We have always known that change is the only thing which is constant in life, and Microsoft’s (MSFT, Financial) management seems to be serious about change. Maybe that’s the reason why Microsoft went ahead with acquiring the start-up firm, Acompli, for a cash deal of $200 million. So, what is interesting about the deal just struck by Microsoft? How could it affect Microsoft’s revenue in the long term? Let’s delve into the details on this acquisition for further understanding of the final deal which could serve as a game changer for the tech giant.
Why Acompli?
The startup firm is the provider of innovative mobile email apps for iOS and Android devices. This acquisition puts Microsoft ahead of its competitors in the smartphone world where people are engaged in accomplishing more with their mobile devices. Indeed this year has been a remarkable one for Microsoft – it brought Office to the iPad and the iPhone, announced bringing Office to Android devices and now this acquisition is like a push further ahead to provide the best productivity experience across mobile platforms.
The app developed by the passionate Acompli team provides innovative ways to focus on what’s important in your inbox, to schedule meetings and to work with attachment and files. It aids in connecting to all email services at one point in time and provides a single platform to manage email with a focus of getting things done. In fact, the app reviews rated it as “your best friend” and “must have for BYOD” before the announced acquisition.
Microsoft expects that, through this acquisition, it will have the innovative technology to expedite the work to deliver full power of Office to mobile devices, thus keeping itself securely placed in the smartphone arena.
Competing with Google
In October this year, Google (GOOG, Financial) announced a new take on email dubbed Inbox. The free app included reminders, bundled similar messages together and highlighted important messages. This service is currently available on Google Chrome enabled devices, iOS 7+ and Android 4.1+ versions for tablets and other modern browsers. Analysts have opined that the Accompli app developed for iOS and Android that aids in prioritizing the most important mails in the Inbox might turn into Microsoft’s aggressive take on Google’s Inbox effort.
Like other apps including Mailbox, the Acompli app allows the user to schedule emails they would like to return to later. It allows managing the calendar and attaching files from Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft’s OneDrive. It also includes predictive search and purports to determine the most important people emailing the user –Â thus, it’s an intelligent tool to be put to use soon by the technology honcho for creating a difference in the mobile world.
The synergic impact
On this acquisition Microsoft released an official statement on its website which stated, “Our goal is to deliver fantastic cross-platform apps that support the variety of email services people use today and help them accomplish more…” Acompli also reiterated Microsoft’s cash deal, saying that the app “will become part of Microsoft’s ambitious effort to reimagine productivity for the mobile era.” As the start-up becomes a part of Microsoft, there might be a few product plans in the pipeline, which Microsoft will possibly reveal in the due course of time. Acompli’s vision to make mobile email better would continue as a part of a larger organization with the technology, talent and market reach that could aid in taking the vision of a start-up company to hundreds of millions of mobile users across the world.
Conclusion
With more than $80 billion in cash sitting around its Redmond headquarters, this deal is nothing major for the technology expert, but it does mean a lot to Acompli and its team. With the new app in hand, Microsoft looks all set to compete with Google on the technology platform to garner more market share from the worldwide mobile market where Google remains the preferred choice among low and mid-range smartphone buyers to date in emerging markets. It’s best to stay tuned for more details on this acquisition in the coming months.
