By Matt Rosoff [Bio]
Posted: Oct. 29, 2001

• Illustration: Platforms Group Reorg, Fall 2001

Microsoft has reorganized Jim Allchin's Platforms Group, which oversees all versions of the Windows operating system (OS), the .NET Enterprise Servers (such as SQL Server and Exchange), and developer tools. The Platforms Group just finished shipping Windows XP, and this reorganization will help it focus on two new goals: encouraging developers to adopt the .NET Platform and accelerating the adoption of Windows servers in the enterprise. To help meet these goals, Microsoft has combined marketing and development teams for the .NET Platform and Windows servers under single leaders. [All of the changes mentioned in this article are included in the latest Orgchart (see sample), which contains the name, title, reporting relationship, and job description for the top 900 executives.]

In unrelated organizational moves, the company also renamed a division and appointed a new vice president of advertising sales for MSN.

Rudder Leads Developer Evangelism

The biggest change is the creation of a new Developer and Platform Evangelism Division (DPED) under Senior Vice President Eric Rudder. Rudder has been a technical advisor to Bill Gates for several years; before that, his highest position in the company was general manager of Visual Studio.

The new division solves several problems for Microsoft. First, it consolidates all developer-related aspects of the .NET Platform—the system code that loads and executes .NET-based applications, programming tools to create these applications, and developer evangelism—into a single group under one leader. This increases the likelihood that the .NET Platform will evolve and be marketed to its most crucial audience, developers, in a consistent and coherent fashion. Microsoft is concerned that some developers may defect to J2EE, which has a strong following among developers and is in many respects more mature than .NET. Rudder also provides a much-needed single point of contact for other parts of the company, such as Bob Muglia's Personal Services Group, which is building services that run on top of the .NET Platform.

Finally, the DPED reduces the number of people reporting directly to senior management, relieving Allchin and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer of some management duties. This echoes the company's last major reorganization, in which several divisions that reported directly to Ballmer were consolidated under President Rick Beluzzo. (See "Belluzzo Appointed President, COO" on page 33 of the Mar. 2001 Update.)

Who Reports to Rudder

The following teams and leaders will report to Rudder in the new DPED:

1. Vice President Sanjay Parthasarathy's Platform Strategy Group will continue to be responsible for achieving .NET "wins" by getting new companies to use the .NET Platform and various .NET Services. Parthasarathy formerly reported directly to Ballmer.
2. Vice President Yuval Neeman's Developer Division continues to be responsible for developing the .NET Framework, Visual Studio .NET, and new .NET programming languages, and is expanding to take in COM+ and standards adherence. Neeman most recently reported to Paul Flessner, who heads up the .NET Enterprise Servers Division, and before that reported directly to Allchin.
3. Vice President Tom Button's Developer Tools Division will focus on building and evangelizing the next generation of development tools beyond Visual Studio .NET, which will ship in early 2002. Button reported to Neeman; he now reports directly to Rudder.
4. Vice President Mike Nash's Content Development and Delivery Group remains responsible for Microsoft's published content, such as support documentation, Microsoft.com, MSDN, TechNet, Microsoft Press, and courseware. Because Nash's purview stretches well beyond the .NET Platform, his placement in the DPED suggests that Microsoft sees a special need to get accurate technical information about .NET to developers as part of the larger evangelization process. Nash formerly reported to Allchin.
5. Kaviraj Singh and Robert Wahbe, both of whom were already working on advanced projects under Rudder, will move into the DPED. Singh is working on next-generation Web authoring tools, and Wahbe is overseeing development of enhancements to Microsoft's Web services technology. Their move into the Platforms Group indicates that these technologies have moved out of the conceptual stage and closer to production.

Windows Division Shuffle Focuses on Server

The Windows Division headed by Brian Valentine has consolidated all Windows server work under a single team leader and has created a new business unit to oversee network security products.

Responsibility for Windows server was previously fragmented: groups working on marketing and business strategy, technical development, Terminal Services, the base server OS, and directory services were all contained in separate groups reporting directly to Brian Valentine (who had other responsibilities, such as embedded platforms and management applications, as well); and Internet Information Server (IIS), Microsoft’s Web server software, was in a completely different division entirely— Paul Flessner's .NET Enterprise Servers Division. Now all development and marketing teams working on the Windows server OS and related services will report to a single head, positioning Microsoft to better deal with the Linux threat in the server space.

Veghte Gains New Role

Bill Veghte, formerly head of the Embedded and Appliance Product Group (EAPG), will now lead the push for Windows server, consolidating the roles of Cliff Reeves (Windows .NET Server marketing and business development) and Dave Thompson (Windows server product development) under one leader. Several teams that were formerly part of the EAPG, such as the teams responsible for overseeing the quality and consistency of hardware drivers, will make the move with Veghte to Windows server. Replacing Veghte will be Todd Warren, a 14-year Microsoft veteran who has worked on Windows NT, Back Office, Small Business Server, and Project. The EAPG will be renamed the "Embedded Windows and Appliances Group."

Thompson will gain control over the teams working on IIS, Windows Terminal Server, server appliances, and support for the underlying management infrastructure used in such products as Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), underscoring the importance of these features to the future of the Windows server product line.

Microsoft also created a new business unit under Brian Valentine to oversee Windows network security products, including Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server. A leader for this team has not yet been announced.

For details of other changes in the Windows Division, see the illustration "Platforms Group Reorg, Fall 2001".

Despite Microsoft's recent effort to show its concern about security vulnerabilities in Windows by launching the Secure Windows Initiative (SWI), the SWI was not mentioned in the reorganization, and its ongoing role in Windows development is uncertain.

Flessner Focuses on SQL, Exchange

Many of the teams in the DPED and the reorganized Windows Division came from Paul Flessner's .NET Enterprise Servers Division. This does not necessarily suggest a reduced role for Flessner; it simply means that Microsoft wants his group to concentrate on the bread-and-butter of its server line-up, SQL Server and Exchange Server, and continue to turn up the heat on IBM and Oracle in the enterprise space.

In fact, Flessner's title was already a bit of a misnomer, as he never had control over all the .NET Enterprise Servers—management servers such as Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), Systems Management Server (SMS), and Application Center were already under Deborah Black in the Windows Division (and remain there). At any rate, Flessner and his division will have their hands full converting SQL to the new Yukon storage architecture by 2003, a companywide initiative that CEO Steve Ballmer has characterized as crucial to the company's future.

Other Organizational News

As part of the Platforms Group reorganization, Will Poole's Digital Media Division has been renamed the New Media Platforms Division. Poole will retain control of the company's digital media business, including Windows Media Technologies and digital rights management (DRM) products, as well as the eHome project, which has been charged with creating new products for storing and distributing digital media throughout the home.

Separately, Microsoft also named Joanne Bradford, the former advertising sales director for Business Week, as vice president and chief media revenue officer of MSN. Bradford will oversee all of MSN's advertising, including new advertising partner programs geared toward attracting big-name clients. (See "New Ad Partner Programs Launched" on page 18 of the Oct. 2001 Update.)