In spite of all the bad press Windows Vista has had to endure, Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner stands firm on his belief that the operating system is surging ahead and doing better than its predecessor.
Prior to his current stint as head of operations at Redmond, 42-year-old Turner spent 19 years in retail chain Wal-Mart, where he held various senior positions including chief information officer and chief executive of Wal-Mart subsidiary Sam's Warehouse.
In August 2005, he filled a spot that had been left vacant at Microsoft since 2002 when former COO Rick Belluzo left as part of a company reorganisation.
In an email interview with ZDNet Asia, Turner underscored the company's confidence in Windows Vista, which he said hit "a milestone" in March when 140 million copies of the operating system were sold.
He stated that Vista is faring better than its predecessor, Windows XP, in terms of security, clocking in at fewer malwares and vulnerabilities.
Q: You spent 19 years in a company that uses technology [and was a customer of Microsoft], before joining a company widely known for the technology it sells. It would be three years in August since you began your COO tenure at Microsoft. What's the biggest change and challenge you've had to overcome and get accustomed to, having moved from a CIO to a COO position? And how have you 'tweaked' your mindset for the change in landscape?
A: There are more similarities than differences in the two companies. I am fortunate to be one of few people who have had the opportunity to work for two of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time: [Wal-Mart founder] Sam Walton and [Microsoft chairman] Bill Gates.
Both men have instilled similar values into their companies. One that has had a strong impact on me is having a sense of 'divine discontent' or, as we call it at Microsoft, being self-critical without getting de-motivated. This is one of our six company values and something we work very hard to maintain. We are constantly looking for ways to improve what we do, while at the same time staying motivated by the progress we have made.
Another aspect that resonates with me is that both businesses are about 'people'. Everything in business begins and ends with people, and how we treat our people and our customers will dictate how successful we are as a company. We can never lose sight of the fact that people are at the centre of our software and our business.
Your job description includes responsibilities for product and customer support services/branding, advertising and PR, as well as internal IT that supports Microsoft's 78,000-plus employees. How do you balance these two job aspects, one where you have to evangelise your company's products, and the other that may require you to manage employee expectations of those same products?
This is one of the greatest benefits of my job. We believe we have the opportunity and responsibility to be our own first and best customer, and to really put our products through their paces.
Having responsibility for IT and sales helps me relate to our customers and partners better…
Talkback
“Security is one of the top reasons customers are moving to Windows Vista” Kevin Turner.
It is perhaps the only reason; the UAC system, though annoying at times, solves the problem with auto-run malicious software.
What Mr Turner won’t admit is that many people are sticking with XP because they believe it performs better overall.
Can these numbers be trusted? How many new computers sold were reverted back to XP, upgraded to MAC OS, or Linux? These numbers can be adjusted to fit M$ needs, and are not etched in stone. Security wise, a major security firm has found that vista is not more secure than XP, yet M$ continues to fault the report, probably because it wasn't done by them. I would believe a third party's findings before anything M$ says.