微軟CEO薩提亞·納德拉帶領公司走過了個人計算占主導的過去，進入了云和移動為主導的現在，并將迎來人工智能以及虛擬現實驅動的未來，這是一項艱巨任務。

上周四，納德拉公布了對微軟組織結構的最新改造計劃，從這次調整中也顯露出一些關鍵的主題。此次調整的目的是充分挖掘微軟最強大的業務，例如Azure云服務和Office 365訂閱軟件等，而Windows業務不再受到重視。

早在2015年，納德拉曾經進行過一次業務重組，將Windows軟件與所有硬件業務合并，包括Surface電腦、HoloLens虛擬現實設備、Lumia智能手機、Surface Hub桌面顯示器、Band運動跟蹤手環和Xbox游戲系統等。用納德拉的話說，新成立的“Windows與設備事務部”（WDG）的目標是“進一步擴大Windows生態系統”和“在各類設備上推廣Windows即服務”，以增加硬件銷售。

但除了Xbox，或者還可以算上Surface，其他多數硬件的銷售依舊毫無起色或者已經被取消（Surface在過去12個月的銷售額約為40億美元，雖然相當可觀，但在PC市場卻依舊不值一提）。Xbox的成功與過去幾年WDG部門有關Windows的各種努力沒有關系，或者沒有太大的關系，例如Windows通用平臺，旨在吸引開發者在該平臺上開發可在Window Phone、個人電腦和游戲平臺上運行的應用。雖然Windows 10在發布后的近三年里表現尚可，但個人電腦的銷量卻陷入了停滯（樂觀地說）。

納德拉現在面臨的現實是，微軟在硬件和軟件方面的移動策略已經失敗，寄希望于將其他業務與Windows捆綁來促進銷售沒有任何幫助。但微軟的Azure云業務卻在持續增長，Office 365和Dynamics 365等企業軟件訂閱業務的收入也在增長。在最近一個財季，即截至12月31日的三個月，Office 365的收入增長了41%，Dynamics 365的收入增長了67%，而Azure部門的銷售額增長了98%。與此同時，Windows商業版的收入卻減少了4%，Surface電腦的銷售額僅增長了1%，PC版Windows的銷售額下滑了4%。

當上帝給你關上一道門……

微軟2018年的新計劃是將所有業務更密切地捆綁云業務和快速增長的Azure部門。WDG部門將被解散，部門負責人特里·梅爾森將離開微軟。當梅爾森負責組建WDG部門時，他從當時離開公司的斯蒂芬·埃洛普手中接管了移動業務。如果梅爾森為該部門制定的方向，像他當初拋棄艾洛普的失敗策略一樣，被迅速推翻，這肯定會很有趣。

大部分Windows軟件業務，即Windows平臺團隊，以及部分人工智能業務，將由云和企業軟件部門負責人斯科特·格思里負責。格思里還將負責人工智能語音、計算機視覺、增強與虛擬現實（微軟稱為混合現實）業務。這些團隊均面臨著亞馬遜（Amazon）、谷歌（Google）和蘋果（Apple）等公司的激烈競爭。將它們與Azure云業務相結合，可以幫助它們作為云服務重新流行起來。

如果Windows業務能夠從一次性銷售轉變為重復訂閱，就像Office業務的成功轉型一樣，那么微軟投資者肯定會興奮不已。微軟表示此次重組主要影響工程部門，并不會影響公司報告財務業績的方式。周四公布重組計劃之后，微軟股價在下午中段交易中上漲了2%。

對于格思里負責的業務，納德拉給出的解釋充斥著大量的行話，但其中的要點就是使微軟可以通過云平臺提供各種應用和服務，可在手機、企業服務器以及未來的虛擬現實設備上使用。微軟公布的納德拉寫給員工的電子郵件稱：“該團隊的目的是為各層技術堆棧，提高平臺的凝聚力，創造有吸引力的價值。”

……打開一扇窗

硬件設備和PC版Windows銷售業務，將并入一個新部門“體驗與設備部”，負責人為原Office軟件部門的主管拉杰什·賈哈。另外，賈哈還將負責協助企業管理移動設備與軟件的部門，以及開發新型人機交互方式的部門，如HoloLens和XBox Kinect等。

納德拉在郵件中解釋道：“計算體驗正在進化，它將包括各種感覺，不再局限于某一個設備，而是會跨越更多設備，我們從家到辦公室以及在出行的途中，計算體驗都無處不在。客戶的這些現代化的需求、習慣和預期，鼓勵我們將Windows、Office和第三方應用與設備，帶入到一個更有凝聚力的微軟365體驗當中。”

最后，許多報道都忽視了一個關鍵的新部門，即工程技術與研究中的人工智能與倫理（AETHER）委員會。該部門的職責是評估人工智能的發展狀況，制定規則與邊界，確保以負責任的方式使用人工智能。其初期的兩項任務是檢測人工智能系統是否會偶爾包含帶有偏見的觀點，并確保微軟的所有工作均符合歐盟即將生效的新《通用數據保護條例》（General Data Protection Regulation）。

納德拉寫道：“雖然這里有巨大的機遇，但確保我們始終對我們的客戶和合作伙伴負責，將依舊是我們的工作準則。”（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓?

