In his weekly “Sams Report” this week, Microsoft watcher Brad Sams reports that he’s hearing that the Windows team will go through a bit of a re-org after the latest version of Windows 10, known as Redstone 5 or the October 2018 Windows 10 Update, goes final. Microsoft already announced that the sixth major update (updated, it’s the seventh numbered version but the sixth update) to Windows 10 will ship soon, and word is filtering out that Microsoft expects to finalize a shipping build by next Friday, September 21st.
Here’s what Sams says about the re-org plans:
“I’m also hearing from somebody who’s become quite reliable lately, there might be a re-org inside the Windows world after Redstone 5 ships. This might be actually how Terry Myerson eventually exits is after that’s done, and then his role is diminished. Just people moving about, just more product lines, like Azure and Office and maybe kind of thinning out the Windows crowd. I don’t think there’s gonna be layoffs, not trying to say that, but they’re going to be just shuffling some people around.”
It’s a little unclear what Sams is hearing and what is conjecture on his part (where people will go, layoffs, etc.), and this is not unexpected in light of Microsoft’s earlier reorganization efforts. It’s perhaps less about diminishing Windows as it is about giving greater emphasis to the Microsoft Cloud, to artificial intelligence and machine learning and Microsoft 365, but another indication that the role of Windows within Microsoft is changing.
Rebuilding the Windows organization, long the backbone of Microsoft’s success, will have significant effects on the way Microsoft works and does business. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
