Microsoft's CIO sounds off

When Stuart Scott moved into the CIO position at Microsoft in 2005 from General Electric--where he was also CIO-- he shared the position at Microsoft with Ron Markezich. Markezich has since moved on to run Microsoft's managed services business. Scott sat down with the editors at CIO to offer some interesting insights. First off, if you've always assumed that Microsoft uses only Microsoft technology, you're correct--sort of. "If Microsoft has the best technology, then we certainly choose it. And if they don't, then we take that information back to our product group and we work with them to identify our needs as a customer." In the instances where Microsoft is not interested in pursuing a market, he buys third-party products. In terms of the culture at Microsoft, he says it's "challenging." "Everyone seems to have input into everyone else's job. It keeps you sharp." How does he spend his time? A third of his time is spent with the product groups, a third with customers and a third running the IT organization. Scott acknowledges that the "CIO role is going through a dramatic revolution. It is no longer about putting in monolithic ERP systems; it's about connecting people."

To read the entire interview:
- see the article in CIO