Before, we just were not able to partner with Microsoft. Satya (Nadella) has opened a door that was closed. And locked. And barricaded.
— Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, on a previously announced deal to integrate his company s software with some of Microsoft s offerings. A Wired profile of Nadella shows how the new chief executive is changing the culture at Microsoft.
Other examples: Late last year, Microsoft announced it was open-sourcing programming infrastructure .NET. Also, Nadella has met with startups. Historically, companies have struggled a little bit on how to work with Microsoft, Ryan Smith of survey software company Qualtrics told Wired. This guy s different. He s humble.
Jessi Hempel, who wrote the Wired profile, also got a hands-on try of one of the things Microsoft announced Wednesday: Project HoloLens, augmented-reality goggles that allow users to explore virtual worlds, which has elicited oohs and ahhs from Hempel and other tech journalists. (Here and here and here.) While the project was already in development before Nadella became CEO, Hempel notes that its handling and rollout will define the first years of his tenure — heralding either a new era of innovation at Microsoft or another regrettable chapter in the story of a company in decline.
Also in that category: Windows 10, which will be a free — yes, free — upgrade to Windows 8.1 or 7. The OS will run across devices, including the company s successful gaming system, the Xbox.
Windows 10 is built for a world in which there are going to be more devices on the planet than people, CEO Satya Nadella said, according to the Associated Press. [Microsoft wants to] enable that seamless crossover, across devices as you move around at home and at work.
Photo: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks Windows 10 at the company s headquarters Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Redmond, Wash. (Elaine Thompson/Associated Press)
