So the recent Microsoft reorganisation really was Steve Ballmer's last throw of the dice. In the biggest news to hit the PC industry for some time, the CEO has decided now's the time to go.

But in what shape does he leave the company?

Ballmer is a sales guy, so figures first. Microsoft recorded a whopping $77.85 billion in revenue, with operating income at $26.74 billion during the financial year just passed. That's not the earnings of an unsuccessful company, and Ballmer has played a role in Microsoft's rise and rise that only William Henry Gates III can better.

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I'd be surprised if Ballmer wouldn't have wanted to stick around at a successful Microsoft, so there are several possible conclusions – firstly that he was pushed. Secondly, he doesn't want to stick around for the long haul and wants to go fishing. Thirdly, that he doesn't think the future for Microsoft is that rosy.

Finally, and most unlikely, he could have been at odds with its new direction. This final point is a little moot. Microsoft was clear in its One Microsoft vision statement that it wants to be more of a "devices and services" company. Ballmer played a big part in this reinvention.

But certainly this news puts question marks over the wisdom and reasoning of removing key personnel during recent times, most notably head of Windows Steven Sinofsky late last year just a month after the release of Windows 8 and the so-far, so fail Windows RT.

Lost confidence

The aim of the reorganisation was to be more siloed, more able to react to developments in the industry.

Microsoft has lacked the ability to be lithe and react quickly - exactly the opposite of key competitors like Google.

It didn't put much stock in smartphones until it was a bit too late, the same with online cloud services and tablets. Microsoft now has sizeable offerings in these spaces, but they often don't hang together as well as the competition.

This is not an organisation that can't make money, but it is one that is losing some confidence from customers. And, crucially, investors.

As the Associated Press succinctly put it in its article about the Microsoft reorganisation, "During Ballmer's reign, Microsoft's stock has slipped by nearly 40 percent even as the company's annual revenue has roughly quadrupled from $20 billion to nearly $80 billion."

A lot of people are still buying PCs. A lot of people are still buying Windows and Office. We and many others love Windows Phone and it is destined for a (albeit decent) third place behind iOS and Android. Office 365 is a really compelling offering. Despite the Xbox One shenanigans, it'll still sell bucket loads of consoles.

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But investors clearly haven't been impressed over recent years by Microsoft's pace compared to Google and Apple. And Microsoft hasn't helped itself through several big booboos that have not endeared it to the public, analysts press and investors – but have been music to the ears of rivals.

Although it will come good and the idea has merit, the Ballmer/Sinofsky tenure has seen Windows now transformed into a confused and conflicted operating system with huge numbers of terrible apps – not least those from Microsoft itself.

Efforts in the tablet market have been a disaster. Surface Pro is a thoroughly decent mobile PC, but Surface RT has been so poorly marketed, received and thought-out that it is impossible not to wonder how a company with such a wealth of resources can get something so very wrong.

Added to which there were numerous foot-in-mouth moments like his criticism of Dropbox and denouncement of the iPhone.

What the new guy needs to do

The CEO of the new One Microsoft needs to clear up the mess of the Windows/tablet strategy and capitalise on Microsoft's other strengths. Clearly Steven Anthony Ballmer feels he's not the right guy to do it. "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time," he says. It's probably for the long term good of the company that he's stepping out before Microsoft is too far into its new era.

Whoever picks up the baton will take charge of one of the most remarkable and profitable companies the world has ever seen, yet one that has multi-billion dollar challenges ahead.

A new broom could be the very best thing for it. But, whoever it is, they probably won't do this.

Source : techradar[dot]com

Windows Phone is surely already a pull for the hipster crowd what with it not being mainstream, dull as dishwasher Android or iOS, but it's about to gain another feather in its incredibly trendy hat in the form of the official Instagram app.

The lack of some big-hitting apps from the Windows Phone store has seen the platform shunned by some but according to Nokia's Executive VP Chris Weber, Instagram is on its way to the platform.

There's currently no word on a release date for the app, but it's certainly good news for Windows Phone and will hopefully encourage other big names currently missing from the platform to get on board.

