Skype Downsized as Microsoft Plans Further Nokia Integration
Microsoft acquired internet telephony company Skype for $8.5 billion, given the FTC’s recent go signal. About the same time, it was reported that some of the company’s executives have left or have been relieved. “Skype senior staff David Gurlé, Christopher Dean, Russ Shaw, Don Albert, Doug Bewsher, and Anne Gillespie are leaving Skype or have left,” as reported by Skype Journal.
Ramu Sunkara and Allyson Campa, who were absorbed by the company via the acquisition of Qik, were both dismissed. According to Bloomberg, the discharge spree is “a move that reduces the value of their payout.” If there’s truth behind this supposition, it will degrade the franchise, and will compromise the integration of Skype into Microsoft.
Anyway, if Skype fails to perform as expected, there are a number of companies willing to take up what they will leave behind. Nimbuzz, for example, is standing 50 million users strong. Search giant Google is strengthening its GoogleVoice service even if it has yet to hit elsewhere besides US.
The Skype acquisition, according to Russian tech blogger Eldar Murtazin, is just an appetizer for the main dish, and that the main dish is Nokia. “MS&Nokia deal could be closed in 2011. MS want to buy Nokia Mobile division. No info about price/terms/dates,” he tweeted. Even Bill Gates himself is a strong proponent of the acquisition.
Skype was also reported to be putting off its integration with Asterisk, one of the most popular open source software platforms for Voice over IP (VoIP) communications, after June 26, 2011. The integration allows Asterisk client to communicate with Skype client while bypassing the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). While there are several dismissals from Skype’s new parent company, the VoIP service provider is also finding more valuable points of integration, its latest a partnership with Comcast. The collaboration will enable users to make and receive calls from their television sets.
Moreover, Skype unveiled a new, open standard interface, UVC 1.4 for H.264 cameras, at Computex held in Taipei, Taiwan. It is the company’s unofficial standard for video calling to give Silicon vendors the chance to develop Skype compatible cameras via Skypekit.
A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:
Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.
- 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
- 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.
Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
