Microsoft has appointed a senior executive to a new position in Europe to improve relationships with governments across the
continent, a move apparently designed to counter interest in open source software there.
Jonathan Murray has been appointed "national technology officer" and will be based in Zurich. Until about two weeks ago he
oversaw sales to Microsoft's top 50 business customers as vice president of global accounts, a group he helped create in early
2000.
The new job is part sales and part evangelism, Murray will be "building better relationships in the public sector across Europe,"
a Microsoft spokeswoman said Friday. Peter Moore, chief technology officer and general manager of technical sales, plays a
similar role in Asia, she said.
The popularity of open source products in Europe and Asia is a challenge for Microsoft. In Germany, for example, the city
of Munich in May decided to install Linux and open source office applications on the 14,000 computers in its public administration.
In China, Sun Microsystems and the China Standard Software Co. Ltd. have agreed to develop desktop computers based on Sun's
Linux-based Java Desktop System that could eventually see the software installed on hundreds of millions of computers in the
People's Republic of China, Sun's Chief Executive Officer Scott McNealy announced earlier this week.
"It is clear that Microsoft has a problem in the public sector worldwide. They have to convince people that it is politically
correct to buy software from commercial software firms," said Rob Helm, research director at Directions on Microsoft, an independent
research company in Kirkland, Washington.
Microsoft has been pretty outspoken in its fight against Linux and open source products in the U.S., a fight led by Senior
Vice President of Advanced Strategies and Policy Craig Mundie.
"It sounds like Murray will be taking that fight to Europe where it is particularly hot right now," Helm said. "Murray certainly
has as much experience as anybody in trying to deal with large customers. It is an important dimension in Microsoft's fight
against open source."
Barbara Gordon, formerly vice president of the global sales organization at Sun, has replaced Murray as vice president of
global accounts.
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