Microsoft Corporation Not Interested In Slack Messaging Platform Anymore

The technology corporation has backed out from its acquisition of the messaging app Slack which it had initially decided to acquire for $8 billion.

For a price of $8 billion, Microsoft Corporation showed its interest in acquiring Slack, a messaging platform similar to that of Skype, on Friday. However, according to recent news the technology giant backed out from that acquisition as Qi Lu, the Vice President of Microsoft’s application and services failed to convince the founder Bill Gates, the CEO Satya Nadella along with a number of other board members to go forth with the acquisition.

The company is widely known for its Windows Operating System however it is trying to direct its efforts towards its video and messaging platform, Skype. Slack, the messaging app that Qi Lu wanted to acquire was launched back in 2013 in San Francisco. This application is quite similar to Skype as it offers file sharing, video and text messaging as well. The sole reason as to why Microsoft was drawn towards the app was that it gained tremendous popularity after its release in 2013.

Presently, Slack has over 2.5 million users out which 700,000 are paying users, according to a research conducted by Statistics Brain Research Institute. Due to this reason, many now believe that the company might have made a handsome amount of revenue in the past two years that it has been operational for; this clearly indicates that putting a price tag of $8 billion on the organization was simply now enough.

The increased popularity of the messaging app indicates that soon enough it will be in direct competition with Skype as it also plans to introduce advanced features to the platform soon. The company is aiming at being big and better if it wants to stand next to Skype hence proving that even if the offer was still on the table, it would have given a serious though and might not have immediately agreed on that price.

The acquisition of Slack would not have been the first one on the technology giant’s part; initially it has acquired Skype back in 2011 for a price of $8.5 million along with another application by the name of Yammer for $1.2 billion. This would have been the third acquisition by Microsoft Corporation. However, Yammer wasn’t a profitable acquisition on the company’s part as it was broken down into various parts to make Microsoft 365.

While many people believe that the acquisition was worth the price tag that the tech organization put on it, on the other hand many believe that it was not even close to that. For example: Facebook Inc. had acquired WhatsApp for a price of $22 billion back in 2014 indicating that it paid a price of $55 per user however if Microsoft has gone forward with the acquisition of Slack at the same price, it would be paying at least 45 times more than what the social media giant paid for its messaging app. Ultimately, it’s quite evident that it was a smart move by the technology business as it saved large capital.

The Redmond, Washington based company can now completely focus on making Skype a bigger and better messaging app and it plays to do so by offering its 74 million users with additional features as well.

Microsoft Corporation Introduces Santa Tracker Website For Kids, This Holiday Season

The technology corporation along with Alphabet launched its Santa tracker website with many games, movies and music for the kids to enjoy during the holidays. 

On December 24, 2015 Microsoft Corporation and Alphabet’s Google, launched a website for kids to track Santa. The multinational technology corporation has collaborated with NORAD – North American Aerospace Defense Command to make its personal Santa Tracker. This is the third time that the Norad and the giant are coming together to work on a Santa project.

On the other hands, Google has also opted for a similar attraction for the kids this Christmas as it is offering a map interface which will allow children to know the location of Santa, the distance and also the number of gifts that he has delivered so far. “Code Boogie” is a Christmas themed game is also being offered on the website. It is just not a simple game but teaches kids the basic programming functions. This website also has a holiday phrase translator along with a number of other games.

This year the Redmond based tech company has introduced a number of other functions to its Santa Tracker Website including coloring themed books which comes in Windows 10 and also Windows Map integrations. The website also includes games, holiday and Christmas season songs, shows and movies for the kids. The tech giant has managed to do various integrations with Windows Maps, Cortana and Bing.

Furthermore, it has tried to make the Cortana experience more efficient. For example: if a user ask Cortana exactly where Santa is, she lets them know the exact location of him along with his visuals and also the details about where he is presently and where he will be later.

In other news, Microsoft stock was all over the news in 2015, with its ups and downs all throughout the year. It went through a little down fall at the beginning of the year but it is definitely ending the year on a good note at a 20% hike in its share price. In 2015, the tech company’s Surface tablets made gains in the current year but fell to $672 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. Initially in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, the revenue from Surface tablets was at $908 million.

The reason for this decline in the revenue, according to the tech giant was due to the increased demand for its new Surface Pro 4. In the tablet market, however according to prediction, 2016 is going to be an exceptional year. According to IDC, Microsoft tablets are expected to have gained 18% of the tablet market.