Why Skype Says the Company is a Positive Influence on Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price has climbed this year, up nearly 44 percent. Outside of that happy news, though, things have been a bit odd at the company, with the coup to overthrow CEO Steve Ballmer and all.

Amidst the shake-up, though, the company’s 2011 decision to purchase Skype has stood out as a significant bright spot.

Now, the company is letting Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) know just how bright a spot they have been.

Said Karlheinz Wurm, General Manager of Product and Test for Skype, “Skype has very positively influenced the rest of Microsoft with this freshness, with this different way of thinking.”

In an interview with TechRadar, Wurm also stated, “Skype has been very consumer-focused while Microsoft in the past ten years has been focusing on both but, for sure, very heavily targeting enterprise.”

So, Mr. Wurm’s advice to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)? Focus on enterprise and the consumer. It seems Wurm saw the Redmond, WA company as being concerned about product and maintaining flagships such as Office first and listening to consumers second. He views Skype’s cross-platform utility and integration as a good thing for the company, who has long resisted such technologies as cloud computing and a non-subscription based software model.

Concern has begun to percolate about the place of Skype in the new world order at Microsoft. Wurm, for his part, doesn’t seem too concerned about being marginalized by the company.

And while Wurm and company are on board with the One Microsoft initiative, he doesn’t see Skype moving to Redmond any time soon.

“Would Skype move to Redmond? Would Skype stop shipping cross platform? These are the very things people might think of… it’s just no to everything.”

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) can assuredly learn certain things from Skype’s willingness to embrace consumer wants, as well as the platforms adaptability. What began as a desktop application for placing VoIP calls has developed into a social sharing service that can be used on devices as varies as the Xbox, Television, and iPod.

Microsoft could likely take a cue from Skype’s innovative “Rerouted”  campaign.

Disclosure: none

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