On May 18, Microsoft announced that it is moving its Server and Tools unit out from under Platforms and Services to the Microsoft Business Division (MBD). That means Senior Vice President Bob Muglia’s group now falls under MBD President Jeff Raikes’ organization. Muglia will report directly to Raikes as part of the shuffle.
Microsoft also is moving its Developer and Platform Evangelism team under Corporate Vice President Sanjay Parthasarathy to the Server and Tools Business unit under Muglia.
The changes are effective as of today, but there will be no change to how Microsoft reports its financials, so that the Services/Tools business P&L (profit and loss center) will remain intact, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.
Microsoft’s official statement on the reasons behind these latest internal moves: “Microsoft senior leadership decided to make these changes to sharpen leadership focus on the company’s top priorities and align its organization for innovation, ultimately enabling it to deliver even more value to its customers.”
What’s really going on? I’m not sure. It seemed to this Microsoft watcher that Server and Tools fit better wtih Platforms (the group that oversees Windows and Windows Live/MSN) than with MBD (the group that handles Office, Dynamics ERP and Dynamocs CRM). It’s true that the Platforms and Services business also increasingly is becoming advertising central at Microsoft. But why put the SQL Server and Visual Studio folks under the Office division? Curious.
