Will Microsoft suck the spark out of Skype?
By now, you've heard the news: Microsoft is buying Skype in an $8.5 billion deal, the largest ever acquisition for the mammoth maker of the Windows franchise.
Skype was owned by eBay and a bunch of other investors, but eBay never really realized Skype's potential. Skype's got 600+ million users worldwide (that's about the same size as Facebook, folks), but it's never quite figured out how to make money.
Microsoft probably thinks it needs Skype to be a contender in the VOIP market, and getting all those loyal users helps. People may often complain about Skype, but many appreciate it because it's free and cheap -- lots of bang for little or no buck.
So now, the big question is: what will Microsoft actually DO with Skype. Will it go the way of the Flip cam, whose business was bought by Cisco and now faces a shutdown? Will Microsoft try to integrate Skype into its suite of Office products -- and is that even technology possible? [Update: ReadWriteWeb reports that that's exactly what Skype/Microsoft plans to do.] The Guardian's Charles Arthur thinks it won't pay off for Microsoft. Many seem to be skeptical that Microsoft can generate value -- and profits -- from the deal.
I, for one, think Microsoft can find some interesting synergies and integrations with the Microsoft Kinect and the Xbox, and Skype. And don't forget, Microsoft is now a major partner with Nokia, and could make Skype a major player on smartphones, though it has to be sensitive with the mobile carriers.
This may be a minor quibble, but I also think Microsoft can do a better job of (re)designing Skype's user interface, which right now is mediocre at best for both PC and Mac platforms. It's kind of nightmare, frankly.
So, no, I don't think Microsoft suck the spark out of Skype. I'm interested to see in which direction Microsoft takes the platform.
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Comments
It just seems to me that Facebook was a more natural - and better - fit for the product.
Posted by: Jay Rickey | May 10, 2011 10:52 AM
I love Skype. Hopefully MS will make it even better.
Posted by: Fresno Attorney | May 10, 2011 6:16 PM
I don't think it's necessarily a case that Microsoft will actually degrade Skype (or, to paraphrase you, make it suck); I'm certain, however, that huge numbers of folks, whether or not they actually use/used Skype, will now insist that it's lousy simply because of its association with Microsoft. Microsoft is way up there as a "whipping boy" of things that people perceive that they have to use/etc. (along with home-town sports teams, commuter trains and transit, public education, etc.) where no matter what the actual quality of the product/service, people will complain about it.
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | May 11, 2011 7:30 AM
Clearly, you are focusing on the entertainment aspects of Skype being acquired by Microsoft as opposed to it being a video-conferencing component that can be added to their corporate instant messaging and unified Inbox component (Office Communications Server).
That said, imagine the reach of Skype as a product within Windows as opposed to one you need to install separately. On some level, you are bringing easy video-conferencing to the masses. Now, imagine that on their mobile platform. In this aspect, as others have noted, this is a Facetime play.
Indeed. Pulling Skype tightly into Office/Outlook would be very awesome. I'd also like to see an MS app that integrates Skype with a note-taking tool (Word or something else) and built-in web browser. A killer app for journalists and others who want to talk to people, take notes and check the web all in one box. -gs
Posted by: JJT | May 11, 2011 5:06 PM