Careers: Interviews
Frank Clegg, President of Microsoft Canada
This week, Stephen Ibaraki, ISP, has
an exclusive interview with Frank M .Clegg,
President of Microsoft Canada Co.
Q: As a point of introduction, can you describe your
career and the decisions you made to reach your
current position at Microsoft?
A. This is my second stint at Microsoft Canada – I
originally joined Microsoft Canada back in ’91 and
had the position of General Manager for 5 years. For
the last several years I have been working as the
Vice-President of the Central Region of the US,
which included Canada. I have enjoyed coming back to
focus on Microsoft Canada, and using some of the
skills and expertise I’ve developed over the years
to help expand our business.
I’ve always believed that technology has a crucial
role in the lives of business and consumers, and
working with Microsoft Canada has proven to be one
of the most challenging and rewarding positions I
have ever held.
Q: You have won the prestigious President’s award
for outstanding performance, five times out of the
last six years. What remarkable qualities can you
share that allowed you to achieve this stellar
performance?
A. I believe the people I work with can accomplish
great things. I think this award is really a
reflection of the dedicated professionals at
Microsoft Canada who believe in our company’s vision
and work hard every day to help accomplish it. This
team approach has helped grow Microsoft Canada into
a real force not only in the technology industry in
Canada, but with the Microsoft family. I have found
if a team is not doing well, challenging them in a
positive way leads to great results. Similarly, if
the team is doing well, they can be encouraged to
strive for even greater accomplishments.
Q: Where do you see Microsoft, strategically in 2001
and where do you want Microsoft to be in 2003, and
2005?
A. We will continue to create great technology for
our partners and customers on which to build
solutions. In 2001 we will deliver the most
extensive set of products in our history. I would
like to see our partners and customers have a very
clear understanding of the capabilities of this new
suite of offerings and build on their current pilots
and evaluations. We are also making a shift to be
involved in mission critical applications and
solutions. By the 2003 and 2005 timeframe, I hope we
are viewed as a “trusted advisor” with our customers
and have earned the right for our technology and our
teams to be part of their most critical solutions to
their customers.
Q: How will Microsoft’s services evolve over time
for businesses and how will you shape this process?
A. As we move into the solutions area, Microsoft
services will play more of a leadership role in the
design and architecting of key applications. We will
continue to limit the growth of our Consulting team
to allow ample opportunity for our partner community
to grow their businesses. Our services organization
will continue to be on the leading edge of our
technology and involved in the architecture and
design of our solutions. By working with our
customers and partners we will continue to share
best practices. As stated previously, as we move to
more of a solution focus, we will hire and train for
the necessary skill sets. We will build our skills
on .NET since it will form the back-bone of our
strategy.
Q: How will Microsoft’s partnerships and
distribution channels evolve and how will you direct
this change?
A. Our organization is tremendously focused on
working in conjunction with our partners to ensure
we have the right resources and strategies in place
to design, develop and deliver solutions based on
Microsoft technology to our customers. We have
always strongly believed in our channel partners to
help us distribute our technology across Canada, and
that won’t change in the coming years. We continue
to make improvements to provide better service to
our customers and better business benefits to our
partners. We continue to increase the investment in
our channel in terms of training and resources. As
the Internet becomes more pervasive, we will explore
other methods of distributing our product. The
recent announcements of bCentral and eShop on MSN
are examples. As demonstrated in each case, we are
working to ensure there is an increased business
opportunity for our partners whether it is directly
distributing Microsoft technology, or assisting
customers with the implementation of solutions on
bCentral. In addition, we are working with ASP’s and
ISP’s to ensure their offerings provide effective
solutions to our customers at a competitive rate.
Q: What is your grand vision for computing and the
Internet and other related technologies and how will
you enable this vision for businesses?
A. There isn’t any doubt that the Internet is
pervasive and will form the base for communication
on a worldwide basis, with the ability to connect to
an information source anywhere on the planet. We
feel we have only begun to see the potential. In our
current environment, in order to access a web site,
your browser must be pointed directly at that site.
And if you want to consolidate information from
different web sites, it is up to the individual user
or business to do that work.
