DailyTech - Report: Microsoft to Buy Yammer for $1.2 Billion

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Software Report: Microsoft to Buy Yammer for $1.2 Billion
Tiffany Kaiser - June 15, 2012 7:12 AM

16 comment(s) - last by overlandpark4m.. on Jun 21 at 8:03 PM

(Source: thesocialbulletin.com)

Yammer is a social network intended for businesses

Microsoft is looking to scoop up business software company Yammer Inc. for $1.2 billion in an effort to add a little something extra to its Microsoft Office software.

Yammer is a social network intended for businesses. It was released in September 2008 and offers private communication within organizations instead of broadcasting messages to the public (like Twitter). Yammer also offers other types of software and file-sharing tools.

Acquiring Yammer could be a great move for Microsoft because it will likely allow Office to provide additional social features. While Microsoft already has SharePoint, which is a Web application platform associated with Web content management and document management, SharePoint lacks features like social networking and document sharing -- which Yammer can provide.

In addition, there are many new companies that could pose a potential threat to Microsoft because they are looking to revolutionize the way people work. Some of these companies include Jive Software Inc. and Box Inc. But with Yammer on its side, Microsoft could still hold its dominant spot in the business software sector.

Yammer has already raised $142 million from venture-capital investors. This also includes a fundraising transaction in February.

No additional details have been released on the date of the acquisition's completion.

Earlier this month, Google picked up Quickoffice for mobile editing of Microsoft Office documents. Google has its own editing app for documents called Google Docs, but this only works with Office files like .doc, .xls and .ppt on a desktop computer. The search company currently doesn't have a mobile editing program for Office documents, hence the recent Quickoffice acquisition.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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lol

By NellyFromMA on 6/15/2012 10:00:41 AM , Rating: 4

I can't help but laugh at thinking of business networkign via a site called 'Yammer'. Maybe I'm missing the reference but it just kind of makes me laugh when I say it out loud.

RE: lol

By Dean364 on 6/15/2012 10:16:38 AM , Rating: 3

Don't worry, they're planning on changing the name to Microsoft Yammer 365.

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RE: lol

By WalksTheWalk on 6/15/2012 10:26:20 AM , Rating: 2

Maybe MS will resurrect the title of BPOS:

http://blogs.gartner.com/jeffrey_mann/2010/10/19/m...

Yes, MS actually used the name BPOS internally as well to refer to the product.

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RE: lol

By WalksTheWalk on 6/15/2012 10:27:33 AM , Rating: 2

Here's a better link:

http://www.microsoft.com/online/business-productiv...

I just love the name BPOS. Too funny.

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RE: lol

By fic2 on 6/15/2012 12:01:31 PM , Rating: 2

Name kind of fits with Windows CE aka WinCE.

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RE: lol

By amanojaku on 6/15/2012 10:40:37 AM , Rating: 2

There's no reference to get. Yammer means to talk loudly and constantly, the way teenaged girls and car salesmen do.

I couldn't figure out why MS bought Yammer when it could just integrate Office Communicator into Sharepoint, and add a few features.

Turns out, Yammer is used by about 80% of the fortune 500, as well as small and medium businesses. MS is reinforcing its foothold in corporations by diversifying. Makes sense, since desktop OSes and expensive office suites are under attack by mobile OSes and free note taking software.

And since MS is buying Yammer no one else can, making it more difficult for other companies to compete. So far, Salesforce and Yammer are the largest enterprise social networking companies. I never used Yammer, but Salesforce sucks.

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RE: lol

By Shadowmaster625 on 6/15/12, Rating: 0

RE: lol

By fic2 on 6/15/2012 12:03:17 PM , Rating: 2

I work for a Fortune 100 company. When I started the HR people in CA wanted me to email a scanned copy of my SS card, passport, I-9, etc. They couldn't understand why I refused to email this stuff.

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