Here are the reactions from a host of IT leaders about what the Gates announcement means to them and their companies:

Christopher Wanko, a lead systems analyst at pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough Corp. in Kenilworth, N.J., said his first thought after hearing that Gates plans to devote more time to philanthropy was "good for him. What else does he need to accomplish, personally, on this planet?

"Apart from what he does at Microsoft, he has personal wealth that could significantly change lives for the better in a new way. As a problem solver, he might even be thinking if he could achieve the same kinds of successes philanthropically as he has commercially. So in all, I think this is good news for him and good news for Microsoft."

As for Ozzie's role, Wanko called him "a terrific choice.... Ray Ozzie is an innovator, I'm eager to see what he can do." Wanko is also interested in what direction Microsoft takes under Ozzie's influence.

"The new directions coming from Microsoft are something I would eagerly anticipate. Operating systems are seeing innovations currently that we haven't seen in ten years or maybe more. The whole idea of open-source hypervisors running multiple virtual machines with differing OSes -- who could float that idea in 1995? Or dual-core 64-bit CPUs selling for under $300? Bill Gates is leaving at a time when the old school needs to become a hallowed memory, and new ideas and perspectives should come to fore."