It's Official: Microsoft's Sinofsky Does WindowsIt's Official: Microsoft's Sinofsky Does Windows

Steve Sinofsky is officially taking on Windows development in a major reshuffling of Microsoft's Platform & Services Division, Microsoft said Thursday.

Sinofsky, who led the software giant’s lucrative Office team as senior vice president of Microsoft's Information Worker Product Group, is now senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live group in the company’s Platform & Services Division (PSD). Will Poole, who had headed the Windows client work, was named senior vice president of the new Market Expansion Group.

The delayed release of the Windows Vista client until next year, which Microsoft announced earlier this week, was a big embarrassment to the company. It infuriated some solution providers and hardware makers because it means they will miss the back-to-school and holiday buying seasons.

To make matters worse, late Thursday a Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that the company will also hold back retail and OEM availability of Office 2007, till January. Volume licensees will now be able to get Office 2007, and Vista, in November, Microsoft said.

The revamped PSD will include eight new and existing groups. New groups include the following:

The Windows Live Platform group, led by senior vice president Blake Irving, which will combine a number of MSN teams. The Online Business Group, which comprises ad sales, business development and marketing for Office Live and MSN. The Market Expansion Group, which will cover emerging markets and new form factors. Sanjay Parthasarathy retains his role as head of developer and platform evangelism, Bob Muglia continues to head Servers and Tools, and Mike Seiver continues to lead Windows Client marketing. Jim Allchin, co-president of PSD, will remain aboard until next year when Vista ships. He had pegged a planned retirement to a Vista shipment late this year. He shares overall duties with co-president Kevin Johnson, who issued the statement on the company’s reorganization. "Sinofsky assumes responsibility for process and planning of future versions of Windows," the statement said. In that role, Sinofsky will work with CTO Ray Ozzie and Irving to support Microsoft's new services strategy, according to the company. Sinofsky also will oversee engineering teams on Windows and the Windows Live hosting efforts. It was unclear who would assume Sinofsky's Office duties. Office 2007, a critical product release for Microsoft, is due out late this year. This story was updated Thursday night with new information on the Office 2007 timetable.