Thats great acquire 20 companies a year

It is a worthy goal, acquire 20 companies a year, what is not said in Steve Ballmer’s latest announcement is what are they going to do with the companies they are going to buy, and how well will they fit into the whole Microsoft constellation of businesses. It is good to buy things, it is something all together different to buy things, but have no real idea what you are going to do with it.

Redmond has been too quiet lately, which is good, that means that neat things are going to come, and taking a play from the Apple book, they are keeping their new stuff close to the vest. What is worrisome is that the cool new Zune, little to no advertising on it, and that might just replace our desire for an Apple Ipod Touch further on down the list of things that we want to play with. This is a great example of having something, but not knowing what to do with it. Zune could be marketed much better, it could have better press, but something is holding the company back from the devil may care marketing attitude that they need to get to make Zune the top of everyone’s holiday gift list.

Growth is good, growth needs to happen, and just about everyone is growing by buying companies which means startups and everyone else has a chance to get the big pay day which in many ways why someone starts a company, well that and the excitement of the whole thing, the hours, the joy, the art of creativity.

What is becoming rapidly apparent though, is that companies are buying other companies for the sake of buying other companies, paying huge dollars for companies that have little else than “eyeballs” with a spiky adoption rate, and little if any long term survival outside of being nifty cool, and being used for five minutes by the early adoption crowd. Outside of MySpace, YouTube, and a handful of others, you hear little about a company once it has been bought out, and even less about the love they are getting from the new owners.

Then there is edginess. The idea that whom ever comes courting, might be good for everyone involved, depending on what the product is.

With Google’s momentum lately, the fear and loathing that startups once had of Microsoft might be ebbing. Microsoft became famous during its hegemonic rule of the 1990s for engaging in negotiations with a start-up, and then pulling back at the last minute and launching an internal competitor. Now, with less time on its hands to stay in front of eager, nimble Web competitors like Google, and needing more goodwill from Internet developers for its latest initiatives online, Microsoft may lose some of its ruthless edge — or at least, be perceived to be losing it. Source: Venture Beat

Would anyone really want to be bought out by Microsoft.

It is a great question, the big three, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, are just that, big, with huge complexes filled with people who do things. Going from the small startup shop to the huge corporation can be a very difficult transition. While dollars are around, the idea of the big payday, and the amount of M&A activity, with few if any IPO’s happening, which one suitor is going to bring the most value to the people who make up that startup?