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Microsoft to acquire Skype

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Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#21

Post by MatthewPhillips »

xnerdr wrote: post #18

On a side note, why has no serious competitor to Skype appeared? Given the maturity of the tech involved (its just VOIP) and the size of the pie, i'd have thought there would be more competition for a slice.

Plenty of competitors have emerged but they all have gotten strong-arm tactics from Skype, whether we're talking about the Nimbuzz fiasco or Skype blocking fring, or Skype buying Qik, no competitor has been able to make it easy for customers to make a switch. Qik came the closest (unlikely the others, they didn't need Skype integration due to their deal with Sprint) so Skype just bought them.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#22

Post by taken11 »

Kliment wrote: post #19
xnerdr wrote: post #18

On a side note, why has no serious competitor to Skype appeared? Given the maturity of the tech involved (its just VOIP) and the size of the pie, i'd have thought there would be more competition for a slice.

Network effects, mostly. Pretty much everyone in the market has already got Skype, and it works well enough to make switching a greater pain than keeping on using it. And it's entirely unworkable to convince friends, colleagues and clients to all switch over.

its only not happening because there is no better cross platform client. all competitors so far offer less or have more constraints, if skype is not the best offering anymore people will switch.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#24

Post by follower »

roadnottaken wrote: post #16
codeup wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There may be alternatives that cover Skype functionality at least partly if you have the skills and nerves to use them (based on SIP or jingle). But for most of the 170 million connected users, including those who use Linux, there is no alternative to Skype if they want the same featureset (im, voip, video, encryption, conference calls,...). Sad but true.

GChat is pretty idiot-proof, and platform-independent.

Does it still not have cross platform video support?

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#25

Post by taken11 »

roadnottaken wrote: post #16
codeup wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There may be alternatives that cover Skype functionality at least partly if you have the skills and nerves to use them (based on SIP or jingle). But for most of the 170 million connected users, including those who use Linux, there is no alternative to Skype if they want the same featureset (im, voip, video, encryption, conference calls,...). Sad but true.

GChat is pretty idiot-proof, and platform-independent.

the browser plugin is platform independent, or is there a cross platform client that supports audio/video reliably?

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#26

Post by hessenwolf »

nikcub wrote: post #8
portman wrote: post #3

Can anyone shed light on this statistic from the press release: "With 170 million connected users..." Every article on Skype for the last 3 months has mentioned "600 million accounts". ( http://www.google.com/search?q=skype+600+million+accounts ) But I can't find an original source for that number; it seems everyone is quoting "industry estimates". Were the estimates on Skype's userbase wildly wrong, or is a "connect…

If you look at the SEC IPO filing[1], the most recent numbers (Dec 2010) are as follows: * 663M registered accounts * 145M connected users * 8M paying users The 170M number is the most recent update of the 145M connected users number. They define 'connected users' as active within a financial quarter I have spent the past few hours reading through the SEC filing. Skype is still growing very strongly[3], especially in…

Really only 8 million paying users? That sounds very low... given it is the only online company other than adwords with my credit card details.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#27

Post by takameyer »

I see this as a good thing. Currently Skype is used in my workplace, and poorly at that. Mostly because the contact information isn't in sync with Outlook accounts. This could probably be alleviated with some sort of process, but no one has taken the reigns on that. So if this syncs up nicely with the Microsoft programs I'm forced to use everyday, it'll just make things that much easier.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#29

Post by bvi »

nikcub wrote: post #8
portman wrote: post #3

Can anyone shed light on this statistic from the press release: "With 170 million connected users..." Every article on Skype for the last 3 months has mentioned "600 million accounts". ( http://www.google.com/search?q=skype+600+million+accounts ) But I can't find an original source for that number; it seems everyone is quoting "industry estimates". Were the estimates on Skype's userbase wildly wrong, or is a "connect…

If you look at the SEC IPO filing[1], the most recent numbers (Dec 2010) are as follows: * 663M registered accounts * 145M connected users * 8M paying users The 170M number is the most recent update of the 145M connected users number. They define 'connected users' as active within a financial quarter I have spent the past few hours reading through the SEC filing. Skype is still growing very strongly[3], especially in…

What will be interesting now is the question of if Microsoft will work with Facebook on Skype, or use it as a platform to compete with Facebook.

I recall reading a few articles on Facebook exploring a partnership with Skype - it certainly would be in Microsoft's best interests to harness Facebook's social graph through Skype. If Facebook decides to roll out its own Skype competitor, that would cause some serious dent to Microsoft's pocket.

Re: Microsoft to acquire Skype

#30

Post by nikcub »

hessenwolf wrote: post #26
nikcub wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look at the SEC IPO filing[1], the most recent numbers (Dec 2010) are as follows: * 663M registered accounts * 145M connected users * 8M paying users The 170M number is the most recent update of the 145M connected users number. They define 'connected users' as active within a financial quarter I have spent the past few hours reading through the SEC filing. Skype is still growing very strongly[3], especially in…

Really only 8 million paying users? That sounds very low... given it is the only online company other than adwords with my credit card details.

8.8M that made a transaction in that quarter, which if you project forward with the current numbers would equate to 5.8% of active users making a payment

not bad in terms of a freemium conversion rate and I think some of it can be explained with:

* credits now have a longer expiry date, so you can bulk purchase and hoard credit

* US and Canada calling became free

* negative network effect of more people using skype = less people that you require the dialout feature to reach

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