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Source : techradar[dot]com

As many IT departments struggle to keep up with yearly technology changes, company employees increasingly want to use their own devices to access corporate data.

It's part of a growing trend dubbed Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), which encompasses similar Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP) and Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC) initiatives. All of them have evolved to empower workforces through the so-called 'consumerisation of IT'.

As part of this consumerisation, BYOD encourages company employees to work on the device they choose - accessing corporate email on their iPhone 5 or using a Google Nexus 7 to view text documents. The goal for SMBs? Increased productivity and reduced costs.

But BYOD also has a darker side. If not fully understood and regulated, it can threaten IT security and put a company's sensitive business systems at risk.

Why BYOD matters

The driving force behind BYOD is a new IT self-sufficiency among company employees who already own and use personal laptops, tablets and smartphones.

These mobile devices are often newer and more advanced than the equipment deployed by many IT departments. It's hardly surprising that the rapid adoption of lightweight Ultrabooks, iPads and large-screened phones are changing the way that people want to work.

IT departments are playing catch up and could easily refuse to embrace the BYOD idea. Surely it's simpler to provide approved hardware and software applications so you can retain full control over them?

But Richard Absalom, an analyst at Ovum, believes that BYOD will happen whether a company plans for it or not. He says: "Trying to stand in the path of consumerised mobility is likely to be a damaging and futile exercise." The best thing that an SMB or enterprise can do is be aware of the benefits and understand the risks.

BYOD benefits and advantages

There are some key advantages to operating a BYOD strategy, including increased employee satisfaction (they can work more flexibly), cost savings (reduced hardware spend, software licensing and device maintenance) plus productivity gains (employees are happier, more comfortable and often work faster with their own technology).

As Mark Coates, EMEA VP at Good Technology, points out: "By enabling employees to securely and easily access corporate data on their own device, productivity levels will naturally increase. In terms of cost savings, there are huge benefits, since SMBs will not have to manage and fund a second device for employees."

Shaun Smith, technology practice director at Xceed Group, agrees. "At Xceed Group, allowing the use of consumer devices has helped improve both productivity and staff motivation," he says. But he also strikes a note of caution. "For a company to decide if a BYOD strategy would work for them they need to ensure due diligence is conducted - simply evaluating the benefits versus risks."

BYOD risks and disadvantages

While BYOD sounds attractive, businesses need to consider the full implications of allowing corporate data to be accessed on personal devices that they could have little or no control over. What data can employees have access to? What security measures are in place if an employee's device is lost, stolen or compromised?

This is where convenience clashes with security. "Security and the loss of devices with limited password protection is naturally a key concern," adds Smith. "Increased consumerisation in the workplace can bring with it an increased risk from threats such as hackers and viruses."

There might also be cost implications. Even though IT hardware spend can potentially be reduced with a BYOD approach, it may cost more for a company to integrate and support a diverse range of employee devices. As Coates points out: "Android devices can be complex to manage as there are just so many different flavours - a huge variety of devices and a number of different versions of the operating system."

By far the biggest risk is not having any sort of BYOD policy in place. "Businesses need to recognise the importance of taking action," says Smith. "After all, by ignoring the problem they may unwittingly expose themselves to attack and, as a result, legislative or reputational threats."

Planning a BYOD policy

The advent of BYOD is forcing IT departments and IT managers to develop and implement policies that govern the management of unsupported devices. Network security is paramount. Beyond passcode-protecting employee devices, these policies might involve encrypting sensitive data, preventing local storage of corporate documents and/or limiting corporate access to non-sensitive areas.

"The first step for IT managers is to truly understand the problem they are trying to solve," suggests Coates. "And find the solution that matches. In addition to addressing immediate needs, the right solution will be scalable and manageable, and can grow with an organisation as its mobility strategy evolves and changes."

Coates outlines three stages for implementing a BYOD policy, starting with secure device management. "This is the basic functionality of managing devices, both those employee-bought or company-supplied. Let employees work on mobile devices and make sure nothing catastrophic happens. This leads to great improvements in productivity and loyalty.

