Microsoft and LinkedIn Close Merger Agreement and Reveal Joint Plans
Posted on December 12, 2016
Microsoft and LinkedIn have closed their merger agreement. The approval by EU regulators marked the final hurdle in the merger of the tech giant and career-focused social network. Now the two companies have to merge together without harming what LinkedIn has built over the past few years.
LinkedIn is the dominant career social network. Many would argue that they have no close rivals as a career social platform although they do compete on some levels with the major social networks and the top job listings sites. A major job site adding social aspects or merging with a social network could potentially become a LinkedIn rival. Microsoft says its top plans is to accelerate the growth at LinkedIn.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted some of the early goals for Microsoft + LinkedIn in a blog post. Here are some of the first integration plans:
- LinkedIn identity and network in Microsoft Outlook and the Office suite
- LinkedIn notifications within the Windows action center
- Enabling members drafting resumes 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