[reomw]

Mine in that order:

1. Atlassian
2. Adobe
3. Steam
4. Stack Exchange
5. Docker
6. Autodesk

[Cbarnhorst]

Tesla. Then Microsoft can really go mobile. :)

[James Hancock]

1. Buy T-Mobile
2. Buy DISH
3. Buy Plex
4. Buy Netflix

Here's why:

Dish owns the largest amount of unused spectrum in the country. They also have a complete satillite network that can do multi-cast IP broadcasts over the entire United States (and Canada)

T-Mobile has John Legere and a built out Mobile network that covers most of the population of the United States.

Add these 2 together and you have the makings of a major internet provider. All known video content based on AI and your watch lists etc. can be pushed over satillite or the mobile network off peak so all of those YouTube videos, Netflix binging etc. don't congest the network. Because they don't have to do to the home wiring their cost per user would be half of everyone else and can massively disrupt the ISP business overnight.

Combine that with a headless home server that is hooked into the cloud, runs a simplified version of Plex, and has snap ins for the DISH tuners or satillite dish, T-Mobile service, cable modems if you don't want to use MS, DSL etc. and then Wifi, router and additional hard drives that just stack on top of the central unit and are automatically provisioned and can be customized in Windows, Android, iOS or Xbox and you have a killer platform. Add Z-wave and Zigby to it as well with a better version of SmartThings that's integrated into all of those devices natively and you start to own the home automation business.

Then create an xbox streamer with full 4K, Bitstream audio (not just Atomos decoding!) with plex integrated. It might as well be the default interface. Add apps in windows, android and iOS that allow seamless access of all content by the content not the channel like plex does and make it just work. Press a button on the top of the home server and another on the streamer and volia! Connected. Same for xbox Next game platform and windows 10 pcs.

0 configuration for everything. No harder than pushing a button to connect light switches, Philips hue, everything and all backed up in the cloud automatically as part of your monthly contract for your internet and cell service.

Then buy Netflix and capture all of that content in your platform of obvious reasons.

Once you've done that, adding a phone/andromeda device that allows you to consume all of this content is a no-brainer. Especially if they turn on the Android emulation functionality.

But finally, they need to take UWP and make it compile cross platform to iOS and Android yesterday and get Blazor going so that the same code compiles everywhere and just works without you ever having to own a Mac to do so, and give those platforms access to all of the content and preferential treatment to the Microsoft ISP. Android emulation only works if in the long term apps are being built in UWP and the only way that works is with iOS and Android (not Xamarin crap).

The world is going to content, Microsoft can be at the forefront and the devices come as a result. If MS executed this, and put John Legere as the head of consumer everything at MS and Nadella focused where he doesn't suck in the server space, they would be completely unstoppable.

[Farver2000]

Nintendo

[DRDiver]

I'm sorry, but these days I just feel Microsoft is where smaller companies--and their products--go to die.

[No1HoloLensFan]

Unity!

[James Hancock]

No reason to buy it. It's better off by itself.

[James Hancock]

Docker and Stack Exchange make a lot of sense. Autodesk not so much. That space is about to be seriously disrupted.

[EasilyTheBest]

Just buy Spotify and bring out a range of speakers, called the Spotify Speaker and obviously have Cortana on board...
Buy Steam, no matter what cost. Xbox and Windows 10 would really benifit.

[bobsentell]

I'm generally anti-acquiring because it stifles competition. Imagine how the world would be different if IBM had actually purchased Google for pocket change when it was given the chance in the 1990s.

That being said, Xbox needs to beef up its gaming chops and taking over IPs will help:

1. Square Enix: Make Tomb Raider, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy Xbox exclusive. It would be the most expensive at 10x what was paid for Minecraft, but would completely load up Xbox's first-party IP.
2. Valve: Merge Windows gaming store with Steam and make Valve's games Xbox Exclusive. Worth about double what was paid for Minecraft.
3. Sega: Add all the Sega IP as Xbox exclusives. Worth a little more than Minecraft at current market value. Also, Sega tried to sell itself to Microsoft in 2002 and so there is a history there.
4. Logitech: With Microsoft's sudden interest in alternative gaming peripherals, this would make a ton of sense. This would likely face the most regulatory scrutiny given Microsoft's current hardware business and the lack of a real alternative other then PDP.
5. Ubisoft: FarCry, Assassin's Creed, and Tom Clancy as Xbox Exclusives would be killer. Current market cap is cheaper than what Microsoft paid for LinkedIn.

All of these would be about making Xbox the gaming machine and would force Sony to rely more heavily on their own titles rather then the cross-platform titles they would lose. Sony couldn't afford any of these purchases and so this is a great chance for Microsoft to go for the jugular.

Why not Nintendo? They work better on their own and I think everyone knows that. As much as I would love Zelda on my Xbox One X, we get these great games from Nintendo because they can focus on their own thing. Plus, buying Nintendo would never pass regulatory scrutiny while the above might.

[libra89]

Interesting thread topic.

I actually don't hope that they acquire any other companies, since they don't seem to do much with the ones that they do.

