Microsoft’s future resides in hardware and services: Steve Ballmer

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has signified a shift in the fundamental way Microsoft conducts its business in a letter to shareholders. He cities the impeding launches of the Surface RT tablet and Windows 8 and notes that it’s a “significant shift”. He says, “It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences,
and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses.”
While he admits that Microsoft will continue to work with its OEM partners as primarily a software company, he said that there will be times that the company will produce signature hardware products, that will combine premium hardware with the company’s software expertise, a very Apple like integrated strategy. He points towards the Xbox and Surface as examples noting that both are devices built for specific purposes.
He just stopped short of saying that his company was indeed working on a Surface branded Windows Phone 8 device, but he did say that his company was focused on developing new form-factors. Mr. Ballmer also took examples like Kinect and said that Microsoft will be pushing the boundaries of the natural user interface that would include touch, gestures and speech.
While he did signal that more Microsoft made hardware could be seen in the future, he reiterated that Windows was the cornerstone of the company and the company would establish one platform across the PC, cloud, server, tablet and phone.