UPDATED 07:48 EDT / OCTOBER 14 2011

Skype’s Next Steps as an Official Microsoft Division

After getting the green light from the FTC and the European Commission, Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is official.  The acquisition was announced back in May of this year, in which the board of directors of both companies approved the deal.

The acquisition officially introduces Skype as the newest business division within Microsoft.  Skype CEO Tony Bates is awarded the title of president of the Skype Division of Microsoft immediately and will report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.  For now, Skype will operate as usual, connecting millions of people all over the globe, but in the long run, Skype will be integrated into Microsoft’s products and services which will in turn, expand their reach further.

The CEOs of both companies are very positive with the partnership and how it will be beneficial for both of them.

“Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said Ballmer. “We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere.”

“By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we are committed to empowering consumers and businesses around the globe to connect in new ways,” Bates said. “Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype’s goal to reach 1 billion users daily,” Bates said.

The high profile deal has helped spur a revival amongst VoIP services, especially as they seek more points of integration across social sites and mobile devices.  As for other VoIPs, O2 will try their luck with O2 Connect. Additionally,  T-Mobile recently updated its Bobsled service enabling customers to make free calls to any phone number in the USA, or Canada, from anywhere in the world, as well as connecting up Facebook users on the move.  Google Voice also got upgraded not too long ago, and some Sprint users are seeing MMS pictures and videos in their email accounts.


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU