Microsoft to Acquire Skype for Over $8 billion

[Frick]

User wanorris at Ars made this very interesting post:

I don't know about spending $8.5 billion dollars, but I can see why they did this. They have a good solid enterprise solution gaining traction with Lync. They have a cool videophone thing with Kinect. Downside: limitations on who you can talk to outside the firewall and the living room. Skype has mindshare, and runs on virtually every platform in existence.

Sure, they have Messenger, but most people think of that as an IM solution, and zero people think of it as a leading edge platform for new innovations.

I predict Microsoft's top two goals will be:

1. Don't screw it up. They need this as a flagship consumer user base to complete their communications story, and the last thing they need is to turn it into the Danger acquisition. So no scratch rewrites in .Net or other poorly planned Microsoftization.

2. Make everything talk to each other. Lync, LiveMess, Kinect, and Skype should all be able to intercommunicate seamlessly using VOIP and video calling. Try to create a virtuous circle where each part of the network makes all the other parts even more useful.

If they can grow Lync Client/Server into as important a business as other core MS servers, they'll be printing so much money that it will justify Skype never earning a penny. If they can make a Kinect the default videophone for the living room (everyone can come sit together to talk to grandma!), they will dwarf other game consoles and set top boxes. If they can earn a default app install slot on everyone's cell phones, they can use that as a launching pad for a raft of other services (Bing being exhibit A). And, of course, if they can win in a market that Google, Apple, and Facebook also want a piece of, they are a step closer to earning back a little bit of their halo effect. The upside of this deal is totally justified.

Whether they can execute or not... that's the tricky part.

 

[OneCool]

Oh DAMN!

You know MS is going to screw shit all up

 

[timta2]

I just don't understand, Microsoft with all of it's money, talent, and innovation couldn't create a competitor for less? I remember using Skype in it's infancy and thinking it was going to be big. I'm sure people at Microsoft did too. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again I'm not rich enough to burn money.

 

[Frick]

I just don't understand, Microsoft with all of it's money, talent, and innovation couldn't create a competitor for less? I remember using Skype in it's infancy and thinking it was going to be big. I'm sure people at Microsoft did too. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again I'm not rich enough to burn money.

They have MSN and that corporate thing and they're not as good at phones as Skype is. They could probably do their own program as you say, but it's easier to just buy it. Also they're blocking out Google a bit which probably is a win.

 

[turtile]

I just don't understand, Microsoft with all of it's money, talent, and innovation couldn't create a competitor for less? I remember using Skype in it's infancy and thinking it was going to be big. I'm sure people at Microsoft did too. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again I'm not rich enough to burn money.

They can make a better system but they can't make millions of people use it over night.

 

[Thefumigator]

They can make a better system but they can't make millions of people use it over night.

Exactly, the real reason for the acquisition is for its memberships, and not for the software itself. Compared to a whole operative system, a voip software should be a piece of cake.

 

[hellrazor]

How much do you want to bet that they'll run it into the ground?

Do keep in mind all the other stuff MS has bought that they ran into the ground.

 

[Imsochobo]

I don't really understand why people hate on MS so much, so I think this is interesting.

cause I don't know how an OS for simple tasks can swollow an I7 with 16gb ram....
cause I don't know why the OS takes 20 gb when a os on 4 just does the same, and works better while doing it.


This is just a step towards making wph7 sell, I doubt it will, cause its just horrible to use and people doesnt even want a free one... my job gives you a phone, people buy a phone instead with android, well, that just shows how wrong they went.

 

[Frick]

cause I don't know how an OS for simple tasks can swollow an I7 with 16gb ram....
cause I don't know why the OS takes 20 gb when a os on 4 just does the same, and works better while doing it.

I don't even understand what you mean.

 

[Nesters]

This is just a step towards making wph7 sell

Lol, no. It would push carriers away from WP7.

 

[Easy Rhino]

microsoft bought skype for all of the patents. much easier in general to buy out a company and aquire its patents (which are incredibly lucrative for skype right now) then put all the money into your own R&D. what's more, skype is a household name now and microsoft has been ramping up content delivery. you are an idiot if you think all microsoft does is make operating systems...

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Microsoft wouldn't invest 8.5 billion in Skype unless they were acquiring the patents that come with the technology.

I don't think you'll see much happen to Skype after the acquisition other than Microsoft integrating the tech into their existing services, and possibly integrating it into Windows itself.

Bingo! I think you will also see it integrated into XBOX live, I know a lot of people will see some added value of using their console as communications device, further reducing the need for a land line.

 

[Frick]

Bingo! I think you will also see it integrated into XBOX live, I know a lot of people will see some added value of using their console as communications device, further reducing the need for a land line.

And if they integrate that stuff into Kinect it would be pretty darn cool.

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

And if they integrate that stuff into Kinect it would be pretty darn cool.

Yeah I think Kinetic video chat isn't an unreal expectation perhaps as soon as a year down the road.

 

[bostonbuddy]

def will be used w/ kinect for video chat.