Another of the Microsoft old guard moves on

While the the Microsoft depature upon which most company watchers focused this week was that of Bruce Jaffe -- the former Mergers & Acquisitions Chief -- another Microsoft veteran is moving on, as well.

Fitzgerald was Microsoft's primary spokesperson for Microsoft Java back in 1996. Ever since, he's been helping Microsoft position itself against its enterprise competitors. On Fitzgerald's Platformonomics blog, he skewered regularly IBM, Sun, Oracle, Google and other Microsoft competitors.

Most recently, Fitzgerald was focused on explaining Microsoft's Software+Services strategy to the press and analyst masses. While he was mostly a behind-the-scenes strategist, Microsoft trotted out Fitzgerald whenever the company needed to justify a new strategy/product plan or set the big-picture scene for company critics.

Microsoft officials confirmed that Fitzgerald will be leaving Microsoft "shortly" and declined to name the startup he will be joining. I e-mailed Fitzgerald, asking him about his decision to leave Microsoft. If and when he responds (not holding my breath here), I'll add his comments.