"However, it's at stages two and three where true mobile productivity and insight comes in, as the focus shifts to mobile applications and data. First by tracking and deploying mobile applications and then establishing mobile collaboration through secure app-to-app workflows, where mobility can be a true catalyst for change."

Implementing a BYOD policy

There are already several key players providing BYOD solutions, ranging from complete sandboxed access through to more lightweight (but user-friendly) solutions, which are policy-driven. The key issue is to guard against data loss or leakage.

Smith has some practical advice for anyone trying to develop a BYOD policy: "Where any device accesses or stores corporate data, a full risk assessment should be carried out against a variety of threats, and appropriate mitigations put in place. This could include anti-malware, encryption, passcodes, remote wipe, preventing jailbreaking, and sandboxing.

"Invest in a solution such as Good for Enterprise that offers BES (Blackberry Enterprise System)-like functionality to Apple and Android devices, partition all corporate applications and data on devices to restrict the ability to 'cut and copy', enforce eight digit alpha-numeric passwords with a special character and install VMware or Citrix virtual clients on tablets."

An effective BYOD solution will enable you to secure the data, not just the device. With this approach, IT departments need not worry about compromising security in the name of usability.

"All in all, [BYOD] is about being innovative and helping your employees to work better," says Coates. "Employees want to use the devices that they are comfortable with in the workplace. They want to have the same experience at work that they have at home. People are used to using applications now, rather than browser-based solutions. By giving employees what they want, companies will ultimately benefit."

Source : techradar[dot]com

After hearing that Samsung was planning two variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – the quad-core Snapdragon 800 version and the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa – we're now told that the latter is being put on hold.

This is reportedly due to some pesky overheating issues that have left Samsung waiting on more stable Exynos processors that won't burn our hands off.

Brits were on the leaked list of those in line for the Exynos 5 love, so this is sure to get a few people frustrated if true.

However the UK, US and Australia will still be be able to get their fingers on the Snapdragon 800 should it be the only version to launch on time.

Colour us annoyed

And while we're on the subject, it looks like Apple isn't the only one discover that the world isn't just black and white. Samsung is said to be bringing the Galaxy Note 3 in black, white and – get ready for it – pink.

Whether or not this third one will make it past Korea remains to be seen, but it's claimed that the pink variant won't be available until a few weeks after the Galaxy Note 3's rumoured launch.

We're expecting the Galaxy Note 3 to make its debut appearance on September 4 at the "Samsung Unpacked" event at IFA 2013.

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Source : techradar[dot]com

Even before Intel ramps up production of its 22nm Bay Trail-based processors with Silvermont, the chip maker is already looking ahead to its line of new processors for 2014, according to a report this week.

The company's next-generation tablet processors, Cherry Trail and Willow Trail, now have release windows, claims DigiTimes via Taiwan-based chip makers.

The 14nm Cherry Trail is expected in the third quarter of 2014, while the 14nm Willow Trail looks as if it is going to follow soon after in the fourth quarter of that year.

Cherry Trail specs are said to feature Intel's 14nm Airmont architecture and a clock speed of 2.7GHz with a generation eight GPU.

A few months later, tablets with Willow Trail are going to include Intel's 14nm Goldmont architecture and a generation nine GPU to support both Windows and Android operating systems, according to DigiTimes.

Playing the smartphone 'field'

Intel is also looking to make significant gains with smartphone systems-on-a-chip this year and into 2014, according to the same report.

The No. 1 semiconductor chip manufacturer is said to be prepping the 22nm Merrifield SoC for the end of 2013.

Merrifield should give next-generation smartphones an edge, which is rumored to be boosted by a 50 percent performance increase and feature longer battery life over Intel's current Clover Trail+ platform.

Want more? Intel's Moorefield platform is likely to improve upon those specs in the first half of 2014 and 14nm Morganfield will do the same in the first quarter of 2015, according to Taiwanese sources.

Read about the future of Intel processors

Source : techradar[dot]com