Sinofsky, Surface, Survival: Friendly Fire in the Tablet Wars

Microsoft has an identity crisis. It's an enterprise company that desperately wants to be a consumer company. That's not only because Apple is bigger than Microsoft now (and a consumer company) but because Apple is disrupting the IT applecart, ushering in the "Bring Your Own Device” movement that is eating away at Microsoft and Research in Motion. 

Xbox got Microsoft giddy to the idea that it might be able to play in this world. But Bing hasn't altered the balance of power (against another nemesis, Google). Zune was a disaster.

And the internal consumer vs enterprise turmoil seems to be playing out externally in the case of the rough Surface launch and, yesterday, the departure of Windows and Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky.

Let’s run through the issues with Surface:

1) It launched with loads of problems that served as red meat for reviewers. Farhad Majoo at Slate, was incredulous at how "bad" Surface was:

The Surface’s shortcomings are puzzling. Microsoft has been working on the technology in this device for years. When it decided to create its own hardware, it had to have known that making a good first impression against the iPad would be the key to the Surface’s long-term survival.

2) Its covers are falling apart after two weeks of use. The keyboard-enabled cover is a key differentiator, adds $130 to the price and also should have been perfect at launch.

3) Its TV ad was a mess of incomprehensible, seizure-inducing visuals that seemed to be designed for a frenetic, kickboard-loving crowd Microsoft must think exists somewhere. Microsoft doesn't have a good history with TV; even comedy genius Jerry Seinfeld couldn't save the company from making what a Computerworld columnist called "one of the worst, most pointless ads in history."

4) It hasn’t sold well. Maybe. After Microsoft said the Surface had "sold out," Ballmer allowed as sales were "modest."

Individually, none of the launch issues are especially damning. Even the iPhone wasn't an instant success. Antennagate and Apple's fumble with Maps in the rollout of iOS 6 were both bigger. But Microsoft has even more to prove. Surface is a high-profile, unprecedented product — the first time Microsoft has competed with the hardware companies that it counts on to deliver the company's core revenue products (Windows and Office).

Then there’s Sinofsky. He ran the Surface program, among other things, though it’s not entirely clear what caused his departure. An leaked memo to staff indicates he quit, but executives are often allowed to resign instead of being fired. What's the evidence Ballmer might have been showing him the door? The New York Times Bits blog has a handy roundup, but in an earlier piece Nick Wingfeld said a poor performance review had cost Sinofsky 40% of his annual bonus.

It’s a fun parlor game to try to figure out who did what to whom. But I’d prefer to focus on what comes next. With Sinofsky gone and the Surface finding little love from consumers, I hope the next leader of the Windows Division will return Microsoft to its roots.

Microsoft's salvation is always the professional. It has deep hooks into corporate IT departments through Exchange and through the still overwhelming numbers of Dells and HPs that monopolize desktops. While the "Bring Your Own Device" movement is changing the balance of power, it's not there yet.

And, in fact, it might never — if Microsoft can get corporate tech right. The Suface is placed exactly right to capitalize on the corporate movement toward mobile professionals. Look around you: When you see a laptop, it's almost always an ultralight. And you don't see as many laptops because road warriors are using tablets as productivity devices that neatly segue into consumption devices after hours.

I placed an early bet that Surface would give the MacBook Air a run for its money, but was wrong about seeing it as a potentially breakthrough consumer device. The secret is to sell it in bulk and win over the hearts and minds of enterprise workers everywhere.

But what do you enterprise IT people out there think — and you road warriors? Is anybody coming to work with one and expecting support it? Is your company thinking about making a big buy during the next refresh cycle? What would it take for you to do so?

(Photo: Surface ads in Grand Central Terminal/John C Abell)