Decoding the hidden messages in Satya Nadella's letter to Microsoft employees

Microsoft's CEO posted a public letter today, aimed only incidentally at employees. When you get past the corporate rah-rah, here are five key messages to take away.

[christocolus]

Nadella may just be the CEO MS has always needed. With the necessary support from the board i believe this guy will lead the organisation to even greater heights. Say what you may but MS is one of the few companies out there which constantly churns out the kind of profit that they do.They are basically sitting on buttloads of cash..

To better compete& remain relevant they need to start opening up&taking more risks.its what google,apple etc are all doing. MS needs to get more in touch with its consumers ,they need to keep up with trends and innovate where necessary...under Sadyas leadership i'm certain we will see major changes/improvements in all future MS products&services...next xbox included. I've always used MS products and this news is really exciting....

[Codewow]

Microsoft needs new blood. The company is being ran by older guys and gals that just want a bonus so they can retire and build a bigger house.. They also produce their profit largely on patent royalties.

[Naga]

New blood? What are you even talking about? Microsoft's leadership has seen more change in recent years than a Vegas slot machine.

[christocolus]

I agree and that's why many of their products and services stick to the tried and true mentality. Its like they are afraid to make changes and they need to break out of that line of thought,that's exactly what Nadella is about to do.that's his direction for the company.. His letter talked about major changes,streamlining their focus and innovating in all areas.if he holds true to this..then its going to be great for them. The writer of this article talks about sadya moving away from ballmers way of thinking..I do hope its true cos i believe it will pay off in a big way.

[gamerfan0909]

Most of their profit comes from cloud services, windows, and software.

[Codewow]

@Naga more change but not all for the better!

[OpieWinston]

He believes in the unified experience that MS has had trouble conveying.

With Satya and Phil I don't think MS will have any trouble with Xbox in the future as far as risk taking goes.

Windows 8 was focused on bringing tiled resources to Xbox/Windows Phone/Windows Tablets. It just had trouble for PC users who didn't have touch screens. They learned and are updating it.

They just need a Windows that works across all, with the app integration 8 had as well as still connecting all models.

Being able to connect your Tablet/Phone/PC/Xbox would be a good way to sell products.

Satya realizes they can't win the living room battle without Xbox.

[Naga]

I think things like the Zune, the Surface, their relatively recent purchase of Nokia, the Kinect, and their bold yet redacted original vision with the Xbox One all show a history of pretty substantial risk-taking. I'm not sure what more you would like them to do in that department.

[christocolus]

Don't get me wrong..I agree they have zune, surface and mobile but those are not the ground breaking innovation you'd expect from a company as huge and profitable as MS.they've done amazing jobs with all those products but there is still room for improvement and innovation, Don't get me wrong. I love all those products. I owned a zune, my brother and i use surface and kinect is great..but when you talk to people and ask them about innovation . Apple and google keep coming up a lot more than MS. My friends and i run windows on our laptops, some of them use windows phones, my office operates strictly on windows but yet among many of my friends&colleagues the general opinion is that apple and google are still a lot cooler and more on trend than MS. That's why i said they need to move with the trends and get more in touch with their consumers. There are a lot of improvements they could make to their existing products and services. I believe Nadella is making the right deceisions though.

[JBSleek]

MS is ready to take on Apple and Google in the consumer space.

[URNightmare]

Too late for that, way too late.

[JBSleek]

What? Lol it's never too late. It's the consumer space which means it changes so often and new players come in all time.

[sinspirit]

They have always had that potential. But, they have never been ready.

They never come up with these things first. They always follow after others. When it comes to their software they develop it with money in mind rather than waiting until solid ideas are brought forth, and they also ditch their past OS's on PC when the code is almost identical for any updates.

[MonstaTruk]

To sum up Satya Nadella's address to the company (concerning Xbox zone):

"I'm not saying we're giving up on Xbox, but...if we're talking about GAMES...I'm talking Nokia & Surface RT gaming. It's cheap, the hardware is making profit, and unlike the Xbox, the competition isn't kicking our teeth in. Again, I won't say we're dropping the Xbox anytime soon, but...if we're talking about GAMING...and if we're also talking about trimming some fat, then...I'm talking about MOBILE GAMING."

Just to cut through the BS, guys... :-D

[Pogmathoin]

Just cut through the bs... Your trolling...

[Slick81]

The best May be yet to come from xbox and ms

[Goku781]

Does any body really care untill they really, show and prove with the next Xbox?

[theegamer]

Microsoft - When they came into the gaming market, everyone said "You What?". Now they are showing how they can compete with XBOX ONE.

However, i still am a PC Gamer, and always will be.