 "Microsoft acquisition of LinkedIn now complete; Nadella lays down immediate integration measures")
The Microsoft acquisition of LinkedIn has got the green signal from the European Commission. The approval follows an investigation by the European Commission into how Microsoft could use its strong market position to expand the userbase on LinkedIn. The commission was concerned about the effect on competing professional social networking supports if Microsoft were to pre-install LinkedIn on Windows PCs and combine the LinkedIn user database with that of Microsoft. Satya Nadella shared his pleasure about the same in a LinkedIn Influencer post, saying that he had been looking forward to this day since June. Nadella said that Microsoft has been working with LinkedIn to build an integration plan. Some of the immediate integration objectives are as follows:
- LinkedIn identity and network in Microsoft Outlook and the Office suite
- LinkedIn notifications within the Windows action center
- Enabling members drafting résumés in Word to update their profiles, and discover and apply to jobs on LinkedIn
- Extending the reach of Sponsored Content across Microsoft properties
- Enterprise LinkedIn Lookup powered by Active Directory and Office 365
- LinkedIn Learning available across the Office 365 and Windows ecosystem
- Developing a business news desk across our content ecosystem and MSN.com
- Redefining social selling through the combination of Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365
Nadella stressed on the importance of LinkedIn and how it can add value to Microsoft and its users. According to him, this acquisition could help people develop new skills online, find new jobs and easily connect and collaborate with colleagues. Among some of the main promises Microsoft made to the European regulators include letting IT admins and users decide whether to display in the user interface the LinkedIn profile and activity information, the ability to uninstall the LinkedIn application and tiles from Windows if users so decided with the assurance that Windows would not prompt them to reinstall the same. These measures have been undertaken to prevent a level playing field to its competition such as SAP, Oracle and Salesforce. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner too expressed his happiness in an Influencer article on LinkedIn. “I’m more confident than ever that our move to join forces with Microsoft will accelerate our mission to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful, and ultimately help create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce,” he said.