Should Ballmer step down?

Computer store news: In recent years, with the slowdown of PC business growth, Windows 8 sales are tepid, and Microsoft has not been able to grasp the tide of tablets and smartphones in time, this global software empire " The king, Steve Ballmer's throne seems to have reached the edge of disintegration. In this regard, British Broadcasting BBC online version of the contributor Shanaz Musafer (Shanaz Musafer) recently wrote an article on whether Ballmer should step down.

Moussafer believes that Ballmer is duty-bound to fail to lead Microsoft in capturing the wave of mobility in a timely manner, but the outside world seems to ignore it too much. The company has achieved results under its leadership. Moreover, if Ballmer finally stepped down as expected, and under the premise that many executives have resigned, Microsoft's next candidate for "king" is still unknown.

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As the CEO of the world's largest software empire, Steve Ballmer's words and deeds have received great attention from outside. . However, recently Microsoft's "inaction" in the wave of smartphones and tablets has gradually begun to push Ballmer to the cusp of the media, and some critics even said that "Ballmer should be stepped down and let other People come to lead Microsoft to move on.

Soon, Microsoft will release its first full quarterly earnings report after the release of the Windows 8 operating system. Although this system received great attention from the outside world before the release, the actual sales performance has not been satisfactory, and such performance has also made Ballmer the target of public criticism.

Joachim Kempin, a former executive who has been with Microsoft since 1983-2002, believes that Ballmer, who has been at the top decision-making level since 2000, should leave Microsoft. Or seek to transfer within Microsoft.

Kampin joined Microsoft in 1983 and has worked in this company for nearly 20 years and retired in 2002. In the later stages of his career, Kambin was primarily responsible for selling Windows and Office software to PC manufacturers.

Voice of Opposition

In an interview with British TV BBC, Kambin said, "Ballmer called Microsoft a <; hardware and services & rsquo; company's statement is completely unreliable Because Microsoft is a software company from start to finish.

& ldquo; In my opinion, Microsoft is gradually abandoning traditional PC partners. At present, Microsoft has introduced Surface tablets, which are still worthy of their own products, but these new products are not quite unique when compared with other products on the market. & rdquo; Canbin pointed out.

Kempin believes that Microsoft’s move has alienated itself from PC manufacturers, and vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and Samsung have begun to launch their own Android tablets instead of Windows. Tablets are the best example. In addition, Ballmer has made little progress in the development of the Office suite business. With the lack of timely launch of Office applications on Android and iOS devices, Microsoft missed a great opportunity to develop Office on the mobile platform. In fact, the "Windows protectionist strategy" that Microsoft executives have been pursuing is also wrong.

For these questions, Campin believes that Ballmer is the biggest source.

& nbsp; Mr. Ballmer is a good COO, but he does not have the vision of a CEO, because the decisions made in this position need to focus on the overall situation. However, Ballmer’s management style is too conservative, causing Microsoft to lose its entrepreneurial spirit. & rdquo; Canbin said.

Performance is eye-catching

It is undeniable that during Ballmer’s tenure as Microsoft’s CEO, the company’s financial data is all the same. Microsoft revenue rose from $25.3 billion in 2011 to $74.3 billion in 2012, and operating profit rose from $11.7 billion in 2001 to $25.3 billion in 2012. In the past decade, Ballmer has returned more than $180 billion to investors through dividends and stock repurchases, second only to the US multinational energy company Exxon. In addition, Microsoft's current $63 billion in cash flow ranks second among all US companies, second only to Apple.

It should be noted that because of the departure of Joachim-Kempin in 2002, he actually worked for 1-2 years under Ballmer's “rule”. Soon after, Campin chose to leave after an antitrust lawsuit, ending his 19-year career at Microsoft. Not long ago, he published a book on Microsoft's "Decision and Will: Microsoft's "Resolve and Fortitude: Microsoft's `Secret Power Broker' Breaks His Silence", which is mainly It tells about Campin’s career in Microsoft for nearly 20 years.

