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In June 2016, Microsoft bought LinkedIn for more than 26 billion dollars making it the largest cash purchase ever conducted by the technology titan.
Microsoft described the sale as one that would join the “leading professional cloud” with the “leading professional network.” However, the purchase has Microsoft users and LinkedIn members wondering what will change after the sale is complete?
LinkedIn is a huge source of advertising revenue, and it’s also the site of more than 7 million job listings. However, experts don’t believe these features are the most important aspects of the sale. The ability of Microsoft to leverage its subscription-based Office 360 in their CRM dynamics may provide the greatest value to Microsoft and its users.
It’s expected that Microsoft will integrate LinkedIn into Outlook, Calendar, Active Directory, Office, Skype, and a variety of other features within Windows. Performing activities like recruiting, scheduling, and research will be easier because of the integration of LinkedIn’s professional histories and contacts within the Microsoft-verse. This integration will also likely increase the reminders one receives about promotions, birthdays, and important events from within and outside of the company.
One of the most valuable facets of having access to the wealth of information within LinkedIn is that it is continuously updated. Since the information will be pulled from a live, active database rather than one that was previously inputted days, months, or even years ago, the database won’t go cold or out-of-date.
A key concept in business today is “the cloud,” but that idea isn’t the same for every business operating in America today. For example, some businesses use a hybrid cloud which relies partially on could technology and partially on in-house servers. Because of this, the apps used by a business often influence whether moving to the cloud is easy or requires a reimagining or renewing of a program often used by employees.
Hopefully, the integration of LinkedIn with Office 360 will be a significant facet of the LinkedIn-Microsoft purchase deal.
According to an article in the WSJ:
“Connecting Office directly to LinkedIn could help attendees of meetings learn more about one another directly from invitations in their calendars. Sales representatives using Microsoft’s Dynamics software for managing customer relationships could pick up useful tidbits of background on potential customers from LinkedIn data.”
There are also hopes that the value of LinkedIn will begin to grow again after several months of declines that saw its share price peak at $269 in February of 2015 to a low of close to $100 in February of 2016. Industry-watchers are keen to see how Microsoft will handle the purchase since the size of LinkedIn is so significant.
Are you interested to see how the LinkedIn purchase may impact your information technology (IT) needs?
Contact Magnet Solutions Group, the trusted consulting and IT services firm for assistance with your Austin-based business.