'Agile Innovation' to Speed Development

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, is hinting that Microsoft will reposition its future development strategy as “agile innovation,” compared with the current “integrated innovation,” in an effort to speed up release cycles and add new Web-based services to its stable of traditional software products. Speaking at Microsoft’s Financial Analyst Meeting in July 2006, Ballmer indicated that the company needs to be more agile and predictable in delivering products and services. But loosening the level of integration in Windows and other products will not be easy, and will require changes to Microsoft’s development processes and culture.

Integrated Innovation

Integrated innovation was part of Microsoft’s core development philosophy in the early part of this decade and was often touted by Bill Gates when he was chief software architect, as well as other Microsoft executives, as a key advantage Microsoft has over open-source projects such as Linux. The term means that Microsoft products do more than merely use or run on other Microsoft’s products-they are designed to exploit each other’s key features and technologies. At its simplest, integrated innovation should mean that products work better together-Office is a good stand-alone product, but it should be an even better product when used in conjunction with Microsoft server software, such as Exchange and SharePoint.