From Microsoft to Self-Driving Cars, Invention Springs From Data

True breakthroughs come from product insights

In June, Microsoft bought LinkedIn, one of the largest acquisitions in the history of tech, and it boils down to one thing: data.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said as much in a letter to employees. Nadella wants to marry LinkedIn with its flagship software, Office 365, and crucially its CRM product Dynamics. Since the acquisition, we've started seeing how Microsoft will bolster Dynamics against rivals like Oracle. Microsoft—and we learned, a handful of other companies—recognized the potential of LinkedIn's customer data to improve its own products and sales, and LinkedIn understood that its real value as a company was the trove of data it collects.

Peter Reinhardt Alex Fine

Microsoft's acquisition reflects a new reality for software: a beautiful app, user interface or even becoming the leading professional social network no longer guarantees long-term success.

Market dominance comes down to how customers use the product, and then, especially, how companies interpret that...

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