[Hirox K]

Boston Dynamics. Put a Win10.IOT and AI in it and let it connect to each other, let it connect to Mother program (running on Windows 10 PC / server or some sort) through Azure.

Adobe? Then offer a bundle subscription for people who need both.
Autodesk?
VC, Havok, Git, Version Control, server rental, AI rental, project managements and other business / dev solutions+ these 2... g...

[Hirox K]

Valve: Merge Windows gaming store with Steam and make Valve's games Xbox Exclusive. Worth about double what was paid for Minecraft.

How do you urge all developers to recompile their games to a UWP package?

[ButchTheGreat]

i think that purchasing Valve would be great for MS. Unfortunately, I don't think they can as the company is still privately owned and Gabe will not be giving up the reigns any time soon as he has no reason to sell. You could argue it would open up the XBox market to Valve, but realistically I have a feeling MS would not allow two app stores on their XBox's anyway and as such would remain the same as it is today.

[novakkosanovic]

Serif

[bobsentell]

How do you urge all developers to recompile their games to a UWP package?

Don't. Microsoft should handle that themselves with a wrapper.

[randyoaks187]

I second the Steam acquisition. Another one that would be out of left field would be Sonos. I think they have a decent foothold in the market, and I think it would be a way for Microsoft to get Cortana back on the map.

[TorchAtlas]

I'm generally anti-acquiring because it stifles competition. Imagine how the world would be different if IBM had actually purchased Google for pocket change when it was given the chance in the 1990s.

That being said, Xbox needs to beef up its gaming chops and taking over IPs will help:

1. Square Enix: Make Tomb Raider, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy Xbox exclusive. It would be the most expensive at 10x what was paid for Minecraft, but would completely load up Xbox's first-party IP.
2. Valve: Merge Windows gaming store with Steam and make Valve's games Xbox Exclusive. Worth about double what was paid for Minecraft.
3. Sega: Add all the Sega IP as Xbox exclusives. Worth a little more than Minecraft at current market value. Also, Sega tried to sell itself to Microsoft in 2002 and so there is a history there.
4. Logitech: With Microsoft's sudden interest in alternative gaming peripherals, this would make a ton of sense. This would likely face the most regulatory scrutiny given Microsoft's current hardware business and the lack of a real alternative other then PDP.
5. Ubisoft: FarCry, Assassin's Creed, and Tom Clancy as Xbox Exclusives would be killer. Current market cap is cheaper than what Microsoft paid for LinkedIn.

All of these would be about making Xbox the gaming machine and would force Sony to rely more heavily on their own titles rather then the cross-platform titles they would lose. Sony couldn't afford any of these purchases and so this is a great chance for Microsoft to go for the jugular.

Why not Nintendo? They work better on their own and I think everyone knows that. As much as I would love Zelda on my Xbox One X, we get these great games from Nintendo because they can focus on their own thing. Plus, buying Nintendo would never pass regulatory scrutiny while the above might.

I think a balance needs to be kept. Microsoft should acquire companies whose missions line up with its, rather than stifle competition through acquisition. Besides, if they end up doing the latter, they'll probably end up with antitrust complaints.

[Pon Vijay Nirmal]

Must buy

• Biggest company that makes UWP/Xamarin app
• Unity
• IDM - Integrate it to the OS

Can Buy

• Adobe
• Autodesk
• Udemy
• Take-Two Interactive

[sniperboywc]

Crea-ture Studios. The maker of Project: Sessions. Microsoft should make Project: Sessions a X-Box exclusive title. They would have the only triple A skateboard title on a console. This would be a big gaming win for MS.

[Praveen_Nair]

MS could help in co-developing the Auto pilot with Tesla and making Azure as the back end for processing the data

[vdx0660]

1. Adobe -- Microsoft is #2 in the ERP Business and #4 in the CRM Business. Buying Adobe whose Adobe Marketing has already deep collaboration with Microsoft Dynamics will make them #1 in the ERP + CRM Business combined. Aside from this Adobe brings in other know software like Photoshop, Premiere, Autodesk, etc.
2. Qualcomm -- Microsoft needs the expertise of Qualcomm in creating its next generation hardware which includes Servers, Mobile Devices, etc. This is far better than buying a mobile company as Qualcomm has already some collaboration work with Microsoft on Windows 10 for ARM and Qualcomm is aiming to create ARM Processors that are powerful enough to rival Intel by 2019 given that Intel has had many problems recently.
3. AMD -- If the Qualcomm deal is too big, this is the next best thing as it has the expertise in building both CPU and GPU which would give Microsoft the expertise in building its HoloLens and AI Chips. The only problem of AMD is lack of funding which Microsoft has a lot!

[duk3togo]

I feel MS needs to get back in touch with customers not just business. I feel they should grab 1. Spotify 2. Capcom (mainly for their IPs) they've been struggling. Just to name a couple.

[raydogsboarder]

BlackBerry.

[Rishav Kumar3]

I can mostly say they just buy rights to some games.....n bring them as exclusives to xbox....like crysis, dead space or other such games which were popular in their own time but are now forgotten.