Steve Ballmer Says that Microsoft is "Rallying Behind a Single Strategy as One Company"

There has been a lot of talk about the proposed (and now official) reorganization changes occurring at Microsoft MSFT. In a formal letter to his employees, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer indicated that the company's goal is to become one strong, unified unit. "We are rallying behind a single strategy as one company -- not a collection of divisional strategies," Ballmer wrote. "Although we will deliver multiple devices and services to execute and monetize the strategy, the single core strategy will drive us to set shared goals for everything we do." Ballmer added that Microsoft will view its product line "holistically," as opposed to a "set of islands." "…All parts of the company will contribute to activating high-value experiences for our customers." Microsoft also plans to "reshape" the way it interacts with its customers, developers and key innovation partners. "Our marketing, advertising and all our customer interaction will be designed to reflect one company with integrated approaches to our consumer and business marketplaces," Ballmer wrote. While this may sound like fresh news to some investors, this was far from an overnight decision for Microsoft. The Windows maker has been slowly reorganizing its company for the past year, starting with a major push toward the subscription-based Office 365. Microsoft reused an old product name (Surface) for its new tablet, ensuring continuity among its touch interfaces. The company also applied the familiar "Xbox" name to its online music service. Elsewhere in the letter, Ballmer said that Microsoft will organize the firm by function:

• Engineering (including supply chain and datacenters)
• Marketing
• Business Development and Evangelism
• Advanced Strategy and Research
• Finance
• HR
• Legal
• COO (including field, support, commercial operations and IT)

"Each discipline will help drive our overall strategy," Ballmer wrote. "Each discipline will also be charged with improving our core capabilities in its area. We must improve in all aspects of the business. "…We have resolved many details of this org, but we still will have more work to do. Undoubtedly, as we involve more people there will be new issues and changes to our current thinking as well. Completing this process will take through the end of the calendar year as we figure things out and as we keep existing teams focused on current deliverables like Windows 8.1, Xbox One, Windows Phone, etc." Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