By NMT | No Comments
Last updated: Tuesday, May 10, 2011

In what has been cited as the most massive tech deal in years, Microsoft won the acquisition of Skype to the tune of $8.5 billion. As the PC world has been seeing a steady decline, with all the opportunity finding itself in smartphones and tablets, Microsoft realized that it needed to make a drastic move — no matter the costs — and found itself the proud new parents of the already popular, stand-out video conferencing service, Skype. Skype will be integrated with the Microsoft enterprise systems and will become a new division of the Microsoft company, putting the power to dictate both video conferencing standards and trends into the might hands of Microsoft. The addition of Skype to Microsoft is also one more way to ensure that even if people are not using Microsoft devices, they are still engaging with Microsoft tools and services. The addition of Skype provides many opportunities within the Microsoft realm, beyond driving stock. Skype will likely be a crucial addition to gaming systems like the Xbox and Kinect, enabling an easier way to video chat and communicate while gaming, and is also expected to be integrated into Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live, and other Microsoft communities while still supporting clients on non-Microsoft platforms. Furthermore, Facebook has been talked about as the true winner in this deal, first because it means that Google can’t lay claim to yet another hit service, and also because Microsoft happens to be an investor in Facebook. This opens doors to integrating Skype with Facebook in a way that will open Facebook Chat up to the necessary voice and video additions it needs, and also perhaps to launch a sort of payment system (”Facebook points”) to enable Facebook users to purchase Skype credit. And then there’s the mobile world. Acquiring Skype means loads for Windows Phone 7 smartphones and tablets, as they will surely integrate Skype into the framework, much like Google devices have done with Google Voice. This means that Microsoft mobile device users could see much easier access to Skype calls and video chats, and perhaps may benefit from cheaper (or free) Skype calling plans. You can also be certain that the best Skype functionality will be seen on Microsoft devices. Furthermore, it may open up the aforementioned platforms, like Xbox Live, to mobile, video-enabled applications. And it will definitely give Microsoft a competitive mobile edge, especially against the likes of Google Voice and Facetime. What do you think Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype means, particularly for the mobile scene? Do you think it will be the game-changer it hopes to be?

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Getting Back in the Game: Microsoft Acquires Skype

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