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has no easy task steering the company well past the era of its personal computing dominance, through the current cloud and mobile-oriented period and into the AI and possibly VR driven future.

On Thursday, Nadella unveiled his latest overhaul of Microsoft’s organizational structure with several key themes emerging from the changes. The new setup aims to leverage Microsoft’s strongest businesses, like its Azure cloud service and Office 365 subscription software, while Windows gets deemphasized.

Back in 2015, Nadella reorganized to combine Windows software together with all of the company’s various hardware efforts, at the time including Surface computers, HoloLens VR gear, Lumia smartphones, the Surface Hub table display, the Band fitness tracker and the Xbox gaming system. The goal of the the newly created “Windows and Devices Group” was, in the CEO’s words, to “propel the Windows ecosystem forward” and “drive Windows as a service across devices of all types” to increase hardware sales.

But aside from Xbox, and arguably Surface, most of those hardware efforts remain tiny or have been eliminated (at about $4 billion over the past 12 months, Surface is substantial though still just a blip in the PC market). And Xbox’s success has had little or nothing to do with the various Windows-related efforts that emerged from the WDG in the past few years, like the Windows Universal Platform, which was aimed at convincing developers to write apps that would run on the company’s phone, PC and gaming platforms. And while Windows 10 has done just fine in the almost three years since it was released, underlying PC sales are sluggish at best.

The current reality facing Nadella is that Microsoft’s mobile strategy in hardware and software failed and tying everything to Windows for a boost didn’t help. But Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is booming, as is the growing revenue from business software subscriptions like Office 365 and Dynamics 365. In its most recent quarter, the three months ended Dec. 31, revenue from Office 365 increased 41%, Dynamics 365 rose 67% and Azure sales jumped 98%. At the same time, revenue from Windows commercial products dropped 4%, Surface computer sales gained 1%, and Windows sales for PCs rose 4%.

When One Door Closes…

The new idea for 2018 is to tie everything more closely to the cloud and the fast-growing Azure unit. The WDG is being disbanded and band leader Terry Myerson is retiring from Microsoft. When the WDG was formed under Myerson, he took over mobile efforts from Stephen Elop, who left the company. It will be interesting to see if Myerson’s directions are erased as quickly as he moved away from Elop’s failing strategy.

Much of the Windows software effort, called the Windows Platform Team, will move under cloud and enterprise software leader Scott Guthrie’s group, along with several AI initiatives. Guthire also gets charge of AI speech, vision, augmented and virtual reality (what Microsoft calls mixed reality) efforts. Putting those teams, which face fierce competition from the likes of Amazon , Google, and Apple, together with Azure could help them catch on as cloud services.

Microsoft investors also certainly would be thrilled if the Windows business could shift from one-time sales to recurring subscriptions as successfully as the company shifted its Office business. Microsoft said the reorganization, largely affecting its engineering groups, would not result in any change in how the company reports its financial results. On Thursday after the reorganization announcement, the company’s share’s gained 2% in midafternoon trading.

Nadella’s explanation for what he put under Guthrie was laden with industry jargon, but the point is to allow Microsoft to offer all kinds of apps and services via the cloud that will be usable on everything from mobile phones to corporate servers to future VR devices. “The purpose of this team is to drive platform coherence and compelling value across all layers of the tech stack,” the CEO wrote in an email to employees released by Microsoft.

…A Window Opens

Hardware devices and selling Windows for PCs shift to a new group called “Experiences & Devices” to be run by Rajesh Jha, who oversaw the Office software unit. Jha also gets Microsoft’s business helping corporations manage their mobile devices and software and a unit that developed new ways to interact with computers, like the HoloLens and XBox Kinect.

“Computing experiences are evolving to include multiple senses and are no longer bound to one device at a time but increasingly spanning many as we move from home to work and on the go,” Nadella explained in his email. “These modern needs, habits and expectations of our customers are motivating us to bring Windows, Office, and third-party applications and devices into a more cohesive Microsoft 365 experience.”

Finally, another key new unit that was largely overlooked in the coverage of Thursday’s announcement will be called the AI and Ethics in Engineering and Research, or AETHER, Committee. Its role will be to assess how AI capabilities are developing and establish rules and boundaries to ensure responsible use. Two early tasks will be to detect whether AI systems have accidentally incorporated biased points of view and to make sure all Microsoft’s efforts abide by the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation.

“While there is great opportunity, ensuring we always act responsibly for our customers and partners will continue to be a hallmark of our work,” Nadella wrote.