Microsoft bets on the Business Network - The Boston Globe

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"Think the Business Network, not the Social Network, as the addition of LinkedIn’s vast amounts of data makes Microsoft’s corporate software products more powerful.

For example, a saleswoman using Microsoft’s sales software could get an instant readout on the careers and interests of every executive she’ll meet on her next call, and search for potential new leads among all their friends. There’s no easy way to do that now.

LinkedIn is “where we have our professional lives,” said Jeffrey Hammond, principal analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge. “It’s data that is highly unique and . . . is not easily replicated.”"

Microsoft bets on the Business Network - The Boston Globe