Microsoft Not Shy to Buy Skype

In case you have been living the life of a luddite, you probably have not heard that Microsoft has just acquired Skype.

Here are some interesting links on the topic;

Joe Wilcox comments on the acquisition with: http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/print/Why-is-Microsoft-buying-Skype/1305048690

Also check out Lee Pender's comments on the MS/Skype love-in here:

http://rcpmag.com/blogs/lee-pender/2011/05/microsofts-skype-buy-might-just-make-sense.aspx

I think that the purchase of Skype is a great way for Steve to use up some of that cash - especially some of the foreign account deposits he has been accumulating over the past very profitable year. It's a nice way to avoid some serious tax headaches.

Oh, and the technology? It will help with X-Box and is a "must-integrate" with Microsoft's Lync server.

Already some of the discussions on this have focussed on "Why couldn't the tech giant (MS) have just built a better/bigger version of Skype?" Note: Some think that MS already has - which adds greatly to the discussion.

I think the answer here is partly physical infrastructure and business ecosystem. A thought which is echoed here by Mary Jo Foley:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/another-reason-microsoft-wants-skype-advertisers-advertisers-advertisers/9415

Now, MS just needs a payment (online transaction system) ...

Hello PayPal!