Tech innovation vital, Microsoft chief Ballmer tells Dallas-area execs
MSFT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer, one-time team manager of the Harvard University football squad, was in Dallas on Thursday to deliver a pep talk.
Ballmer's speech to hundreds of executives, academics and others at the Dallas Convention Center wasn't as flamboyant as some of his infamously sweaty presentations, but the 53-year-old prowled the stage, clapped and preached like a veteran motivator.
He acknowledged that his speech at the Dallas Regional Chamber's annual State of Technology summit came during "the worst economic period any of us have ever seen in our lives."
Indeed, the topic of his presentation was "The Role of Innovation in a Challenging Economy."
Ballmer said that cost-cutting is inevitable in a recession -- Microsoft itself has slashed thousands of jobs -- but that technological innovation has to continue.
"It's going to take more than just cost-cutting for companies to emerge stronger than they were before the downturn," he said.
Ballmer said he sees several avenues for tech innovation over the next few years.
Among them: making computers more powerful, using more intuitive interfaces and capitalizing on digital media.
"Ten years from now, we won't know the difference between a newspaper, a TV show or a magazine," he said. "It will just all be available digitally."
After his remarks, Ballmer took a handful of preselected questions, one involving how the tech industry can help the health-care industry.
In particular, he addressed the issue of electronic health records, which several Dallas-area tech firms are eager to help design.
"That is a problem that needs automation, but we need a government framework," Ballmer said. "Nobody has said, 'Here's what the standard is.' "
Overall, Ballmer said, economic conditions will be tough for some time to come.
"I'm optimistic about the future even as I'm realistic about the present and the next few years."
But he couldn't resist closing his speech with something more playful, announcing that anyone with additional questions could reach him at steveb@microsoft.com.
"That's my real e-mail address," he said as the audience laughed.
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