Why Skype is worth $8.5bn to Microsoft
As you may have heard, today Microsoft purchased Skype for an astonishing $8.5bn. The company was only with around $2.5bn not more than 2 years ago. We all were hoping that Google or Facebook would get the bid, as they seem to be more trendy and innovative than this old giant, but clearly the two do not need Skype as much as Microsoft does, and here’s why:
Xbox Live + Kinect
Microsoft wants to bring Skype to its Xbox Live network using the very popular Kinect system. Now you’ll be able to skype with relatives and loved ones using Kinect in your living room and theirs, this will seemingly change the way we skype with our loved ones. I think this is exactly what is needed, bringing Skype to the living room.
Windows Phone 7
The new Windows phone platform is new, and growing but has no huge market share like Android and the iPhone does. You already have video communication services on those platforms, be it Skype, or FaceTime. The only one missing some kind of Video Chat is Blackberry and Windows Phone, and so it has been already announced that with the aquisition, Skype will come to the Windows Phone, also Windows Phone will likely get the latest updates faster than the App Store and Android Marketplace, bringing more value to the Windows Phone.
Office Communicator + Live Messenger
Windows still continues to dominate the corporate market, and they can see that the use of telecommuting and video teleconferencing is on the rise as bandwidth continually gets cheaper, faster and fuel costs continue to increase. They will be implementing Skype into their own products such as Office Communicator and other consumer services like Live Messenger as they seem to have lost popularity in recent times.
Are there any other services Microsoft offers that you think they could make use of Skype in? Please let a comment below with your thoughts.