Our vision is Microsoft .NET - a set of initiatives
that will propel us to the next generation of the
Internet. Our .NET strategy is based on what our
customers are telling us. Whether they are
consumers, businesses or developers, they are all
saying they need an effective and connected way to
take full advantage of the Internet. And we think
we’re in a great position to make all this happen.
Microsoft .NET comprises four major pillars: 1) a
suite of software tools for developers; 2) the .NET
Enterprise Servers, which provide the infrastructure
for Web services; 3) .NET devices and experiences
such as the Pocket PC and Windows XP; and 4) .NET
services such as authentication and notification
which are services on the Web for both businesses
and consumers.
Web services will allow you to access information
from a variety of servers, consolidate information
into one location or even allow a web service to act
on your behalf (with permissions of course). .NET
will allow access to any service from any device and
will be smart enough to present that information to
take advantage of the device’s features whether it
is a hand-held PDA, smart phone or a rich personal
computer. .NET is built on industry standard XML
which will allow for the exchange of information
from business to consumer or business to business in
a completely open format.
Q: What advice would you give to businesses as they
plan their own evolution in the next five years? Do
you have specific technologies and processes they
should watch out for and implement?
A. Business should continue to invest in Information
Technology to drive benefit. Studies show there is a
direct correlation between IT investment and
improvements, but we are lagging behind the US in
this area. One of the lessons learned from our
experiences with .com’s over the last 2 years, is
that we need to return to business basics: ROI, IRR
and evaluate IT investments against the same hurdle
rates as any other investment. There continue to be
tremendous opportunities for business, at the same
time competition continues. Business needs to think
about being agile and using technology to meet
diverse needs.
Business should also be very disciplined about
investing in solutions based on industry standards.
We believe XML will be one of the key standards
moving forward.
Q: You have an Honors Degree in Mathematics from the
University of Waterloo. How have you been able to
leverage your education and what top five career
tips would you give to those considering a career in
computing? What aspects of your own personal
experience and education did you find the most
useful in your own very successful career?
A. My education at Waterloo gave me a strong
foundation of creative problem solving techniques,
communication skills and the ability to learn and
understand complex situations. I started my career
in the technical field and progressed through sales
and management ranks by building on my experiences
and taking on more responsibility and diversity.
From a career perspective, I would identify the
following areas as key to success:
- Build a reputation of someone who can be
trusted to deliver on their commitments and can
balance short term and long term goals
- Have a curiosity about learning new things
or how to do things better or differently. Be
committed to continually improve your skills
- Be honest and have integrity. Be
self-critical and listen to feedback.
- Be a team player, not only in helping the
team do well, but in enhancing other’s
performance
- Focus on your customers. Know their
business, know your company and demonstrate the
ability to analyze the situation and make
appropriate recommendations. Show initiative.
Q: Can you tell us more about KidReach?
A. Microsoft Canada believes it has a corporate
responsibility to contribute to our community. Our
efforts in this area are tied to our belief in
creating a generation of empowered children and
youth prepared for the future. Microsoft Canada
supports charities and not for profit organizations
committed to children and youth across Canada
through both cash contributions and software
support.
KidReach, is part of this philosophy. Established in
1994, the program promotes computer literacy among
young Canadians age 24 and under, by making
technology easily accessible. Primarily, KidReach
provides software donations to non-profit and
charitable organizations across Canada that work
with young people. This year alone, over 300
charitable organizations have received support from
the KidReach program impacting the lives of over
50,000 Canadian children and youth.
Microsoft Canada also enjoys strong community
alliances with agencies such as Boys and Girls Clubs
of Canada, Ability Online, United Way, reBOOT
Canada, and Computers for Schools. And our employees
play an important role in the community through
volunteering time with community agencies and
organizing fund raising initiatives.
Q: Where do you see yourself personally in five
years?
A. I hope to continue to be involved with a great
team, working on challenging opportunities with
customers and partners.
Q: Consider this a blank slate. Are there additional
comments you want to make?
A. One of the key areas of focus for us is the
development community, whether it is in small
startup companies or in large corporations. One of
Canada’s strengths is our diverse heritage and
population base. There is tremendous opportunity for
great solutions to be built as we implement the next
generation of the Internet. With the continued
improvements in technology, the barriers to entry
for great solution development are minimal. Combined
with our vision of .NET, I believe we will see even
more incredible ideas brought to market by great
Canadian companies. |
|
|