MAY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 5According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, the
combination will be named ‘Windows + Devices’,
and will be led by Panay. Joe Belfiore, who leads the
WindowsExperienceteam,willmoveovertothe
Officesideofthehouselaterin theyear.A source
closeto Microsoft confirmed the report, though
Microsoft’s not confirming it publicly for now.
“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 memo, as reported by
Foley. “We believe this will make the Windows Client
experience better for the entire PC ecosystem.”
Surface + Windows: Unfair advantage?
The combination will align Windows and Microsoft’s
PC business even closer, in much the same way that
Apple’s software and hardware teams work closely
together, or Google’s Chromebook and Pixel teams
talktotheAndroidandChromeOSdevelopers.
That’sworkedoutwellforApple,ofcourse,and
theAndroid ecosystem is thriving.
The PC industry, of course, is a much more
fragmented and fragile business. A surprising jolt in
sales during 2019 was immediately being followed
bypredictionsofa correspondingdroponcethe
industrynavigated the transition from Windows 7 to
Windows 10. Microsoft, meanwhile, saw its Surface
sales grow to nearly $2 billion (around £1.53bn) even