Allchin Memo: Microsoft Reorganizes Platforms Group

According to an internal memo from Platforms Group vice president Jim Allchin sent out to staffers on Monday, Valentine will focus on the core OS platform while the Redmond, Wash. software giant's Windows client and server business will be spun off as separate profit and loss centers.

"Over the last four years, we increased our business focus in the platforms group by bringing together the 9x and NT teams and creating organziations focused on the client and server business," according to the memo. "For quite some time, Brian Valentine and I have been discussing how to achieve more engineering focus in the organization."

The Windows client business will be led by Will Poole, who will now report directly to Jim Allchin. Windows server responsibility falls into the domain of Bob Muglia in the Servers & Tools group, adding this to his current responsibilities for Storage and Management products. Muglia will report to Servers & Tools Business, to be led by Eric Rudder who also reports directly to Allchin.

Bill Veghte, who currently has responsibility for Windows Server, is being promoted to lead North American sales and marketing under Kevin Johnson, group vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services.

Finally, Pieter Knook's Mobile and Embedded Device Business and Dan Neault's Platforms business Management will continue to report to Allchin.

The realignment mirrors, in some ways, the separate development efforts of the Linux kernel engineering group and separate commercial focus on the Linux server and desktop products, observers note.

However, in the memo, Allchin said the changes do not reflect any effort to dismantle Microsoft's effort to unify its Windows products under one roof, a major aspect of its last reorganization.

"We are realigning the organization to build on our engineering momentum and to drive better planning and coordination across the Windows businesses and teams," according to the memo examined by CRN. "While we are making changes to get more focus, it is also imperative that we continue to operate as a single Windows organization."

"It's a step we need to take now, as we drive toward Longhorn," Allchin wrote.