Microsoft Loses Interest In Slack

Microsoft to bolster Skype than acquire Slack.

"If you can’t beat them, you buy them" is the agenda followed by Microsoft Corporation religiously. The top executives belonging to the company have been following this ideology since a relatively long time now. As per a report that was published by Tech Crunch recently, the company had in mind since a relatively long time to acquire Slack, a messaging startup since the company came up with various video and voice calling features.

The tech giant is always looking for lucrative startups that offer the company new horizons for growth. For the same reason, the software behemoth wanted to acquire Slack. However, things seem to be relatively different now since the company does not seem to be interested in the entity anymore.

Slack’s recent service has made it a direct competitor to Skype which is Microsoft’s own video call service. Presently, the service is dominating the market in general. As per the recent trends, Slack is becoming a force to reckon in the market. The service at this point of time has almost 2.3 million active users daily. Amongst these almost 675,000 users are actually paying for the service. This eventually makes the service a potential threat for the enterprise who are looking to make a mark in the enterprise collaboration service industry.

Considering this perspective, it actually turns out to be a no brainer so as to why big tech companies might be interested in the venture. As per TechCrunch, almost eight to ten companies are actually willing to acquire Slack. The Windows 10 giant itself bid $8 billion for the venture. This seems to be a massive premium over the company’s latest valuation of $2.8 billion that surfaced right after a funding round of $160 million that took place in April, 2015.

Mr. Qi Lu, the Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s apps and services was the core person who was pushing the company to acquire Slack. However, all his efforts went down the drain when Chief Executive Officer Mr. Satya Nadella and Co-Founder of Microsoft Mr. Bill Gates waved them aside.

Both these gentlemen were of the belief that instead of buying out Slack to cut down on the competition, the best way to engage the Microsoft users is to increase the productivity of Skype by adding more features and services.

It seems like a relatively sane decision by the company to enhance the features if its own service rather than spending a hefty amount on a new acquisition just to curb on the competition. Healthy competition will help the company in making a significant change to its organizational structure in the long run.

Moreover, the decision by the Co-Founder and CEO also makes a lot of sense since MSFT owns an arsenal of video and voice calling service that is similar to the likes of Slack. The company has acquired and developed strategic partnerships with various firms in the enterprise domain, these companies are Lync, Yammer and SharePoint. However, Slack is great starting point for other giants who wish to compete with Skype.

Microsoft Comes Up With An Intriguing Feature For Skype

Microsoft will now enable group video calls via smartphone app.

Microsoft Corporation popular service Skype is said to be the most readily used platform for video and voice calling. However, one could not conduct group video calls whilst using the mobile application. Several news were coming in from competitors such as Hangouts and WhatsApp over the past couple of months but no news was observed regrading Skype since quite some time. However, many publication houses have now been acknowledged regarding the big news which will lure more customers to the service.

Group video calling is not a new phenomenon but the Windows 10 giant was not offering this service on the mobile app. So the recent breakthrough will enable all users on iOS and Android to take advantage of the experience. Previously in January, the company had plans to come up with this feature on its renowned platform. the feature will be initially available in Western Europe and North America but then the service will be accessible all over the globe by end of March, FY16.

The service is currently offering support for almost 25 people when it comes to video calling. It can broadcast at 1080 p and Microsoft users have the liberty to switch between front and rear camera. To offer this service on a desktop was relatively easier since accommodating more participants was not a tough task. However, fitting a bunch of participants on a small screen is a breakthrough in itself.

Usually a broadcast gets pinned on the top right of the screen when more people are added. Thus Skype then adjust the screen on its own as much as possible. If there are more than seven members, the display has been arranged in a manner that all the members are lined on the bottom screen. The best part is that when a person is speaking, he/she will be highlighted by default. Moreover, users have also been given the liberty to rearrange the display by pinning on the relevant person on the top as per preference.

Another intriguing feature that will be part and parcel of the update is that users will have the liberty to invite individuals to the video even if they do not use Skype. This will work via the default sharing tool on Android and iOS which will enable anyone to join the Skype call. For instance, an invitation can be sent via iMessage and the user can join the call without any hindrance of adding the individual as a contact.

Right after the announcement, thousands of individuals joined the platform so that they could get early access to the service which shows that the masses were anticipating this feature. Gurdeep Pall, the Vice President of Skype Corporate stated, “We saw a 600 percent increase in group calls pretty much overnight.”

Hence, the company has finally come up with a service that was readily anticipated by the masses. The success of the service before the official launch indicates that the popularity of Skype will bolster in the times to come.