After a long buildup of anticipation, Microsoft has finally announced their new CEO to follow up on Steve Ballmer’s resignation late last year. His name is Satya Nadella and he’s a longtime veteran of Microsoft. While Nadella is a really solid choice for the position, the road ahead is not an easy one.
The industry is not the same as it was 10 years ago, and neither is Microsoft. Tough choices lie ahead regarding the direction of Microsoft’s massive, multi-pronged business strategy, and time will only tell if Nadella is up to the challenge.
Here are our top 5 suggestions for ways the new CEO can turn around Microsoft’s recent slump:
1. Expand The Xbox Brand
Xbox might not be Microsoft’s most profitable product, but it is arguably their most celebrated consumer household product ever. Widely beloved by fans and highly regarded by the industry, the Xbox brand is one that represents both futuristic experimental technology and mainstream accessibility. What’s more, Xbox has the ability to dip into a wide range of industries ranging from gaming to home automation. These are the good associations that Microsoft has lost in its Windows brand. So instead of segmenting the Xbox brand away from the rest of its business, perhaps it’s time to finally unite them—or at least their operating systems.
2. Make Their Acquisition of Nokia Mean Something
In case you hadn’t heard, Microsoft’s strategy in the mobile industry has been something of a mess. After all of Ballmer’s efforts to compete with Android in 2013, they still have an almost negligible share of the smartphone market—and have scared off nearly all of the OEMs in the tablet market with their line of Surface products. However, now that Microsoft owns Nokia and the Lumia line of mobile devices, they have a real chance to dive deep into the market and stake out a name for Microsoft. Whether it’s Windows Phone, Surface, Lumia, or Xbox-branded, Nadella has some choices to make—and the sooner they are made, the quicker he can lay the old strategies to rest.
