Away from Microslop? Microsoft gets a quality manager

Microsoft will have a dedicated technical quality manager in Charlie Bell. CEO Satya Nadella announced this in an internal memo, which he also published on the company's own blog. Bell previously served as Microsoft's Director of Security. Hayete Gallot, who most recently worked as President of Customer Experience at Google Cloud, will move into his vacant position. Gallot is returning to Microsoft, where she previously held leadership roles in Windows and MS Office for over 15 years. Both will report directly to Nadella.

Microsoft aims to strengthen “core priorities”

With the restructuring, Nadella aims to improve product quality and security. These are considered two of the company's core priorities. He views the restructuring as a continuation of Microsoft's “Initiative for Outstanding Quality.” He states that with this initiative, the company has increased its transparency and is achieving technical goals faster to deliver long-lasting, high-quality services worldwide, writes the Microsoft CEO in the blog post.

Most recently, after persistent criticism from users, the US company admitted that Windows 11 did not meet its standards – users complained, among other things, about Remote Desktop connection drops, a duplicated Task Manager, and errors in Dark Mode. Finally, Microsoft established so-called Swarm Teams to address the most severe problems promptly. After bug fixes, they are intended to identify system bottlenecks and improve the performance of Windows 11. There are no concrete timelines for future updates. The low willingness to switch is also reflected in the numbers: In Germany, almost every second private Windows PC still runs Windows 10.

Users get more AI

Microsoft has not yet addressed the AI features that are unpopular with many users. Instead, the company recently equipped more system tools with AI features in the Windows 11 Insider program. CEO Nadella himself also spoke out further in favor of using artificial intelligence at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating that AI improves productivity and creates added value.

(sfe)