Former Microsoft CEO Ballmer: Regret Not Focusing on Hardware Sooner

It isn’t often that a high-powered exec is willing to admit to his mistakes, especially when those mistakes have to do with one of the most influential tech companies in the world. But former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer did just that when he spoke to students at Oxford University’s Said Business School earlier this week.

When asked what his biggest regret was, Ballmer admitted he wishes that Microsoft had the foresight to transition from a software-driven company to one more focused on hardware in time to compete with the likes of Apple (APPL) and Google (GOOG), especially in the area of mobile devices.

“If I look back with 20/20 hindsight, the thing I regret is that we didn’t put the hardware and software together soon enough,” Ballmer said, according to Forbes. “It was almost magical the way the PC came about with an operating system from us and hardware from IBM. There was a little bit of magic, too, for Android and Samsung coming together. But if you really want to bring a vision to market, it’s helpful to be able to conceive and deliver the hardware and software.”

While Ballmer was quick to address Microsoft’s misgivings, he was also explained that the company is far from calling it quits when it comes to regaining its lost momentum. According to Forbes, Ballmer said Microsoft is working on future-proofing itself by putting an added emphasis on marketing its hardware products to compete with Apple, which has an excellent track record in that arena.

“Our company is in the process of building new muscle so that we’re not just thinking about things like tablets in advance and letting Apple commercialize them,” he said. “We have the innovation muscle and the marketing muscle and you see it in what we’re doing today with Surface and what we’re doing now with Windows phones and Nokia. Does that mean for sure that we will lead the next generation? No, but we’re there working hard to make sure that in that next wave, we’re there, we’re catching it, we’re driving.”

Ballmer was, of course, addressing long-held claims that Apple rode Microsoft’s coattails to success in the smartphone and tablet market, which originally were put forth by former Microsoft senior VP Joachim Kempin. Ballmer also said that while most tech companies get by with only one defining “trick,” Microsoft’s successes put the company in a good position to regain its place at the head of the class.

“At our company, I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve done at least two tricks. We really invented the modern PC by building Office. Then the second thing we did was really bring microprocessor technology into the data center,” Ballmer said, adding that Xbox counted as an additional accomplishment. “And the fact that we’ve built muscle that lets us do new tricks in the future will distinguish us from all other technology companies on the planet.”