Why Google Does Not Own Skype « StevenLevy.com

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As Chan helped with due diligence, even going to Europe to see Skype firsthand, he became convinced that the purchase was a bad idea for Google. He concluded that one of Skype’s key assets – its peer-to-peer technology — was a mismatch for Google, which worked on the newer paradigm of cloud computing. “The worst thing about peer-to-peer is that it doesn’t work well with Google,” Chan told me during an amazing interview for IN THE PLEX in February 2010. “Peer-to-peer just eats up your bandwidth, right, it’s like the old technology.” So if Google bought Skype, Chan concluded, it would have to rewrite the entire Skype platform. Worse, buying Skype would have involved an extensive review process by the government, involving the DOJ or FCC or both. Chan figured that it would take 18-24 months to get through that process, during which Google would be at a standstill in the space. “It would’ve been disastrous,” he said.

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Now of course, Larry is in charge of Google and fully engaged. I wonder what he’s thinking about Microsoft’s Skype deal, which is grabbing headlines just as Google’s I/O conference gets underway.

At least it wasn’t Facebook making the buy.

Why Google Does Not Own Skype « StevenLevy.com