Mutiny at Microsoft?
Ray Ozzie, better known as Bill Gates' replacement as Microsoft's chief software engineer has called it a day at the software giant and there are currently no plans to replace him.
Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced the news via an internal email that "Ray will be focusing his efforts in the broader area of entertainment where Microsoft has many ongoing investments".
The move might come as a shock to many Microsoft commentators, especially given Ozzie's role in pushing Microsoft towards lucrative cloud computing, which Microsoft has previously described as it's ‘future'. The company is also said to be planning on spending 90 percent of its annual budget on research in the cloud space.
Ballmer said: "both through inspiration and impact, he's been instrumental in our transition toward a software world now centered on services."
"As a company, we've accomplished much in the past five years as we look at the cloud and services...and by conceiving, incubating and shepherding Windows Azure, Ray helped ensure we have a tremendously rich platform foundation that will enable app-level innovation across the company and by customers for years to come," he added.
Ballmer said that Ozzie will not be replaced as Microsoft already has "a strong planning process, strong technical leaders in each business group and strong innovation heading to market."
Ozzie will stay with the company as hands over his teams and ongoing strategic projects and will then focus on entertainment.
While Ballmer's email credits Ozzie's contributions to making Windows a success and thanks him for his ‘critical role' in helping Microsoft gain a dominant position in the cloud, some commentators have questioned whether Ozzie's departure is amicable.
According to Seattle Pi blog, Ozzie was not ‘particularly well-respected' among employees and came to his position when Microsoft acquired his Groove Networks, taking over from Gates who decided to retire from day-to-day running of the company.
Wes Miller, an analyst at Directions told the blog: "I think the key thing to keep in mind, is that Ray Ozzie, while a great mind, isn't Bill. There's no person bridging business and tech in the same way Steve (Jobs) does at Apple and the way, in some way, Eric (Schmidt) does at Google. That's what Bill did before. He got both sides. And they don't really have someone who can do that anymore."
Miller reportedly said: "I think that the fact Ballmer didn't replace him says a lot -- almost an admission that Bill is irreplaceable," and hinted that Gates' legacy in the role could have hampered Ozzie's progress.
Another analyst at IDC called Al Hilwa, told the blog that Microsoft has grown a lot since Gates handed over the chief software architect title to Ozzie and the company is now probably too diversified to rely on one architect.
"It is hard to operate when almost each division has a president with his own vision for the group. A chief software architect may end (up) being chief of very little," Hilwa reportedly added.
