microsoft,  steve ballmer

Analyst: Ballmer Forced Out Due to Surface RT Write Off

Patrick Moorhead, the principal analyst for Moor Insights & Strategy, said what we were all thinking about with Microsoft’s announcement that CEO Steve Ballmer was retiring sometime in the next 12 months.

“He was definitely pushed out by the board.  They either drove him out, or put him in a situation where he felt he had to leave to save face.”

Moorhead is clearly talking about Microsoft’s Board of Directors displeasure about the company’s recent $900 million dollar write off of Surface RT tablets collecting dust in Microsoft warehouses around the world.

I give Ballmer credit for attempting to turn Microsoft into a devices and services company.  In the long run, it’s probably the right thing to do.  But no one said it was going to be easy, or not without some serious risks, as I’m sure Steve is now well aware.

Read more at ComputerWorld.com