Microsoft Still Sees Strong Public Sector Spending
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Microsoft Business Division President Kurt DelBene told CNBC on Wednesday that he has not seen a significant slowdown in government spending on technology.
That view stands in contrast to Cisco .
The networking giant last week offered disappointing earnings guidance for the current quarter, saying that a sudden slowdown in public sector spending — particularly by budget-strapped U.S. states and European governments — is hurting revenues.
Investors broadly punished technology shares in the wake of the announcement.
DelBene's comments about Microsoft's business come as the company is launching Lync, the latest version of its communication software for businesses.
Lync seeks to unify phone, email, instant messaging, presence and video calling in one system. Microsoft says using Internet technologies to handle such communication will lower costs and boost productivity.
The comments are among DelBene's first as president of the business division, which includes Microsoft Office. The division contributes the lion's share of Microsoft's operating profit. DelBene succeeded Stephen Elop, who left Microsoft this summer to become CEO of Nokia.
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