MICROSOFT CHIEF executive Steve Ballmer has ousted the head of the company’s server unit, marking the latest in a series of high-level departures as the software company tries to regain its leadership in the technology sector.

Bob Muglia, a 23-year veteran of the company, will stay on until this summer to help his eventual replacement take over the running of Microsoft’s $15 billion (€11.26 billion) a year Server and Tools business. The unit, its third-largest, sells server and database software to companies.

An internal memo from Mr Ballmer indicates Mr Muglia was pushed aside in a disagreement over strategy.

“Bob Muglia and I have been talking about the overall business and what is needed to accelerate our growth,” Mr Ballmer wrote in the memo, which was made public. “In this context, I have decided that now is the time to put new leadership in place for STB [the server and tools business].”

Mr Ballmer said he would look for candidates inside and outside the company.

“It sounds like he was asked to leave,” said Sid Parakh, analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen. “It seems like there was disagreement over strategy.”

Overtaken by Apple as the world’s most valuable tech company last year and stung by a stagnant stock price for the last decade, Microsoft has been shaking up its top leadership for several years.

In the last 15 months the company has lost chief software architect Ray Ozzie, office unit head Stephen Elop, entertainment and devices unit head Robbie Bach and chief financial officer Chris Liddell. Of the leaders of its five business divisions, only online chief Qi Lu retains the role he had two years ago.

Microsoft’s server and tools business, smaller than only its flagship Windows and Office units, has been growing steadily over the past few years. However, it has struggled to eat into the market for “virtualisation”, or providing operating systems over the Web, which has been dominated by rival VMware. – (Reuters)