Microsoft looks to give Yammer a new lease on life; can it?
Feb. 28, 2020: While Teams might be the focal point of Microsoft’s current collaboration strategy, Yammer — the enterprise social network it acquired in 2012 for $1.2 billion — hasn’t been exactly left for dead. In fact, Microsoft unveiled a complete redesign of the enterprise social network at its 2019 Ignite conference, offering up a new user interface based on Microsoft’s Fluent Design system, smart news feed recommendations, and tighter integration with Outlook, SharePoint and, of course, Teams.
Microsoft buys GitHub for $7.5 billion
June 4, 2018: After several days of rumors to the effect, Microsoft announced plans to acquire code-sharing site GitHub for $7.5 billion. With the move, Microsoft planned to accelerate enterprise use of the platform, which holds repositories for open source software projects of all kinds, including software sponsored by Microsoft rivals such as Apple and Oracle. Although it has not been profitable, GitHub has generated revenues through private repositories and an on-premises version called GitHub Enterprise.
Microsoft’s Xamarin acquisition opens door to truly universal Windows apps
Feb. 24, 2016: After years of “will they, won’t they” speculation, Microsoft finally announced it would purchase Xamarin, the company that brought native Android and iOS development into Visual Studio. By building on .Net and C#, Xamarin provided Windows developers with an easy route to building applications outside the Windows ecosystem, without alienating users.