Can a monolith like Microsoft maintain stability through products like its popular Office suite and still be relevant in a time when free contribution and collaboration is increasingly the way to get things done? Absolutely, says Stephen Elop in this frank discussion with Tim O'Reilly.
Answering challenges by O'Reilly, Elop explains that the new mandate at Microsoft is to use the best of what is known about what happens in the cloud and apply it to client technology. He maintains that it is possible, and desirable, for Microsoft to embrace interoperability, and to take what is being developed and translate it into something that people are willing to pay for.
Elop also answers audience questions such as how computers are being used in different ways (for example using sensors to input information in products such as the Kindle, iPhone, etc.), and about how Microsoft intends to apply practices such as microblogging to a corporate setting.
Stephen Elop joined Microsoft in 2008 and is president of the Microsoft Business Division, where he oversees the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications Groups, and is also a member of the company’s senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft, Elop was Chief Operating Officer for Juniper Networks, a leading provider of high-performance network infrastructure and a valued Microsoft partner. Prior to Juniper, Elop served as president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems Inc., where he was responsible for Adobe’s global sales organization and all customer-facing functions. Elop joined Adobe following the 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc., where he was president and CEO. Earlier in his career, he served in a number of executive positions, including chief information officer. Elop earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
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