Shakeup over in the Windows and and Windows Live Teams - First Take

Michael Gartenberg | July 24, 2008, 08:23 AM

It's no secret that Windows has been fighting a mindshare battle and the reality is, you lose mindshare, you eventually lose marketshare as well. If there are two things Microsoft can not afford to mess up, it's Windows and Office and they've been doing just that. It has felt like the Windows team especially has been a rudderless ship and the good news is Microsoft is shaking things up. There's a big re-org in Windows land. Windows and Windows live now report directly to Steve Ballmer. Kevin Johnson is now  leaving. Microsoft is also reportedly spending close to $300 million dollars on ads that will attempt to dispel some of the perceptions about Vista.  (although MSFT says the ad below is not really part of this new campaign).

Fisrt thought? Should have happened months ago.

It's clear that Vista marketing was ineffective and almost non existent. Worse, competitors played up every single perceived flaw of Vista and exploited it as part of their marketing. It's way past time for Microsoft to start getting the message out. I'm not sure acknowledging that Vista is perceived as flawed is the right approach. Microsoft needs to call out it the power of Vista and showcase key partners delivering differentiated experiences with Vista technology such as HP and Lenovo. The re-org is a good first step and getting Ballmer directly involved will provide needed accountability but there's a lot more here that needs to be done and done well before Q4.