Reorganizing Business into Four Functional Divisions

In 07/2013, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced a major internal restructuring known as “One Microsoft,” aimed at transforming the company from separate product-focused divisions into a unified organization centered on devices and services. The overhaul reorganized Microsoft’s engineering teams around shared goals rather than individual products, with the intention of improving collaboration across Windows, Xbox, Office, and online services. The restructuring replaced Microsoft’s previous structure of largely independent business units with functional groups such as Operating Systems, Devices and Studios, Applications and Services, and Cloud and Enterprise. Terry Myerson was appointed to lead the Operating Systems group, Julie Larson-Green headed Devices and Studios, Qi Lu led Applications and Services, and Satya Nadella oversaw Cloud and Enterprise. The new structure aimed to align software, hardware, and services development under coordinated leadership. Ballmer said the reorganization would help Microsoft operate more cohesively as it pursued a “devices and services” strategy. The July 2013 announcement marked one of the largest structural changes in the company’s history, affecting engineering, marketing, and business teams across Microsoft’s global operations.