Microsoft Musical Chairs: Berkowitz Out, McAndrews to Run All Online Services?

Microsoft is mum on reports today that Steve Berkowitz, head of Online Services, will shortly step aside to make room for either aQuantive chief Brian McAndrews or his boss, Kevin Johnson, who heads Platforms and Services. The replacement would be part of one of Microsoft’s regularly scheduled reorgs that may also bring changes in its Windows division (Mary Jo Foley reports Windows product marketing EVP Michael Sievert will move on, a casualty of the Vista’s generally poor reception with consumers). WSJ and CNET cited internal sources saying the organizational shuffle could come as soon as next week.

Two big questions: Will Berkowitz’s Online Services unit will be merged completely into Johnson’s, and will McAndrews’ Digital Advertising Solutions group gobble it up? Hopefully both will happen, for both marketers’ and Microsoft’s sake.

That’s the way it should’ve gone back in August, when Microsoft created Advertiser and Publisher Solutions to house all its new aQuantive properties along with Microsoft AdCenter. McAndrews was named to lead the unit, while Berkowitz’s Digital Advertising Solutions sales force was oddly left on its own. That just didn’t make sense, and it looks like Microsoft’s about to correct the error.

No indication in either report whether Berkowitz will be jettisoned or offered a new post.