Facebook on an Acquisition Spree!

So it's common knowledge among us aspiring technologists that Facebook has been sitting on a ton of cash since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2012. Since then, Facebook opted to obtain growth through M&A decisions, along with its organic growth, through acquisition of Instagram, WhatsApp, and now Oculus VR.

So what is Oculus VR? Oculus VR is a maker of Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming hardware, originally funded through Kickstarter. Reportedly, Facebook will pay around $2 Billion USD for the company. Just like Whatsapp, Facebook is planning to let this start-up continue to operate as is.

This is just another attempt it seems for Facebook to acquire companies relatively related to their industry, which helps create a stronger, more integrated ecosystem. As Facebook's primary source of revenue is still through ads, it will be interesting to see how Facebook is planning to actually monetize it's new acquisitions. More to come...

Here is a clip of the Oculus Rift Development Kit 

Will Amazon move away from E-Commerce?

E-Commerce giant, Amazon.com announced that it will increase the price of its premium subscription service, Amazon Prime, from $79 per year to $99 per year as of April 17, 2014. According to Catherine Clifford of Entrepreneur.com, Amazon's CFO stated that the company's hand was forced due to the increasing cost of transportation and increases in orders.

With Amazon posting negative earnings in 2 out of 3 of the previous quarters, this increase in price is appealing to shareholders. As the leader in E-Commerce, it seems that even Amazon.com has its own challenges.

Although bold, I predict with Amazon's increased focused in cloud services, Amazon will probably move out of E-Commerce all together. Currently, Amazon's cloud services is its most profitable division. In addition, with Wal-Mart planning to expand into E-Commerce, there might be a legitimate threat to Amazon.

Given an increased trend in consolidation in the North American market, it would not be surprising to see an acquisition by Wal-Mart for Amazon's E-Commerce division. In 25 years, I believe Amazon.com will fully be on the cloud.

How Google`s Freeware has potential to erode Microsoft`s Office 365

On March 11th, 2014, Google introduced the concept of add-ons for Google Docs and Google Sheets. With Google Docs and Google sheets already acting as free, comparable substitutes for COTS software, having these add-ons adds a unique value proposition.

Prior to this introduction, the main benefits of COTS software, like Office 365, included both security and functionality. However, with these add-ons, more and more functionalities are being added to the existing freeware. Examples include:

HelloFax - which allows for users to send their documents easily VIA fax (for those who still do that)

Easy Bib - which allows for users to easily create bibliographies for their cited work as an integrated part of the overall document 

UberConference - which allows for users to add conference calls to all Google Docs, making it very attractive for team exercises 

Similar to the App Store and Android Market, Google has implemented the Chrome Web Store, which allows for developers to create any applications under their platform at their own discretion. Because of this, it opens up a variety of different possibilities that could affect the user experience for Google Docs and Google Sheets in the near future. This poses a huge threat to the market leader, Microsoft, with its costly and now perhaps, less customizable software.

It will be interesting to see how Microsoft will react in the comings months to this strategic move by Google. Will Google's take on customization change the way in which we word process and make spreadsheets? We'll just have to see.

Video for Add-Ons