About Microsoft's Randy Siegel

By Randy Siegel, Submitted Thursday, January 15, 2009

Topics:

Professional

Microsoft’s Government Strategy

My name is Randy Siegel and I am full-time employee of the Microsoft Corporation. I oversee Microsoft’s mobility strategy and relationships with the U.S. Federal Government and our partners.

I am part of Microsoft Federal which serves some of the company’s largest customers and also am a dotted line into the Mobile Communications Business Group (MCB) in Redmond. I am tasked with directly working with C-level government decision makers to improve operations via mobile development and deployment.

I am based in Washington, DC, and have been with Microsoft since 1998 when I first came aboard to oversee the company’s telecommunications partnerships and investments.

I am sanguine about the future of small form factor computing in general and view Windows Mobile as an extension of our customers’ investment in the Microsoft platform. My job is to help organizations get as much value as they can out of their Enterprise Agreements (EAs) by leveraging the technology that they already own.

We’re working to create a private-public partnership to develop a technology ecosystem between Windows Mobile and the government agencies that are adopting the technology. We work with OEM partners to pursue government testing and certification, and provide strategic and implementation support for large-scale efforts.

I interfaces daily with U.S. Government policy & decision makers, as well as contractors across the Department of Defense, civilian, and intelligence agencies. I help the government envision and implement large-scale Windows Mobile-based solutions. A large part of my work is the development and coordination of the efforts

of government-specific partners and the emerging Windows Mobile Government ecosystem.

I view the development of Windows Mobile as analogous to the nascent days of the PC industry. Back in the early 1980’s, there was a proprietary, vertically integrated hardware/software computer maker that insisted on selling & distribution via their own channels. Microsoft, on the other hand, decided to put resources into developing

a rich partner ecosystem of developers, OEMS, ISVs, System integrators, resellers, and more. What resulted was the widespread adoption of one OS platform over the other (the open one over the closed). We are seeing just this phenomenon repeat itself today with Windows Mobile.

The fact of the matter is that when 70 or more of the world’s largest Consumer Electronic Manufacturers compete, downward pressure is placed on price while innovation and additional functionality increase. In a competitive environment where everyone is trying to differentiate their offerings, the ultimate end-user—the U.S. Government—will be the beneficiary of this type of worldwide innovation

and competition.

Microsoft’s goal with Windows Mobile is to provide a valuable, extensible, rich, and affordable client experience for enterprise customers. Because the U.S. Government is such a large customer, part of my everyday job is to collect requirements of individual agencies and bring them back to the Product Group in Redmond so that we can directly incorporate government-specific feedback in our next generation of products.

The government has some unique needs, and working directly with OEMs and ISVs we attempt to address every one of them. For instance, in many cases, cameras and various other ports cannot be operative (including Voice, IR, etc.) in secure environments. We work directly with our partners to see to it that government mandates are met or exceeded.

Windows Mobile is deployed today in some of the most demanding conditions in the world. Whether it is in theater in Iraq and Afghanistan, or helping to protect U.S. lives domestically, Windows Mobile is making a difference. We at Microsoft take great pride in helping to protect and secure our country and will continue to work hand-in-hand

with the government.

I am an active member of AFCEA (Armed Forces Consumer Electronics Association), NVTC (Northern Virginia Technology Council) and other related associations. Prior to my various jobs at Microsoft, I held management positions with MCI Telecommunications, General Electric, and Paul Kagan Associates.

I welcome inquires and comments and can be reached at rsiegel [at] microsoft [dot] com

Great to have you as a

Submitted by Hal Goldstein on January 16, 2009 - 3:22pm.

Great to have you as a Smartphone & Pocket PC on-line blogger, Randy. Through the years Randy has written a number of articles for the magazine - just search the site on "Siegel".