Blog: Claudia Imhoff

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Microsoft gets a new CTO

Microsoft announced today that it is buying a small, Beverly, MA-based, company named Groove Networks. The company makes collaborative software which Microsoft plans to incorporate into their Office product line. Normally this kind of announcement would be somewhat interesting but it gets VERY interesting if you read on...

The really sensational part of the announcement was about Ray Ozzie, Groove Network's founder and the visionary/creator of Lotus Notes. Microsoft announced today that Mr. Ozzie will become Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Microsoft reporting directly to Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates himself.

Ray Ozzie is certainly not a new entity to Microsoft - he was named "Windows Pioneer" long before he founded Groove for his work on teh Windows Platform. And when he founded Groove in 1997, Microsoft was a prominent investor in the company. According to one Microsoft insider, "For Bill it's always been about Ray." Bill Gates has been known to refer to Mr. Ozzie as the best programmer on the planet. High praise, indeed.

David Via, CEO of Wolcott Systems Group - a solutions provider located in Fairlawn, Ohio - states "It's a huge coup for Microsoft. Ray [Ozzie] is one of the most respected figures in the industry. It could be to Groove what IBM's acquisition of Lotus was back in '95, a huge accelerator."

Groove makes tools and software that allow virtual workers (geographically dispersed, if you will) to collaborate over the Internet. The company's Virtual Office allows workers to securely share files, project plans, calendars, even photos over thr Internet. Seems like a natural for the creator of Lotus Notes to push the document management / collaboration arena even further toward a truly ad hoc environment.

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