Why Microsoft just bought LinkedIn: It's all about the data | ZDNet

From slide 11 of the Microsoft deal overview referenced below: "We also have the opportunity to accelerate the realization of the Economic Graph"

"The tl;dr reason: It's all about the data.

The slightly longer version: For the potential synergies involving Microsoft's Office 365, Dynamics CRM/ERP and advertising products and services.

Microsoft's slide deck that outlines potential scenarios involving the two companies emphasizes that management view the deal as connecting the "world's leading professional cloud" and "the professional network."

Microsoft and LinkedIn have both been building out their respective graphs. Microsoft's graph is a collection of information pertaining to entities like contacts, messages, calendar entries and documents. LinkedIn's graph centers around entity information regarding jobs, coworkers, learning, prospects and recruiting/hiring."

Why Microsoft just bought LinkedIn: It's all about the data | ZDNet