What the Microsoft Acquisition of Linkedin for $26 Billion Really Means

You have Facebook and/or Twitter so I’m sure you know by now that Microsoft purchased LinkedIn this morning for $26 Billion. Yes you read that right, $26 BILLION IN CASH. That is a very substantial amount of money by any means, and a huge strategic move by Microsoft.

LinkedIn has established itself as the go-to social network for professionals around the world and boasts a user base of around 500 million users. This makes LinkedIn definitely one of the top 5 players in the realm of social networking we have come to know and love. What really excites me about this acquisition is with time finding out what Microsoft is going to do with LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has built an amazingly loyal user base of some of the most influential people on the planet. The fact that Microsoft (one of the biggest companies in the world) has now acquired them puts Microsoft in a pretty favourable position moving forward in the enterprise business space.

Since I’m a huge fanboy of LinkedIn and have a few friends who work there, I thought it would be wise to pinpoint three wins I see from this acquisition.

Free Business Advertising

By acquiring LinkedIn Microsoft now has unlimited access to customers around the world that buy their products, or should be buying their products. 500 Million customers roughly. Not only can they email them daily, weekly, or monthly, they can now market Microsoft software and services directly within LinkedIn and to their users.

Bundle Heaven

I’m going to give you a little prediction of what I think is going to happen, and how Microsoft is going to bundle certain services to its new 500 million LinkedIn customers.

$50/mth gets you a Professional LinkedIn account, access to all Microsoft Office 365 Products (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, etc.), + access to 4000+ LYNDA online courses.

What employer won’t buy this for their employees? Like seriously?

This would have been a bundle I would have never thought possible a year ago, but mark my words as it will probably be announced soon. This will be a very attractive bundle for companies of all shapes and sizes around the world and I see it being very profitable for Microsoft.

Microsoft Isn’t Dead

I’ll admit I’m a 27 year old millennial that has fallen madly in love with my MacBook and Google Apps over the years. Making me not use Microsoft Office products (in which I have access to) or really use anything Microsoft at all. Through acquiring LinkedIn, Microsoft has caught my eye because I’m a fanboy of LinkedIn. LinkedIn has helped my career advance on so many occasions, and I credit it for being a social network that everyone who has a job should be on. If you aren’t go sign up now, I swear you won’t regret it.

All in all I see this as a super bold statement by Microsoft which signals to me that Microsoft is not dead. They are willing to spend their excess cash, and did so this morning. $26 Billion of it.

It’s going to be an interesting situation watching as this unfolds over the coming weeks, months, and years. Well done Microsoft, I just wish I had some LinkedIn shares right about now.