From-Conception-to-Acquisition-Infographic.png (PNG Image, 801x2456 pixels) - Scaled (26%) Ballmer’s latest acquisition. In a bold move, Microsoft acquires Nokia and catapults itself to the top of the smartphone world.
The full integration of Windows Phone 7 software into Nokia hardware will result in a better user experience for customers, a zero-fragmentation platform for developers, easier deployment of a smaller number of SKUs for retailers, and more reliable update management for carriers. It’s worked before. Microsoft’s hardware/software integrated devices, Xbox and Kinect, are enjoying strong revenue growth and great margins: $1.9B revenue last quarter, 50% more than last year, with 10% operating profit.
In a prepared statement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says: ‘I welcome Stephen Elop back into my executive staff. When I woke up, I heard a different story: Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5B. We all know Skype: free voice and video calls from computer to computer, plus paid services if you need to dial a phone. The Profit & Loss statement in Skype’s S-1 looks like this: And he concludes: What Microsoft Should. For Microsoft, Skype Opens Vast New Market in Telecom.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Photo Illustration by The New York Times Steven Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, right, said he had considered buying Skype, run by Tony Bates, for several years.
In agreeing Tuesday to pay $8.5 billion to buy Skype, the pioneer in Internet phone calls, Microsoft is embracing a technology that is transforming the way people communicate at home and at work. And by stitching Skype technology into Microsoft products, used by hundreds of millions of people, the software giant could hasten the mainstream adoption of video communications, especially in businesses. Microsoft, although rich and powerful, lags in new fields like smartphone software. Skype could help it better compete with the new giants of technology, like Google and Apple. “Skype has been a forerunner, and this deal is Microsoft trying to become relevant in this new age of Internet communications,” said Berge Ayvazian, a telecommunications consultant.
Mr. Microsoft rachète Skype au prix fort et plante Google. 8,5 milliards de dollars.
C’est la somme que Microsoft va verser, en cash, pour racheter Skype, le logiciel de téléphonie sur Internet. C’est la transaction la plus importante effectuée par le géant américain. Pourquoi une telle opération ? Skype, créé en 2003, est un logiciel qui permet de passer des appels téléphoniques gratuitement, d’ordinateur à ordinateur, et des appels vers des fixes ou des mobiles à un coût avantageux. On peut aussi utiliser un tchat par clavier, s’échanger des fichiers, et organiser des vidéo-conférences à plusieurs en affichant plusieurs écrans. Skype dispose également d’une version mobile, disponible seulement sur certaines plate-formes. Qui utilise Skype aujourd’hui ? Dès sa création, le nombre d’utilisateurs du logiciel a rapidement grimpé.
Le logiciel est largement utilisé dans le milieu professionnel pour communiquer entre collègues, partenaires et collaborateurs. . « La vidéo. Pourquoi Microsoft a-t-il payé si cher ? En quoi Skype sera-t-il utile ?