Microsoft will combine its hardware and Windows software teams into one unit as the company looks to streamline its development processes with an eye on improved user experiences.
The new business unit will be called Windows + Devices and will be lead by Panos Panay, chief product officer at Microsoft’s Devices group, according to ZDNet, who’s widely considered to be the ‘father’ of Microsoft’s Surface hardware.
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"Personally I'm very excited to lead the Windows Client for Microsoft, which will help us streamline our decision-making processes, be clear on our priorities, and deliver the best end-user experiences from silicon through operating systems across all Microsoft apps and service-connected devices (OEMs and Surface)," Panay wrote in an internal email obtained by ZDNet.
"Designing hardware and software together will enable us to do a better job on our long-term Windows bets (dual screen, silicon diversity, connectivity, app platform, etc.) and having a single point of Windows Client Experience leadership driving consistent priorities and resourcing across all of Windows client will help all of us accelerate innovation and improve execution.
The move comes as part of a larger reorganisation at Microsoft with Joe Belfiore, currently the corporate vice president heading up the Windows Experience unit, heading over to the Office side of Microsoft's business where he will help lead the Office Experience Group.
The reshuffle is reportedly set to take effect on 25 February.
Combining the hardware and Windows client teams is hardly a surprising move, as Microsoft has effectively been designing the Surface devices with Windows software together for the past few years.
Often the latest Surface tablets and laptops are used to showcase the latest and greatest features of Windows 10, and with the upcoming Surface Neo and Surface Duo dual-screen devices set to come with Windows 10X, this trend of combined hardware and software development at Microsoft is set to continue.
