Stephen Elop sacrificed in Microsoft's quest for software and hardware unity

Firm aligns hardware and software teams under new Windows and Devices Group

Microsoft has announced a major reshuffle of its executive leadership and the divisions they manage, in a shake-up that will see Stephen Elop leave the company.

Microsoft has revealed that Terry Myerson will lead a new division called the Windows and Devices Group that will be formed from the Operating Systems Group and Microsoft Devices Group.

This is a notable move as it puts software and hardware together at Microsoft, showing that the firm sees efforts at making and selling its own hardware, such as the Surface Pro range of tablets, as key to its future, particularly with the forthcoming launch of Windows 10 which it plans to standardise across all device types.

The fallout from this move is that Elop (pictured below, right, with CEO Satya Nadella) will leave Microsoft. This is the second time he will wave goodbye to the Redmond campus as he previously served as head of the firm's business division before leaving to head up Nokia in 2010.

During this time he oversaw the move to the Windows Phone platform, before the eventual sale of Nokia to Microsoft for $5.44bn. Elop returned to Microsoft as part of this acquisition as the head of its division.

For a time he was also seen as a potential candidate for the role of CEO after Steve Ballmer announced plans to step down.

However, the role went to Nadella who seems to feel that the future of the devices side of Microsoft was better handled by someone with more hands-on experience of Microsoft's own software in the shape of Terry Myerson.

It is not exactly clear when Elop will leave Microsoft, as the firm said that there will be a "designated transition period" as the new Windows and Devices Group division is formed.

Another notable exec to leave Microsoft will be Kirill Tatarinov, who had responsibility for the firm's Dynamics business across development. Dynamics will now become part of the Cloud and Enterprise team run by Scott Guthrie.

Nadella said that the reshuffle was designed to recognise the new challenges and opportunities facing Microsoft that it has grouped under three areas: productivity and business processes, the cloud and 'personal computing'.

"We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions," he said. "This change will enable us to deliver better products and services that our customers love at a more rapid pace."