April 15, 2009
Skype IPO ComingBy Rich Tehrani, President and Editor-in-Chief Originally posted on Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com, here: http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/skype/skype-ipo-coming.html.It seems that Skype will go IPO in the first half of 2010 and although some think this news is a ploy to get Skype (News - Alert) founders to pony up more than the $1 billion they originally proposed, I think the IPO route makes more sense for a number of reasons. You see the company is a perfect play for this economy - it lowers long distance costs and also allows video, rich IM and social networking. In addition, the world's largest internet telephony software company recently launched a SIP trunking plus service which shows it is serious about the business market... And there is growth here. The company expects to have over a billion dollars in revenue in 2011 and I think if it tweaks its business model it could make more. In October 2007 I wrote about what eBay should do with Skype and although the company is beginning to implement a lot of my ideas I wonder if a standalone publically traded Skype might implement some of these ideas more quickly allowing them to generate even more revenue. What excites me a great deal about a Skype IPO however is that it will wipe away the idea that Vonage represents the entire IP communications market. Vonage (News - Alert) has been a master at marketing but sadly the only thing it does better than market is lose money. Skype's greatest power is in its network and its ubiquity. There is just so much you can do when you own desktop real estate. A standalone company could be just what the doctor ordered to allow Skype to make the most of its opportunities. This one will be good to watch. See Also: eBay Unloads StumbleUpon,Skype Next?
Facebook Profile Google Reader Profile Twitter Profile TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com Home | Permalink: Skype IPO Coming Rich Tehrani is President and Group Editor-in-Chief of TMC. In addition, he is the Chairman of the world’s best-attended communications conference, INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO (ITEXPO (News - Alert)). He is also the author of his own communications and technology blog. Edited by Jessica Kostek (source: http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/videos/video-news/articles/54293-skype-ipo-coming.htm) |