Digital Disruption from EX²

When Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, industry insiders immediately began to speculate on potential integrations. Although it is likely that Microsoft had performed a great deal of strategic planning prior to spending more than $26 billion for the acquisition, the company initially had little to say on how — or even if — LinkedIn would be integrated with existing products. Microsoft finally broke its silence in April 2017, announcing tools for sales and human resources that involved the integration of Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn.

Microsoft's history has shown that the company never does anything without a clearly defined purpose. This is not to say that the company always achieves its purpose; Microsoft has had its share of failures. However, you can bet that before Microsoft shelled out more than $26 billion to acquire LinkedIn, it had already planned a way to profit from the investment.