Ex-Microsoft Cloud Exec Joins Juniper

Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) announced Monday afternoon it's hired Robert Muglia, a 23-year Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) executive. He'll be running the newly created Software Solutions Division -- meaning he'll be in charge of the companywide software strategy -- and will report to CEO Kevin Johnson.

Muglia had been in charge of Microsoft's cloud strategy and the Windows Azure Platform but was removed from that post in January. One theory is that he hadn't adapted to the world of the cloud quickly enough. "His problem, if he had one, was subscribing to the culture he operated in, one that sees the world as operating system-based and Windows-centric," Information Week editor Charles Babcock wrote at the time.

Why this matters
We've talked about Juniper becoming more of a marketing company; now it's also becoming more of a software company. Juniper describes Muglia's hiring as a way of doubling down on software, a move that makes sense as software-heavy projects such as Junos Pulse (management for mobile devices) become a bigger part of Juniper's plans.

On another level, Johnson continues to stack Juniper with former Microsoft executives. Muglia is a high-profile addition to that roster.

For more
Here's more on the Microsoft-ization of Juniper, going back to Johnson's 2008 arrival.

• Juniper Hires Microsoft Ex-Cloud Exec
• Juniper Raids Microsoft
• Microsoft Exec Jumps to Juniper
• Juniper Hires Enterprise Marketing Chief
• Kriens Steps Aside as Juniper CEO

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading