Contender for Microsoft Helm Seen as Unlikely to Shake It Up

As Microsoft hunts for its new chief executive, the firm appears to have zeroed in on a true company man who has spearheaded Microsoft’s efforts to stay on the cutting edge.

But Satya Nadella, a 22-year veteran of the technology colossus, probably isn’t the man for drastic action like breaking it up or striking huge deals.

According to The Times’s Nick Wingfield and other news reports, Microsoft has focused on Mr. Nadella, the head of its cloud technology group. Mr. Nadella has pushed Microsoft further into cloud computing by overseeing efforts to compete with the likes of Amazon, whose industrial-strength servers have become the digital landlord of choice for many smaller companies.

Mr. Nadella described a changing technology landscape in an interview in 2012 when the company announced its new Windows Server 2012 software. “We want to be a primary provider of operating systems for people who want servers both to connect to the cloud, and to build their own cloud systems.”

Mr. Nadella is a true insider, having worked closely with the company’s departing chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last year that he was planning to vacate his post. That familiarity could be an advantage for Mr. Nadella, since Mr. Ballmer still holds a seat on the company’s board, along with Microsoft’s chairman, Bill Gates.

But that familiarity may come at a price, at least for Microsoft critics who believe the aging company needs a bigger shot in the arm to bolster its stock performance.

“He’ll bring a new energy to the spot, but remember that he is a 22-year veteran of Microsoft,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners. “For the people who are looking for wholesale change and an outsider to come in and shake up a sleepy culture, that’s not this.”

Microsoft has pushed into other businesses as consumer PC sales have slowed, so betting on an executive with a track record of pushing initiatives would make sense.

But whether Mr. Nadella can bring that success to some of the company’s other products, like the Xbox gaming console, is unclear. Aligning Microsoft’s jumble of businesses amid an onslaught of competition from the worlds of mobile devices, social media and other technologies would be a challenge for any successor to Mr. Ballmer.

“The unknown is that he’s never run a large public company before,” Mr. Gillis said. “He’s been a division head.”