Although Kambin may be selfish with regard to Ballmer's attack, he is not the only celebrity who called Ballmer to step down.

In May 2011, David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, a well-known hedge fund, said, "The market value of IBM and Apple." After surpassing Microsoft, Ballmer should resign as CEO and give others a chance. ”

However, despite the endless voice of the opposition, Ballmer received more than 96% of the support rate at Microsoft's last shareholder meeting.

Great pressure

Market research firm Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said: "If Microsoft's earnings report on Thursday is not good, this pair of abalone Ermer is not a good news. ”

It is expected that Microsoft's revenue will rise in the current quarter, but 75% of revenue sources will come from outside the operating system business. However, even if Microsoft's revenue for the fiscal quarter reached expectations, this may not be able to conceal the fact that the Windows 8 operating system market was not performing well last October.

Last week, well-known market research firm IDC revealed that global PC sales in the first three months of this year fell by 14%. This means that the release of Windows 8 not only did not stimulate the PC market, but even further delayed the development of this market.

 Win8 is unable to withstand the temptation of tablets and new phones for consumers, Microsoft's bet (ubiquitous touch operation) does not seem to bring the expected return, all their ads seem to be in The concept of touch, touch, and touch is constantly being poured, but the market does not seem to buy it. & rdquo; Mohede said.

In this regard, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein is still confident in the operating system. He said: "It's still in the early stages, so ambitious plans take time to be effective, and Microsoft will continue to work with our partners to fulfill the promises of Windows 8. ”

Giving recognition

Colin Gillis, an analyst at Boston-based BGC Partner Investment, believes that many of Ballmer’s achievements during his tenure have not been recognized by outsiders.

 Kinect Somatosensory Devices was once the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in the history, and the Xbox game consoles are selling at the same speed, and the competition in this market has been fierce. It should be said that Ballmer personally built a multi-billion dollar business, but failed to lead the company to adapt to the transformation of the computer market, that is, the rise of smartphones and tablets. Indeed, Microsoft’s mistakes need to be blamed on Ballmer’s leadership, even if it’s a slap in the face. However, while we are criticizing his slow response to the mobile device market, we should also see his achievements. & rdquo; Gillis said.

In this regard, Moheide also believes that thanks to the acquisition and the development of corporate business, Microsoft's financial data performance is still very strong.

& ldquo; I think the outside criticism of Microsoft is exaggerated compared to the actual situation. However, the most direct way to measure Microsoft and Ballmer's performance is through the performance of both in the mobile phone and tablet field, but their performance is not good enough. & rdquo; Moheide said.

Next Steps

In a recent interview, Bill Gates, chairman of the board of directors and founder of Microsoft, was asked "by management of Ballmer" The company expressed satisfaction with this issue. Gates’ answer is: “In the past year, the company’s leadership at Ballmer has done a lot of amazing work, including the company’s key Windows 8 operating system, Surface tablet, and excellent search service Bing. And the Xbox game console, but these are not enough. Because he (Balmer) and I are not satisfied with the company's current performance in developing breakthrough products, we will continue to work hard. ”

So, should Ballmer hand over the handsome print?

To be sure, Campin thinks that Ballmer should hand over his leadership in time, but Moheid thinks that Microsoft doesn't have to rush.

& ldquo; If PC sales continue to decline in the next few quarters, Ballmer's status is likely to be in jeopardy. & rdquo; Mohed added. In addition, he believes that since many Microsoft executives have left the company, Ballmer's future successor is still unknown.

Former Microsoft Windows department head Steven Sinofsky was considered the most likely candidate for the next CEO, but he left after a week of Win8 release. There were rumors at the time that Sinowski was forced to step down in the fight with Ballmer.

So, if Ballmer handed over the seal in the near future, Mohide thought that Microsoft is likely to choose the right successor from outside the company.

“I think this is a good thing for Microsoft because it can bring new ideas and new passions to the company. & rdquo; Moheide finally added.