Why Microsoft just bought LinkedIn: It's all about the data - Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet

Microsoft and LinkedIn have been building largely non-overlapping graphs of various kinds of data pertaining to business professionals. That's the real key to Microsoft's $26.2 billion LinkedIn acquisition. In its biggest acquisition in its corporate history, Microsoft bought social-network vendor LinkedIn today. But why? 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. http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-microsoft-just-bought-linkedin-its-all-about-the-data/