By Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet reporterGet the messageIt is pointed out that Microsoft plans to merge the Windows department and the device department, which will be called the Windows and Devices Department in the future. Panos Panay, the current product chief of the device department, will be in charge.
In the subsequent confirmation, Panos Panay also confirmed that he will take over the leadership of the Windows department, and emphasized that the Windows operating system will be paired with Surface, and OEM manufacturers will create hardware devices to play a role.Better operating experience.
According to relevant statements, Microsoft plans to merge the Windows department and the device department, mainly hoping to achieve more complete and complementary development between the Windows operating system and device hardware through resource integration, thereby improving the overall user experience.
But from another perspective, this may also be to make the financial report data performance look better. After all, after Windows 10 began to enter the free update usage model, the proportion of profits increased through Windows operating system licensing has been greatly reduced. Therefore, if it is merged with the device department, the financial report performance can also convince investors.
However, despite being in charge of both the Windows and Devices groups, Panos Panay's position within Microsoft hasn't been elevated, and he will continue to report to Rajesh Jha, who previously led the Experience and Devices group. Joe Belfiore, who previously led the Windows group, will move to lead the Office group, where he will also oversee the EPIC (Essential Products Inclusive Community) team, which develops news, the Microsoft Edge browser, and apps for iOS and Android.
In addition, Brian Macdonald, who was originally responsible for the Microsoft Teams service, will retire, and his original position will be taken over by Jeff Teper, who is currently in charge of OneDrive and SharePoint.
As for this personnel change, it seems that it will not affect Microsoft's existing COSINE (Core OS and Intelligent Edge) team, which means that the team structure responsible for Windows core architecture and specific computing technologies will not change.
