Martin Andrew Taylor
Encyclopedia
Martin Andrew Taylor is currently an Operating Principal at Vista Equity Partners, as well as the President of Vista Consulting Group. Taylor was the former senior executive Corporate Vice President of Windows Live
and MSN
at Microsoft
. Martin Taylor also worked closely with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ballmer
and was Ballmer’s Chief of Staff for many years. Taylor is currently the President of Vista Consulting Group.
as an Economics
major in Fairfax, VA.
in 1993. One of his first assignments involved helping an executive from Redmond, WA with a sales presentation. The executive was Steve Ballmer
, a vice president at the time, and the presentation was a disaster. The software vendors at the presentation were not interested in the new operations system, Windows NT
, in which Ballmer and Taylor were pitching, but instead wanted to gripe about problems their problems with Microsoft
. The 23 year old Taylor took the lead, and instead of continuing the presentation, decided to take note of every problem that was stated during the meeting. Taylor spent the next few months following up on the complaints and figured out how to solve the problems, consistently impressing executives at Microsoft
.
Over the course of the next few years, Taylor moved through the company, at one point selling its products to Wall Street firms and later heading its Caribbean subsidiary. During this period, Taylor worked closely on several occasions with Steve Ballmer
. In 2002, Taylor was hired as Ballmer’s Chief of Staff. Later, he was named the Director of Business Strategy and is credited as one of the major players who contributed to the reorganization of Microsoft
into seven business groups.
realized one of their biggest competitors had become the Linux
operating system as well as other open-sourced software. In order to combat the new open sourced frontier, now Chief Executive Steve Ballmer
put together an 18-person strategy group to face their new competition. By this time, Taylor had Ballmer so impressed, that he hired Taylor as the head of the team to steer Microsoft's David-and-Goliath battle against Linux.
Taylor spent the next several years doing research on the differences and similarities between the Linux
and Windows operating systems as well helping redevelop Windows software to better compete with Linux
. Taylor and Microsoft
then used this research to start a marketing campaign called “Get the Facts”. The campaign mainly focused on the cost of ownership, but later included security, reliability, and interoperability. The campaign was said to have contributed to a shift in the Windows-Linux debate toward business questions and away from philosophical arguments about whether software should be freely shared.
and MSN
marketing. With his team, Taylor oversaw the creation of Windows Live Messenger
(formally MSN Messenger) and the testing of over 20 new Windows Live
services. In June 2006, just few months after the first official announcement of Windows Live
and only days before the release of Windows Live Messenger
8.0, Martin Taylor announced his departure from Microsoft.
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
and MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. Martin Taylor also worked closely with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
and was Ballmer’s Chief of Staff for many years. Taylor is currently the President of Vista Consulting Group.
Education
Martin attended George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
as an Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
major in Fairfax, VA.
1993-2002
Martin Taylor joined MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 1993. One of his first assignments involved helping an executive from Redmond, WA with a sales presentation. The executive was Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
, a vice president at the time, and the presentation was a disaster. The software vendors at the presentation were not interested in the new operations system, Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
, in which Ballmer and Taylor were pitching, but instead wanted to gripe about problems their problems with Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. The 23 year old Taylor took the lead, and instead of continuing the presentation, decided to take note of every problem that was stated during the meeting. Taylor spent the next few months following up on the complaints and figured out how to solve the problems, consistently impressing executives at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Over the course of the next few years, Taylor moved through the company, at one point selling its products to Wall Street firms and later heading its Caribbean subsidiary. During this period, Taylor worked closely on several occasions with Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
. In 2002, Taylor was hired as Ballmer’s Chief of Staff. Later, he was named the Director of Business Strategy and is credited as one of the major players who contributed to the reorganization of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
into seven business groups.
2003-2005
In 2003, MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
realized one of their biggest competitors had become the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating system as well as other open-sourced software. In order to combat the new open sourced frontier, now Chief Executive Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
put together an 18-person strategy group to face their new competition. By this time, Taylor had Ballmer so impressed, that he hired Taylor as the head of the team to steer Microsoft's David-and-Goliath battle against Linux.
Taylor spent the next several years doing research on the differences and similarities between the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Windows operating systems as well helping redevelop Windows software to better compete with Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
. Taylor and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
then used this research to start a marketing campaign called “Get the Facts”. The campaign mainly focused on the cost of ownership, but later included security, reliability, and interoperability. The campaign was said to have contributed to a shift in the Windows-Linux debate toward business questions and away from philosophical arguments about whether software should be freely shared.
2006
In March 2006, Martin Taylor was hired as the corporate vice president of Windows LiveWindows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
and MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
marketing. With his team, Taylor oversaw the creation of Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
(formally MSN Messenger) and the testing of over 20 new Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
services. In June 2006, just few months after the first official announcement of Windows Live
Windows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
and only days before the release of Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging client created by Microsoft that is currently designed to work with Windows XP , Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, Xbox 360, Blackberry OS, iOS, Java ME, S60 on Symbian OS 9.x and Zune HD...
8.0, Martin Taylor announced his departure from Microsoft.