Elop could kill Bing and sell Xbox if he's made CEO

[alv3st3r]

Recent reports suggest the company has shortlisted Ford CEO Alan Mulally and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as external candidates. Mulally has stated he has no intentions to leave Ford, but a Bloomberg report claims that Elop has big plans if he’s made CEO.

Elop’s return to Microsoft in the CEO position would reportedly involve a push for Office on Android and iOS. Elop is reportedly considering a strategy shift away from Microsoft’s tradition of Office running primarily on Windows PCs. Elop’s potential strategy is said to involve maximizing sales of Office instead of using it to push Windows PC and tablet sales.

Bloomberg also suggests that Elop is willing to shut down or sell some major Microsoft businesses. Elop would reportedly considering killing off the company’s Bing search engine, while contemplating selling the Xbox business.

Some investors and analysts have previously called for the software giant to split off its Xbox business and give up on search. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen appears to feel the same way. Allen’s $15 billion asset manager, Paul Ghaffari, revealed recently that Bing and Xbox have been distractions for Microsoft. "My view is there are some parts of that operation they should probably spin out, get rid of, to focus on the enterprise and focus on the cloud." Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund claims Microsoft’s financial earnings could be boosted by 40 percent in fiscal 2015 if the company sold its Bing and Xbox businesses.

Any sale of Bing or Xbox seems unlikely, despite continued suggestions over the years. Microsoft is moving to integrate its search engine experience directly into Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone, and the company is just weeks away from launching its next-generation Xbox One console. Bing also powers a number Xbox search and app features.

Source: http://www.windowscentral.com/elop-dropping-bing-xbox-if-appointed-microsoft-ceo

 

[HeyCori]

If true that would pretty much kill Elop's chances of becoming CEO. Microsoft is on a pretty firm path to integrate all their products and services. While Ballmer won't be CEO, both him and Gates are still on Microsoft's board and neither would approve such a decision.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Elop’s return to Microsoft in the CEO position would reportedly involve a push for Office on Android and iOS. Elop is reportedly considering a strategy shift away from Microsoft’s tradition of Office running primarily on Windows PCs. Elop’s potential strategy is said to involve maximizing sales of Office instead of using it to push Windows PC and tablet sales.

I could be wrong, but I believe Office is already available for MACs, Android and iOS.

With Elop in charge I'm sure he'll just end up selling MS to Apple or Google....

Personally, I don't think concentrating on any one thing is a good idea in today's market. Diversity is the only way to stay competitive. People who are outside the company seem to be pretty short sighted. I think a lot of this stuff comes from a dislike of Elop.

 

[gsquared]

Bloomberg cannot be trusted as a legit news source. They are no better than Forbes these days. Anyway, that is not a decision left to a CEO. That's why companies have Board of Directors.

 

[alv3st3r]

Bloomberg cannot be trusted as a legit news source. They are no better than Forbes these days.

I only cared to make a thread on it because Tom Warren posted it.

 

[errole]

Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

What's your thoughts on that possibility: Microsoft CEO candidate Stephen Elop said to consider selling Xbox business, killing Bing | The Verge

 

[Chregu]

Re: Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

What's your thoughts on that possibility: Microsoft CEO candidate Stephen Elop said to consider selling Xbox business, killing Bing | The Verge

Good. I wouldn't care, Bing is practically non-existent in Switzerland. However if they kill it, Microsoft will maybe allow Google on my phone's search button. I really would welcome that.

One useless button less!

 

[palandri]

Re: Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

It's all speculation at this point. I doubt they would add Google since they are a competitor.

 

[Chregu]

Re: Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

It's all speculation at this point. I doubt they would add Google since they are a competitor.

Of course it's speculation

I don't want Yahoo on my phone. Maybe they should keep Bing then.

 

[mlm1950]

Re: Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

I thought integration was part of their whole strategy?

Selling XBOX seems a little extreme, and I would hate to lose a viable alternative to Google search.

 

[kbilly70]

All this would do is benefit investors in the short term and kill the long term goals of MS. I don't see MS surviving as Enterprise only. They need the consumer side. They are late to the game, but I believe they have a shot to make inroads with integration between W8, RT, WP8, Bing, and X1. Killing off any of it now would be disastrous.

 

[alv3st3r]

Re: Danger of a breakup: Elop may kill Bing n Sell xbox

What's your thoughts on that possibility

Mine? Either Peter Burrows (who wrote this article) is on crack or Elop if its true.

 

[dznk]

I could be wrong, but I believe Office is already available for MACs, Android and iOS.

It is in a sense, but requires a paid subscription to one of the the main Office 365 suites. It's not an app by itself that you can just purchase on it's own.


I cannot see Bing being sold. Xbox... maybe, it doesn't earn them a lot of money and could be sold off, although I doubt it would be done until a few years from now so they can see how much of a success Xbox One was.

I personally wouldn't mind Elop being CEO, but his plans (if true) to sell off Bing I don't think would work, due to it now being tied into Windows 8.1, Windows Phone and Xbox. A few years back when it was losing bucket loads of money and was just a website... sure, not now though.

 

[alv3st3r]

Xbox... maybe, it doesn't earn them a lot of money and could be sold off

What are you talking about? Microsoft's Xbox 360 console has out sold all other game consoles in the US. It has been No. 1 for 32 months. This streak came to an end just last month.

 

[z33dev33l]

People are so daft

 

[dznk]

What are you talking about? Microsoft's Xbox 360 console has out sold all other game consoles in the US. It has been No. 1 for 32 months. This streak came to an end just last month.

Yep, that's true, I know that. I'm on about Xbox earning Microsoft money. They sell a bucket load of them, but actually earning money (profit), not a lot, in fact the Xbox division often lost money. I can't remember what they chucked the Xbox division into now (for financial reports), so I think it's hard to work out what profit it makes, but I don't think it's an awful lot even now. Microsoft's main division is Enterprise, that's where it earns all the hard cash

 

[Vardhan Shrivastava]

Some people just wish to pull u down wen u have potential to grow...larger than them...just spread,negative words...investers will panik stock prices will go down..microsoft will slow down...

 

[alv3st3r]

They sell a bucket load of them, but actually earning money (profit), not a lot, in fact the Xbox division often lost money.

I don't know about that, so I won't argue.

 

[dznk]

I don't know about that, so I won't argue.

I wasn't after any argument at all, just wanted to point it out in relation to perhaps selling off the Xbox side of things I should have perhaps written it a little clearer to mean more on the financial side of things rather than the sales. The sales actually have been great, like you said beating the other consoles hands down. I personally don't want them to sell off Xbox, I actually like the Xbox and the way Microsoft are going forward with it, but the investors often look at the divison with Xbox and just see numbers and have often mentioned how it should be sold off.

Just to give you a quick look at the financial side of things at Microsoft (not that I'm a business or finance type of person but I find it a bit interesting). On this page you can see how Microsoft is made up on the money side of things. Xbox is part of (well was) "Entertainment and Devices Divison".

 

[Jas00555]

Well, then **** Elop. I realize that Microsoft might need some new people with an outside perspective, but if Mullaly and Elop want to kill their only brand that people think are "hip", and then kill their search engine in favor of.... Alright I have no clue what the hell they're doing that for, Google isn't going to make anything for W8 or WP8, so I don't know what they're doing with that.