6 things that Satya Nadella has to do right now

The new Microsoft CEO, Satia Nadella, has a long list of cases covering long-term plans that will take months and years to complete, but there are some things that, if he did right now, he would make a positive contribution to the company and strengthen himself as a leader.

1) Release Office on iPad

MS Office is one of the most popular software packages, and it has a huge potential market - iPad users. Yes, they can now use Office365, but paying annual tribute to Microsoft is the last thing they want to do. They just want to buy software, install and use it.
')
There is a huge opportunity for Microsoft to keep this product popular among people who intend to avoid using their products. But it does not seem that these people have no alternatives in the form of Google Apps and Apple applications. And it’s hard to say that Microsoft’s iPad “killer” - Surface2, is “poaching” some users from iPad (even though it comes bundled with Office).

It's hard to guess why Microsoft hasn't done it yet. There are rumors that Microsoft is delaying the release of an already finished version for the iPad. Now is the time to release it.

2) Find the answer to the question "Why should I buy devices on Windows Phone?"

Until now, no one has found a convincing answer. In the last quarter, the share of sales of devices on Windows Phone was only 4%, compared with 77% of devices on Android and 18% on iOS (according to ABI Research). Although the share of the share was 104% of last year, in absolute terms it is very small.

Since Nadella announced: “mobility and clouds are the first thing,” it is important that buyers of phones on Windows Phone have access to Microsoft’s cloud services.

In connection with the acquisition of the main supplier of these phones - Nokia - Microsoft, it is important to convey to people that these are devices with good hardware and user-friendly interface. The problem is to show potential customers what you can do with these devices. It will be less if users can access cloud services (access to documents, mail servers and applications "in the cloud" that may be attractive to business users).

The problem is that they do not want to use Windows Phone, unlike Android and iOS. This problem is like the question “What was the first — chicken or egg?”: People will buy phones, if there are applications for them, developers will write applications, if there are those for whom to write them. Nadelle needs to somehow break this vicious circle, which brings us to the next point ...

3) Appeal to the developers

Nadela is in good enough shape to do this, given that he has led Microsoft’s development teams for many years.
What he can say to developers is based on technical knowledge, and will be more effective than, for example, the famous "Developers, developers, developers ..." of Balmer.

Microsoft convinced developers to write applications for Windows 8 even before Windows 8 became available to users, but the efforts were in general insufficient.

Nadella will have the opportunity to contact the developers in April, when the company will hold the Build Developer Conference in San Francisco. He should make it clear that investing time resources is advisable. This is his big advantage over Ballmer. He can speak the language of developers, understand their problems and motivate them effectively.

4) Make better use of the advantages of Windows 8

Judging by the slow growth in the share of Windows 8 and 8.1, they were not inspired by users, and users are not in a hurry to buy them, despite the end of the Windows XP support period. The share of XP users is falling, the share of Windows 8 / 8.1 users is growing, but many former XP users are switching to Windows 7 instead of 8 / 8.1.

For many, it turned out to be too difficult to get used to Windows 8, especially for using the media, sharpened under the mouse and keyboard. For conservative people it would not be so difficult if you could easily switch from the touch interface to the desktop. The simple fact is that for most tasks the touch interface is not needed. And since Windows 8 was planned to be used in both touch and classic devices, both interfaces must be available.

Microsoft took a step toward this when moving from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, but these steps should be more pronounced.

5) Meet Elop

Nadellu was chosen as the CEO of Microsoft, and Elop was not. Since with the acquisition of Nokia, Microsoft "acquires" and Elop, Nadella needs to meet with him and decide if there is an "ax of war" to bury and bury him ( an ax, not Elop ).
Nokia and its phones and phablets are a valuable part of Microsoft and it’s important for Nadella and Elop to work together. They must develop mobile devices that would satisfy the needs of users, as users move from PC to tablets, and add to them those features that show uniqueness in terms of “mobility and the cloud — first thing”.

Elop's team is having difficulty after taking over Microsoft. Their chief designer chose not to work for Microsoft and leave the company. Elop does not need even more pressure from Microsoft’s CEO.

6) "Feel" promising development

Microsoft has research and development in many areas that are not tied to a specific product in a business plan. Nadelle needs to understand this, choose some excellent opportunities and “squeeze out creative juices” with the support of “tops”.

Bill Gates spent time with production teams to find nuggets, and he is good, but Nadella himself must find time for this and demonstrate the importance of these tasks.

The company is often criticized for its conservatism, immobility and non-innovativeness. And this may be an opportunity for Microsoft to withdraw from such a seal and, perhaps, to bring something really new to the market.

Link to the original in English (6 things Satya Nadella should do right now).