Rumor: Steve Ballmer to Resign after Windows 8?

If you thought Microsoft paying $8.5 billion in order to buy Skype would piss off investors...you'd be right. However that was only one contributing factor to many investors and analysts' dislike of the current Microsoft CEO during his 11-year run. Stocks have been down and Microsoft is being outperformed by Apple, its biggest rival, despite having a much larger market presence. Now rumors suggest that Steve Ballmer is most likely going to fall on his own sword and resign from Microsoft after the release of Windows 8.

So obviously people are pessimistic about Steve Ballmer's chances to save the Windows brand (especially after the Vista debacle) and are even more concerned about the purchase of Skype. Unfortunately there's also a lot of hesitation around Windows Phone which some analysts have already deemed a failure. Of course we know Windows Phone probably has the best chance to steal the third place spot behind iOS and Android compared to the outlook for HP's WebOS and RIM's BlackBerry. Still the numbers speak some truth and Microsoft's mobile market share is still shrinking despite Windows Phone's positive reception.

In our opinion, Steve Ballmer is not the problem here. Analysts forget that Ballmer has had plenty of successes during his run as CEO, like the original Xbox which pioneered online gaming on consoles and then the Xbox 360 which perfected the formula. Now Microsoft is making truckloads of dough off Xbox Live subscriptions and the Kinect, and while that may not seem like much it is undoubtedly Microsoft's strongest consumer-friendly product. Plus the company has taken huge strides to restore unity to their products with Windows Phone leading the charge for a more integrated Microsoft ecosystem. So what is the problem? Many would blame the Department of Justice's antitrust case against the company back in 1998, which has only recently expired on May 12th of this year. The case settled with the company signing an agreement that specifically prohibited them from integrating their products together in order to abuse their monopoly power in the market, which many believe is why Microsoft is only know beginning to deeply engineer their many spread out services into cohesive products.

Whether it was Ballmer or the antitrust case, we can't help but think he walked into a situation where he was already seen as a lesser leader than Bill Gates and has been trying to do his job with one arm tied behind his back. What do you think about Steve Ballmer potentially leaving Microsoft after Windows 8's release?

Via: Business Insider
Source: Windows 8 Update