Outlook wasn't originally part of the Office team's domain.. it was originally part of the Exchange team. Though I do think that Exchange's integration is second to none for teams, and that Outlook as an email client is actually pretty good these days, and integration with Exchange, and bundling with Office keeps it all afloat.
That said, there's no reason Office+Exchange couldn't be split off as a separate sub-organization together, separated from the larger windows org... possibly combined with webmail services (hotmail/outlook.com/office365), simply using an azure org for their deployment/infrastructure.
Hardware could be spun off as well, with "special" deals with a core windows team to be able to build on "top" of windows core.
The Windows org could be responsible for windows core, windows desktop os, and developer tools.
There, you could then have three independant organizations within microsoft that could utilize the core resources, while still having autonomy.
The office org could then concentrate on bringing their services to a broader audience... not worrying if their Office for Android would cut into windows slate sales... and the slate/devices team could expand upon their UIs instead of having to bind into windows core.. and the core team wouldn't need to build clumbsy desktop UIs that don't fit the patterns people have been using for two generations.
On the other hand: if it were to split up then the parts would have to be more open; more open protocols and less lock-in games; less fire and motion. Maybe that would have had benefited the Windows ecosystem in the long term. Who knows, it is hard to tell.
That said, there's no reason Office+Exchange couldn't be split off as a separate sub-organization together, separated from the larger windows org... possibly combined with webmail services (hotmail/outlook.com/office365), simply using an azure org for their deployment/infrastructure.
Hardware could be spun off as well, with "special" deals with a core windows team to be able to build on "top" of windows core.
The Windows org could be responsible for windows core, windows desktop os, and developer tools.
There, you could then have three independant organizations within microsoft that could utilize the core resources, while still having autonomy.
The office org could then concentrate on bringing their services to a broader audience... not worrying if their Office for Android would cut into windows slate sales... and the slate/devices team could expand upon their UIs instead of having to bind into windows core.. and the core team wouldn't need to build clumbsy desktop UIs that don't fit the patterns people have been using for two generations.