Niall Kennedy, a high-profile hire from Technorati who joined Microsoft in April 2006 as Program Manager for syndication with the Windows Live team has today announced on his blog that he is leaving Microsoft as of the 18th of August to create a new tech startup.

Probably the part that most stands out from his blog post is as follows:

Windows Live is under some heavy change, reorganization, pullback, and general paralysis and unfortunately my ability to perform, hire, and execute was completely frozen as well.

I’m happy with what I was able to accomplish as a team of one attached to the Windows Live Alerts group. If we had the resources I truly believe we could have tackled the number of users Hotmail, Messenger, Spaces, or even Internet Explorer might supply, and then ask for more by opening up the platform to the world. I was able to borrow resources here and there, but there was no team being built around the platform in the foreseeable future. I could have stayed at Microsoft, waited for the other 85% of the company to ship their products, and then hope support for my group might be back on track again, but I didn’t want to sit around doing little to nothing until Vista, Office, and Exchange ship. It’s easier to get funding outside Microsoft than inside at the moment, so I am stepping out and doing my own thing.

Also here’s what Niall Kennedy had to say when Harrison Hoffman from LiveSide asked him a few questions about his departure:

LiveSide: What do you think Windows Live could do to support their employees, more specifically the smaller groups?

Niall Kennedy: Microsoft is currently experimenting with new methods that could be a step in the right direction. teams are trying agile programming methods, shortened product sprints, and limiting their product horizon to react quicker to market conditions. I think some of the new office space in Bellevue and Redmond will help this effort, but the biggest change that could help Live would be to better distribute the locations of their teams, as Google has successfully done.

LiveSide: Ok, such as how they have the Mail team in Mountain View?

Niall: Yep. Microsoft has a “come to Redmond” mentality, which warps the world placing Redmond at the center of a software universe. Placing individual product groups in various locations will help solve overcrowding and spur innovation. we’ve seen it happen with moving Xbox and Bungie off-site, I think a change of workplace setup could invigorate the groups.

LiveSide: So, you think that a change in geography will help the resolve some of the gridlock that you were seeing?

Niall: I think it might create more autonomous groups, able to act quickly in an Internet marketplace.

LiveSide: Just one more quick question then. If Microsoft had provided you with the resources and employees necessary to carry out your project effectively, would you be leaving?

Niall: No, I would have remained as excited as I was when I joined the company in April.