revealed a few key insights into just how well Windows is actually doing. .
In short, Windows is doing well.
According to Myerson’s Linked farewell post, not only is Windows 10 adoption reaching new heights,
One of my favorite things about leading Windows has been the Windows fans. Through good times and bad, I’ve loved your feedback. I’ve loved your passion for our work. I’ve loved your applause when we’ve done great work and I’ve loved the push to do better. One of my deeply held lessons from my Exchange days was the importance of that feedback loop with customers and fans, and that’s why we created the Windows Insider Program so we could build Windows 10 led by your feedback. Now with 15 million members, you continue to make our product and our team better each and every day. Thank you.
Today, we are now approaching 700 million active Windows 10 users, commercial usage is growing 84% year over year, Xbox One is running a Windows 10 core, Surface is leading PC innovation, HoloLens is bringing breakthroughs to computer vision, our universal Microsoft store enables Xbox GamePass, Azure reserved instances, and Office distribution and the OEM ecosystem is revitalized with profitable growth. Last year, we finished the year with over $8B in operating income from our segment.
Despite the outward appearance of Microsoft’s subtle uncoupling from Windows with its recent company-wide reorganization, Windows 10 continues to prove to be a powerhouse among the company’s portfolio of software and services.
For those us who grew to admire Myerson’s tenure at Microsoft, we say thank you, Terry.
