Bob Muglia may have one of the hottest seats in all of Microsoft.
The desktop version of Longhorn, Microsoft"s next release of Windows, may receive most of the ink. But it is the server version that is more vital to the software giant"s long-run ambitions. That"s because some of the most heavily touted features of Longhorn--such as mainframe-caliber computing, better security and management and networkwide search--rely on Longhorn Server.
Muglia, a 16-year veteran of Microsoft, is tasked with building Longhorn Server, likely the most complex operating system ever designed. What"s more, Muglia must keep a long train of updates and service packs for older versions of Windows rolling off the production line.
Even though Longhorn Server likely won"t make a debut until 2007, it"s already generated controversy. Microsoft had barely acknowledged the product"s existence when the company admitted that one of the software"s most anticipated features, wide-scale search of corporate networks, won"t make it into the first release.