Xamarin acquired by Microsoft!
I said this was something Microsoft should have done a while ago, but never thought they would actually pull the trigger on it.
I was always a fan of Microsoft "Bridges to Windows 10" idea. But felt that the idea was flawed. It made it easier for devs to stick with what they knew and hit multiple platforms, but left Windows developers "stuck" with UWP and other Microsoft stacks. My suggestion was that they should either make a competing option to Xamarin (which I felt unlikely because they are on good terms, and it would take a lot of effort to outdo them) or to buy Xamarin. As stated above, I also didn't think they'd do that either. But more because I felt, "if they haven't done it already, they are unlikely to do it now".
The latter was because Xamarin is popular. It has a growing user base. Every day Microsoft wasn't buying it, it was becoming more expensive to do so. Thus, if anything, while I think strategically this was a good move, timing-wise it feels late and foolish. The amount paid is undisclosed at present which loosely backs up the fact.
The question now is, what will Microsoft do with this acquisition? This is fairly new territory for them. They've made partnerships with companies like Unity before who sell tools for their platforms, but I don't think that they've ever purchased a company like Xamarin before.
I have to imagine that they will over time either drastically lower the barrier to entry or even make it free. That may sound crazy, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Xamarin was a Microsoft partner by necessity. Their sales pitch was about allowing users to develop in C# for other platforms. So, Microsoft stood really no chance to lose Xamarin's support. As stated, the company was also growing, which meant that in a way Xamarin was potentially boosting their developer base. Similarly, while they are doing good, they aren't doing "Microsoft good".
There are really only a handful of reasons why a company would buy a smaller one they synergize with. And the top of those are to shut it down, or to take control over market strategy. As stated, there was never any reason to shut it down. So to me that says that Microsoft sees the value in what Xamarin is doing but likely sees the sales model as setting the barrier too high for the sort of adoption they need.
Xamarin turns those bridges into bi-directional things. It allows C# developers to target Android and iOS. An iOS or an Android developer would never abandon their platform for UWP development as long as those markets remain the largest. But, it becomes a lot more feasible if there is a cost effective way to switch to C# and write for all 3. It might also tempt new developers.
This, I think, is why Microsoft bought Xamarin. They want to make those tools more widely available. Microsoft can afford to eat the revenue loss if it drives up developer and platform interest. Xamarin on its own couldn't.
My prediction is that this becomes a part of Visual Studio and, if not immediately thereafter, then within a few years of that becomes part of Visual Studio Community Edition. Microsoft needs relevance more than they need the profits Xamarin made.
I would be unsurprised if Microsoft announces that the old product is free or drastically reduced come //Build.
So, if this sounds crazy... does it sound crazier than Microsoft buying out a company that was effectively driving business to them already? I don't think so. If Microsoft didn't plan to absorb their tech into it's products, change it's pricing scheme or both then the acquisition wouldn't have made any sense.
I was always a fan of Microsoft "Bridges to Windows 10" idea. But felt that the idea was flawed. It made it easier for devs to stick with what they knew and hit multiple platforms, but left Windows developers "stuck" with UWP and other Microsoft stacks. My suggestion was that they should either make a competing option to Xamarin (which I felt unlikely because they are on good terms, and it would take a lot of effort to outdo them) or to buy Xamarin. As stated above, I also didn't think they'd do that either. But more because I felt, "if they haven't done it already, they are unlikely to do it now".
The latter was because Xamarin is popular. It has a growing user base. Every day Microsoft wasn't buying it, it was becoming more expensive to do so. Thus, if anything, while I think strategically this was a good move, timing-wise it feels late and foolish. The amount paid is undisclosed at present which loosely backs up the fact.
The question now is, what will Microsoft do with this acquisition? This is fairly new territory for them. They've made partnerships with companies like Unity before who sell tools for their platforms, but I don't think that they've ever purchased a company like Xamarin before.
I have to imagine that they will over time either drastically lower the barrier to entry or even make it free. That may sound crazy, but when you think about it, it makes sense. Xamarin was a Microsoft partner by necessity. Their sales pitch was about allowing users to develop in C# for other platforms. So, Microsoft stood really no chance to lose Xamarin's support. As stated, the company was also growing, which meant that in a way Xamarin was potentially boosting their developer base. Similarly, while they are doing good, they aren't doing "Microsoft good".
There are really only a handful of reasons why a company would buy a smaller one they synergize with. And the top of those are to shut it down, or to take control over market strategy. As stated, there was never any reason to shut it down. So to me that says that Microsoft sees the value in what Xamarin is doing but likely sees the sales model as setting the barrier too high for the sort of adoption they need.
Xamarin turns those bridges into bi-directional things. It allows C# developers to target Android and iOS. An iOS or an Android developer would never abandon their platform for UWP development as long as those markets remain the largest. But, it becomes a lot more feasible if there is a cost effective way to switch to C# and write for all 3. It might also tempt new developers.
This, I think, is why Microsoft bought Xamarin. They want to make those tools more widely available. Microsoft can afford to eat the revenue loss if it drives up developer and platform interest. Xamarin on its own couldn't.
My prediction is that this becomes a part of Visual Studio and, if not immediately thereafter, then within a few years of that becomes part of Visual Studio Community Edition. Microsoft needs relevance more than they need the profits Xamarin made.
I would be unsurprised if Microsoft announces that the old product is free or drastically reduced come //Build.
So, if this sounds crazy... does it sound crazier than Microsoft buying out a company that was effectively driving business to them already? I don't think so. If Microsoft didn't plan to absorb their tech into it's products, change it's pricing scheme or both then the acquisition wouldn't have made any sense.
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