Microsoft's turnaround under Satya Nadella is both striking and awe-inspiring. For a while there, Microsoft was seemingly uncool, Windows 8 was despised and the company's mobile presence was horrid. Now? Microsoft is arguably cooler than both Apple and Google, Windows 10 looks to be its best operating system ever, and it has an arsenal of great cross-platform apps, such as Office, Skype, OneNote and Outlook.
Today, Microsoft continues its impressive upward trajectory and acquires one of the best to-do services available -- Wunderlist.
"The addition of Wunderlist to the Microsoft product portfolio fits squarely with our ambition to reinvent productivity for a mobile-first, cloud-first world. Building on momentum for Microsoft Office, OneNote and Skype for Business, as well as the recent Sunrise and Acompli acquisitions, it further demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to delivering market leading mobile apps across the platforms and devices our customers use -- for mail, calendaring, messaging, notes and now tasks", explains Eran Megiddo, General Manager, OneNote.
Megiddo further explains, "a solution this useful and popular does not happen without a lot of hard work from a group of incredibly smart, creative and talented people. We’re pleased to welcome the Wunderlist team to Microsoft and excited to increase our presence in the thriving Berlin tech scene. In the months to come, we’ll share what’s in store as we build on and apply Wunderlist’s innovations to Microsoft’s apps and services".
If you are one of the 13 million existing Wunderlist users, do not panic. Microsoft promises that the app will remain free and available on existing platforms. Paid users will not see a price increase either, although I expect Microsoft to eventually drop the Pro option, making the premium features free for all. Premium tiers do not fit its current mobile model.
Is this a wise acquisition for Microsoft? Tell me in the comments.