When you talk about Microsoft, the first thing that comes to your mind might be Bill Gates, its co-founder. He will leave the company soon however. Gates is set to step down on Friday from what is now the world's largest software company to work full-time at the charitable organization -- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- built by his vast fortune. No longer the world's richest man, after being topped by investor Warren Buffett and Mexico's telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, Gates says great wealth brings with it great responsibility.
The 52-year-old, will leave behind a life's work developing software to devote energy to finding new vaccines or to micro-finance projects in the developing world. As Microsoft's biggest shareholder, Gates will remain chairman and work on special technology projects. His 8.7 percent stake in Microsoft is worth about $23 billion. Gates first programmed a computer at 13, creating a class scheduling system for his Seattle high school. As he gained more experience, he realized the potential that software held to change how humans worked, played and communicated. Gates realized at an early stage of the PC revolution that software would be more important than hardware. Working with boyhood friend Paul Allen, Gates founded Microsoft, naming the company for its mission of providing microcomputer software. Microsoft went public in 1986 in one of the most celebrated offerings of its time. By the next year, the soaring stock made Gates, at age 31, the youngest self-made billionaire. Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie will take over Gates' role as Chief Software Architect starting immediately. Gates reitered that he is not retiring from the software business, calling the change a re-ordering of priorities. [End of report]
When I first heard this news, I was slightly surprised and I didn't saw it coming. Nevertheless, I thought it is the right time for him to step down. There is no doubt that he has done a fantastic job with Microsoft. Their softwares is probably one of the best in the world with the likes of Microsoft's Windows and Office. However, not everything is great about the company or Gates in particular. The next version of its operating system software, Windows Vista, will arrive for most users next year, more than five years after the previous version of Windows was launched. Internally, some blamed Gates for pushing developers to do too much, leading the company two years ago to reset plans for the product and scale back its ambition. His decision to step down is not just a good move for him but for the company as well. It will create the possibility of fresh thinking in an organization seen by many in the tech industry as being hung up on the past. And as far as Gates is concern, it will give him more time to focus more on his efforts in his foundation. It's great to see him doing philanthropy work, a trend that is all too common for rich people nowadays after their main career is over. At the foundation, Gates says his role will be much like his role as chairman at Microsoft.
I would also like to point out the fact that Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates current business partner will no longer have Gates at his side for the first time in his 26 years with Microsoft. The duo, possibly the most successful business combination in history, set about deciding how to divide up Gates's tasks if he followed through with his plans. And Ballmer began to think about how his role as the sole leader of the software giant would change. I think he would do fine without Gates in his side. He has enough experience to overcome this minor blip and Im sure he wont want to disappoint Gates but there is no doubt that the task ahead of him would be a difficult one. It's good to hear that he is planning to stay in the company for a very long time. Nevertheless, even without Gates, I believe Microsoft is good enough to go on and continue to maintain its status as the leading software company in the future.
What is certain though, Bill Gates will forever be remembered for being the man who found one of the greatest software company ever to exist in the world and even though he wouldn't necessarily be a widely admired figure, he will also be remembered as someone who created an activity that came to represent a vital part in our lifestyle and he will definitely go down as one of the great businessmen in history.
*The report was taken from Reuters.
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