Microsoft has finalised a merger with LinkedIn that shows the company knows itself, finally. This merger, announced on the 8th December, will help professionals network, connect and collaborate in new ways.
What Microsoft do well is their Office Suite. Word, Outlook, Excel, OneNote and the others are on millions of devices worldwide. For many, these are the office programs you’ll learn to use in school. So, for Microsoft to enlarge the scope of what an Office Suite can do will help their users immensely.
Making Work Easier
In a post on LinkedIn’s Pulse blog, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, outlined what Microsoft and LinkedIn aim to do for users:
- Use the user’s LinkedIn network and identity in Microsoft Outlook and Office.
- Send notifications from LinkedIn through the Windows Action Center
- Connect a user’s LinkedIn profile with their resume to keep both up to date
For professionals who rely on LinkedIn, this will make moving information easier.
Growing LinkedIn
Satya wants LinkedIn to grow, according to Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Satya said starting literally on Day 1 the first priority is growing LinkedIn,” Mr. Weiner said. “That if LinkedIn continues to grow its membership, if it continues to realize its mission, its vision, if it continues to grow the business, that’s going to create value for Microsoft.”
To help LinkedIn grow, Satya also announced that the reach of Sponsored Content would broaden; Active Directory and Office 365 will power LinkedIn Lookup; MSN.com will develop a business news desk for the ecosystem; Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365 will reshape social selling.
Both companies have a lot of data on professionals. If done well, this merger could change finding a job, changing career or finding someone who’s the best fit for a company for the better.
It’s about time Microsoft figured out who they are. If the company was a person, for a while, it seemed like someone in their middle age who didn’t mature. Instead of wasting time trying to be cool and hip, the focus should have been on professionalism and business. The saying “Be yourself, everyone else is taken” seems to be advice the company has learned over the years.
Source: LinkedIn