Microsoft’s (News 
- Alert) recent $8.5 billion acquisition of video calling client Skype will help solidify Lync, the company’s enterprise-focused communications product, CEO Steve Ballmer (News - Alert) said earlier this week during his keynote speech at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles.
Responding to speculation that Skype (News - Alert) could spell the end of Lync, Ballmer said that it is actually quite the opposite, according to Business Insider.
“One of the great motivations in acquiring Skype is to enable the enterprise to have all the control it wants in communication and collaboration through Active Directory and Lync, and yet be able to connect people within enterprises to consumers, businesses and trading partners around the world,” Ballmer said.
“Lync, in some sense with Skype is a strategy that will allow the consumerization of IT to really proceed with full vim and vigor,” he added.
Microsoft is not yet able to integrate Skype into Lync or any of its other products because regulators have yet to sign off on the acquisition.
If the deal does get approved and the integration occurs, other video calling providers could stand to lose significant market share. Microsoft will have a step up on other UC companies because it will allow enterprises to connect to anyone with a Web connection, rather than just Lync users.
Ballmer spent the rest of his keynote address breezing through a number of Microsoft-related topics, including PC sales, the future of Xbox Music and the success of Windows Phone (News - Alert) 7, the company’s new mobile OS.
Microsoft’s chief executive was rather candid in his discussion of the oft-maligned platform, telling the crowd that sales numbers of Windows Phone 7 handsets have “gone from very small to very small but it’s been a heck of a year,” according to Computer World.
Ballmer avoided mentioning the exact number of phone shipments, stating simply that “millions” of handsets have been sold in the last year. While technically true, Ballmer’s words don’t paint the complete picture. Nielsen’s latest survey found that Windows Phone 7 accounted for only 1 percent of the smartphone OS market share in May.
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Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
