Apple hires Microsoft datamanager GM Timmons

Apple's cloud ambitions became clearer late Wednesday with reports that Apple had lured away Microsoft's Datacenter Services General Manager Kevin Timmons. His new role wasn't known but came just two years after he had left a role as the operations lead at Yahoo. The move spotted by Green M3 is believed to have been very recent, and Timmons has yet to update his LinkedIn profile (above) to reflect the change.

Neither company is expected to confirm the deal, although a source that spoke with AllThingsD confirmed the jump to Apple. His role may go beyond his datacenter experience, the same source said.

The move will very likely focus primarily on cloud services and the new North Carolina datacenter that should be going live later this spring. Apple is known to be recruiting a cloud group and would likely want veterans to head up the most important positions. Most talk of the datacenter's use has centered on the prospect of a media locker service that could also include broader, free MobileMe services.

For Microsoft, the loss is a blow to its own cloud goals. Despite regularly losing hundreds of millions of dollars on Internet services, it has continued to funnel money into services such as Azure and Bing in hopes of winning business away from Google.

By Electronista Staff

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