New Microsoft CEO knows Israel operations well

Shmulik Shelach

Israel operations are in fields close to Satya Nadella like cloud computing.

Anyone looking to understand post-Steve Ballmer Microsoft should start with the web page on the company’s website dedicated to the new CEO. In one of the pictures, Satya Nadella may be seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, rolled-up sleeves, and geek glasses, which match his shy smile. Behind him, are mysterious sketches on a smart blackboard. Let’s devote a moment or two to this picture: close your eyes… who do you see? Is it a reflection of Steve Ballmer, or maybe Mark Zuckerberg?

The image is clear: Nadella is presented as a Silicon Valley type. Maybe not Zuckerberg - he’s missing the flip-flops - but definitely Larry Page, from Google. Definitely not Steve Ballmer, or even Bill Gates. And that’s exactly the subtext that Microsoft is trying to project: “We are back to being a company with deep technology, and a soft spot for geeks. And here is our new CEO, who was weaned on UNIX systems, back at Sun (the ultimate source of computing technology), and is a big believer in cloud computing.”

Nadella’s image is just one side of Microsoft on the morning after. The man appointed above him, as Chairman, John Thompson (65), who looks like the responsible adult, is also worthy of note. Thompson is a veteran tech man, and one of the high-tech figures that Wall Street is most fond of, since he succeeded in boosting Symantec’s stock in the early 2000s. He brings with him a “deep” technological background, with an emphasis on computing infrastructures, but he is also fluent in the language of Wall Street. In 2006, he was at the top of the salary charts, earning $71 million.

But, above all, hovers the image of Bill Gates, as an advisor who will assist in the development of new products. The company’s entire new “management package” is trying to say: “We are ready to change the world, again, through innovation.” This message was multi-dimensional enough to be encouraging to workers, customers - organizations as well as private customers - and, most of all, to investors.

Of course, we are talking about symbolic issues and image alone. Ballmer’s Microsoft was one of the most R&D intensive companies in the world, and it is hard to imagine that the new management will bring any major shocks to the company. The intensive search for a new CEO included a few managers with more administrative backgrounds than technological (Ford CEO Alan Mulally, was a top candidate, according to reports).

The new image is likely to be good for the Israeli Microsoft development centers in Herzliya and Haifa. Israeli operations are based primarily on technology that is relevant to fields close to Nadella at Microsoft, with an emphasis on cloud computing and infrastructures relevant to inter-organizational computing. Nadella was responsible for Microsoft Israel, and is, therefore, very familiar with local managers, and products.

Managers at Microsoft Israel are not free to discuss the appointment, but the following is what Nadella said in an exclusive interview with “Globes,” regarding the local development center, just over two years ago: “The Israeli development center is very strategic for us, and there are abilities here that contribute to Microsoft in key areas. We have grown through acquisitions and internal growth, and we will continue to do so. To me, the question is how to best take advantage of the workforce here.” Based on this, at least, leaders of the Israeli center can be pretty confident regarding future plans. During that same interview, Nadella hinted at what Microsoft would look like in the future: “Our vision in the field of cloud computing is similar to the vision we had for PC operating systems. Then, we contributed to putting a PC on every desk, and now, we want every business to be able to participate in the advantages of the cloud.”

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 5, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters âìåáñ Israel Business Conference 2018