How Microsoft got its groove back

After many years during which it missed out on successive revolutions such as open source, search engines, mobility, social networks and the cloud, during which it competitors that were doing , by coming up with , and also interested in the future, everything seems to indicate that Microsoft, after took over as CEO, is back, and once again an interesting company.

All that was required was to get that embarrassing clown out of the way, leverage its plentiful talent base, get rid of cultural barriers to innovation, and then carry out a few strategic alliances and acquisitions. there were still doubts. But today, , Microsoft is a completely different company from when Nadella took over in February 2014, and is much more focused on the future, and with a better image as a result of pursuing more interesting projects.

The company has abandoned the policy of stuffing products in shrink-wrapped cardboard boxes, and is now (it is currently the second-largest provider at the moment, with a ), as well as having completely overhauled its unpleasant perception, opting for one that is much more in line with the real world. , and has even reached the point where one of its most reputable engineers has said that an , a headline that would have been , a man who understood technology in the same way he does supporting a sports team (he’s in his element managing the Clippers).

Microsoft’s new openness has led it to take initiatives like buying Mojang, the creators of Minecraft: ostensibly because “”, but in practice so that it can . Sure, we’ve seen lots of visionary videos from Microsoft over the years, but under Ballmer, there was never any sense they were rooted in reality, or that they were ever going to materialize. Now we’re talking about something very different:

This is a change in direction that has allowed the company to approach and to bring Windows 10 to it through , or to the . These are projects that will obviously have little impact on Microsoft’s bottom line, but will play a key role in how the industry sees the company, possibly making it an ally, a player to be counted on, into an integral part of the ecosystem.

After having been, in 1991, one of the participants in the team that , I have spent more than a decade criticizing harshly the strategy of the company under the management of whom I consider . Now, fourteen months after Satya Nadella took over as CEO, Microsoft is once again an interesting company, and the who . Equally importantly, Microsoft’s return isn’t just good news for Microsoft: more choices and greater diversity in the ecosystem is good for everybody.

Microsoft, great to have you back!

(En español, )