Microsoft has purchased Skype for a modest £5.2bn. Now that’s what I call a shopping trip! It’s Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever.

So why have they done it? Is it a strategic move in the constant battle with competitors?

Most likely….

Skype boasts over 600 million users which makes it the biggest international voice call company in the world, therefore giving Microsoft the market share in a second.

But how will they use it? Is the technology really that useful to the software giant?

Well it could be used to improve Microsoft video-conferencing for a start, giving the likes of Cisco a run for its money. But think outside the box for a minute….. what if Microsoft was to combine the technology of Skype with Xbox Kinect? The strength of Microsoft’s “living room” presence would increase dramatically as the offering became so much more interactive. And the possibilities are endless….. gaming, social networking, training and tuition, one-to-one home schooling…. remember that scene in Back to the Future where the “future” Marty gets fired by his boss over the TV screen?….Yeah, it looks dated next to what Microsoft could develop with Skype and Kinect. And we all know how keen Microsoft is to grab its share of the home-user market. 

So will it all be worthwhile? 18 months ago Skype was valued at half the amount Microsoft has just paid for it…. so i’m not quite sure how £5.2bn was justified…. but somebody somewhere must be pretty sure it was worth the money.

Anyway, congratulations to Microsoft on its new acquisition. We look forward to seeing what the future holds.