Steve Ballmer has insisted Windows PCs will remain the "device of choice" for productivity, despite the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets in the enterprise space.
Speaking at the company’s financial analyst meeting, Ballmer made an impassioned pitch to investors about Microsoft’s future, as he attempts to transform it into a devices and services company.
He claimed that Windows 8.1 was a "distinct improvement" on Windows 8 and said it was crucial to keep the Windows brand on top.
"We must do the job to ensure that the PC stays the device of choice for people when they're trying to be productive in life," he said.
"It doesn't mean that people aren't going to buy some tablets to be productive, but if you look at the bulk of the tablet market today it's moving actually to smaller tablets."
Ballmer dubbed these smaller tablets as "entertainment" devices and suggested larger, enterprise-oriented devices were less popular.
PC sales are facing their biggest sales slump in their history, as consumers stick with older hardware and rely on improvements to smartphones and tablets, according to Gartner. Separately, IDC has predicted that tablets will outship PCs and laptops this quarter.
Ballmer also hinted the firm could be working on a version of Office for iPad and tablets running Android.
"We have to make absolutely clear to people what the value proposition is and by the way how they can also get some of those same high-value services on non-Windows devices, on iPads, on iPhones, on Android devices, et cetera," he said.
Ballmer's belief
The investor meeting comes at a point of upheaval for Microsoft, with Ballmer due to retire next year and the firm on the lookout for a new CEO, though Ballmer didn’t give an update on the search. The company has also just bought Nokia’s handset business in a bid to boost its position in mobile.
Although Ballmer admitted his tenure as CEO had some missteps – namely with Windows Phone – he pointed to Microsoft’s continued profitability and championed its long-term prospects.
"I'm a believer in the company, I'm a believer in what we can do," he said. "I don't normally give you the sales pitch. It's been my tradition to try to highlight risk factors [etc]. Not today. Today, I'm speaking as an [investor]. You all own Microsoft stock. Cheer for it, for God's sake. We all want it to go the same direction: up."
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