With so much of Windows client's future in flux at the moment, you can bet the guy in charge of Windows marketing, product management and product planning is busy. And, indeed, Tom Button — the corporate VP in charge of the Windows product management group — is a tough man to pin down. We recently got some quality e-mail time with this 16-year Microsoft veteran. Mary Jo Foley, Editor of Microsoft Watch, asks the questions and Button provides the answers in this Q&A, edited for length.

Check Out Button's Bio Here

Microsoft Watch: Why, after 13+ years working on the Microsoft tools business, did you decide to move to Windows? (Button moved into his new role on the Windows team on July 1, 2003.)

Button: In getting ready for Longhorn, I think Microsoft really wanted someone who had a deep conviction and commitment around rejuvenating Windows as a platform that third-party ISVs (independent software vendors), OEMs, (original equipment manufacturers) and IHVs (independent hardware vendors) could target. Because so much of what happens in the developer division is about making Microsoft's platform functionality popular among developers and their end users, I've really been focusing on platform strategy for most of my 16-year career here.

Microsoft Watch: What do you do on a day-to-day basis in your new job?

Button: I oversee product management for Windows and manage marketing strategy. At Microsoft, product management is the discipline that's responsible for defining and championing the value proposition that describes both what Windows is in its current form and what it needs to be in the future, both internally to the development teams and externally to the customers and partners that depend on it. So for last nine months I've been spending a huge amount of time recruiting to build a new team and overseeing the groups that define Windows strategy for emerging markets and determine where the opportunities lie-where the customers are who need computing but don't have it, and how Windows can become a richer part of the lives of those who do.

I report to (Senior VP in charge of Windows client) Will Poole and I have several teams that think about how to bring to market the technology solutions that our R&D group builds.

Our group has teams that are focused on immediate and near-term efforts like Windows XP SP2, the consumer security CD we just released, and events like the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (this week). We also have a significant number of people working on Longhorn, doing customer research, thinking about the scenarios, and doing core product management for the next release.

Microsoft Watch: Who else from tools did you bring with you? Are you trying to build a brand-new Windows client marketing/management team?

Button: We're more than doubling the size of the team. People here are excited about Longhorn and by the prospects of rejuvenating Windows as a platform. We have stars and highly talented people from all over the company joining us, including the developer space, people with backgrounds in Office and MSN, and senior people from lots of different businesses. We're getting Brad Goldberg, who's been instrumental in driving server product management; Craig Fiebig, from the security business unit who's also spent a lot of time with Office; Neil Charney and JB Williams, from the platform strategy group; Paul Sausville and Dee Dee Walsh, who came over with me from the developer area; and Mathew Price from MSN.

("The Man Behind the Windows Marketing Machine" Page 2)

Microsoft Watch: I've heard that a number of the veteran Windows client developers, product management and product marketing staff are interested in being back on the Windows client team because it's "cool again" (with Longhorn, etc.). Do you agree? What's changed, in terms of the attitude, morale, etc.?

Button: I think that's true of everyone that's come back to join the team — the great folks who were there as well as the people just coming in. We've hired 16 people who are at the director level or higher just in the last seven months, and every one of them is joining for a combination of three things.

This group very much reflects Microsoft's roots of not taking ourselves too seriously. We're open to change. We're very collaborative, relatively nonhierarchical, and not very process-oriented.

Second, people coming over to this team recognize the level of Microsoft's commitment to reinvent the Windows business. They deeply get our role - that we're here not only to produce the best product, but more importantly to produce the best technical and business opportunities for partners to invest in.

Finally, they know that the new management team, end to end, is committed to doing big things and having a big impact on the world. If you look at Will Poole and his staff, many of the faces on this team are new, even Will himself — every one of us is coming in ready to question the old premises and make big changes to position Windows for the next decade or more.

Microsoft Watch: What points are you trying to rally your new team around?

Button: One is that we're actively going to pursue the reaching out to new computer users. We've spent almost 30 years in this industry getting the first 500 to 600 million, and we think over then next five years we'll see that number increase significantly. Second, we believe that for those who already have access to computing, there's significant potential in the next five years for it to play an exponentially richer role in their lives. We view this as a huge opportunity that we're committed to pursue. Finally, we're committed to enriching partner opportunities by building a much more inviting marketplace around Windows that third-party hardware, software, and service providers can target.

Microsoft Watch: With Longhorn still a ways off, what's your thinking about how to keep developers interested in Windows XP? What are some of the things you plan to do to keep Windows developer momentum going?

Button: With all the innovation around Windows XP in the media and mobility spaces, developers won't have any shortage of things to do. And with the new security paradigm that will ship with XP SP2, we'll need to work closely with them to ensure that their applications will work with it.

Microsoft Watch: Same question, but focused on customers. How do you keep customers interested in XP, with all the hype around Longhorn?

Button: Same answer — there's a lot of innovation that Longhorn will pick up in the mobility and digital media spaces. With XP SP2, we hope we'll be able to deliver great enhancements for helping to keep customers more secure and that we can drive awareness around the role users can play in keeping their computers more secure.

("The Man Behind the Windows Marketing Machine" Page 3)

Microsoft Watch: How did the Windows reorg in late 2003 affect you and your team? What's different for you and your team, now that there is a Windows Core Operating System division under Brian Valentine?

Button: The reorganization has been a great thing for both our customers and partners and, therefore, for us, too. By solidifying on one single common platform scheme, we made it easier for partners to target the intersection of core API (application programming interface) and DDI (device driver interface) that make Windows the popular platform that it is. Additionally from a development perspective we're increasing the efficiencies and sharing best practices across the teams. Other than that, and from a marketing perspective it didn't really change how my own team is organized.

Microsoft Watch: How much marketing play should we expect to see around the Windows XP release for Athlon64 later this year? Will Microsoft tone down the launch because of your long-standing relationship with Intel?

Button: We think 64-bit shows a lot of promise and could become mainstream fairly quickly, so we expect to be there leading the parade.

Microsoft Watch: How big a deal will the launch of XP SP2 be this year? I know it's important for security reasons, but will Microsoft treat the launch as more of a whole new operating system release, rather than just a service pack launch?

Button: This is probably the biggest service-pack we've done in terms of its importance to customers and to the company. Customers have made it absolutely clear that online security is their highest priority. As a service pack, XP SP2 has not only the requisite bug fixes and the like, but also a bunch of very important features that will enable customers to have a more secure computing experience.

XP SP2 will be the most secure operating system available, so we view the importance of getting XP SP2 on every users' desktop, whether they're current XP users or not, as enormous.

Microsoft Watch: Why did Microsoft decide against doing a version of Windows client between Windows XP and Longhorn? We hear that "Shorthorn," "Oasis," or whatever such a beast was to be called, is officially off the drawing board. Do you think nixing an interim release was a good decision?

Button: The Windows team has a huge investment in R&D going on right now, and much of it is targeted at the Longhorn platform. But we also will be delivering a lot of value in the short term. There's a lot of new functionality, not only via XP SP2, but also via several new editions of Windows coming out at the same time. You'll see new functionality around Windows XP Media Center tablet devices, new security functionality in SP2, and new things in digital media. So a lot of exciting new features will be available in Windows XP beginning this summer, and it's all based on the SP2 foundation.

(This is an edited version of an article which appeared in the April 12, 2004, issue of the Microsoft Watch newsletter.)