Stephen Elop, others, to leave Microsoft in large re-organization

 
In an email from Satya Nadella to his employees across the globe, Microsoft announced a large restructuring of its engineering division in order to better fit with its strategy for the future.
And among a number of prominent individuals moving between departments and positions, controversial executive Stephen Elop is a high profile casualty, having opted to retire.
As Nadella described,

“We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions. This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace.”

Currently, Terry Myerson, is to take head of a new team, the Windows and Devices Group (WDG), which will be a combination of the current Operating Systems Group and Microsoft Devices Group, the latter of which was previously headed by Elop. This division will drive Windows as a service across devices, and manage all Microsoft consumer hardware products.

Scott Guthrie is to stay with the Cloud and Enterprise team, which will now also handle development of Dynamics products, following the move of several engineers from that division. The Applications and Services Group (ASG) under Qi Lu will also now handle engineering efforts to build solutions for education.
Stephen Elop will not be the only veteran Microsoft figure taking the opportunity to move onwards. Kirill Tatarinov (Dynamics), Eric Rudder and Mark Penn have also opted to move to pastures anew.
One thing is clear from this reorganization, which is likely to be the last for some time,  the future is no joke for Microsoft. With the continuing, and unrelenting, focus on building Windows as a brand across multiple devices, this adjustment will likely help the process continue a little more easily, though the long-term effects will remain unknown for some time yet.
Are these changes you welcome? Let us know in the comments below.