Blogs

One of the key people responsible for promoting Microsoft's Windows and .Net technologies to software developers is leaving the company, and going to Google. A Google spokesman confirmed this morning that Vic Gundotra, Microsoft general manager of platform evangelism, will join the search company.

Business 2.0 first reported the news in this story. Here's the full statement from Google spokesman Steve Langdon:

"Mr. Gundotra has resigned from Microsoft and entered into an agreement with Google. Though the financial arrangements are confidential, he will not be a Google employee for one year and intends to spend that time on philanthropic pursuits. We are uncertain what precise role he will play when he begins working for Google, but he has a broad range of skills and experience which we believe will be valuable to Google."

That year-long break recognizes Gundotra's non-compete agreement, presumably in an effort to avoid a repeat of the dispute that surrounded Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee's move to Google last year.

Well-known Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble, whose own last day was Wednesday, was originally hired by Gundotra. Scoble weighs in on the news in this post.