10 thing you need to know about the much speculated Microsoft’s acquisition of Github!

Microsoft harkening back to its roots after 10 long years!
After various conjectures and guesstimates over the week, Microsoft officially confirmed the acquisition of San Francisco based code repository Github for $7.5 billion in stock.
Github was valued at $2.5 billion in 2015. This is seen as the software giant’s another massive acquisition after Linkedin for $2.62 billion in 2016.
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Here are the 10 key things you need to know about Github and this acquisition

1. Github works like an ‘open house’ for the developer community around the world. With open-source licensing as its central value, it allows developers to use, modify and evolve plethora of codes made by other developers for their benefit and software development. Apple, Amazon, Google are some of the Github’s stalwart clients. Over the years, Microsoft has become its biggest customer.
2. After bearing heavy financial losses for several months, the management of Github opted for the acquisition instead of going public. Github was also on a hunt for a new CEO after the stepping down of their previous CEO Chris Wanstrath amid several sexual harassment allegations.
3. GitHub will be led by CEO Nat Friedman, an open source veteran and founder of Xamarin. GitHub CEO and Co-Founder Chris Wanstrath will be a technical fellow at Microsoft.
4. Many developers on social media around the globe expressed their discomfort with the acquisition. They are apprehensive about the structure of the Github and whether it will remain an ‘open house’ or not in future. Keeping Microsoft’s previous history into account, critics believe that Microsoft may inappropriately use their ownership to manipulate the market and admonish their rivals’ products.
5. Apparently, several developers and users of Github chose to switch to other software developing platforms even before the formal announcement of the acquisition. One of the nemeses of Github, GitLab announced on twitter that its number of repositories increased by ten times after the merger.
6. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft assured that GitHub will continue to remain an open platform for all the developers and recognized the gravity of such a massive undertaking. He also said,”Developers are the builders of this new era, writing the world’s code. And GitHub is their home.”
7. Many believe that earlier Microsoft was extremely critical of Github’s ‘developer first’ ethos as it threatened their business model, which relies on proprietary technology. Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has been trying hard to regain the trust of developing by investing more and more in open source technology. There are even speculations that soon Windows may even become open source.
8. This acquisition can also be seen as Microsoft harkening back to past and rediscovering its roots.  The software giant was founded to develop MITS Altair, a consumer-oriented micro-computer kit for its users and developers.
9. Acquiring GitHub is not an isolated strategy employed by the Microsoft for increasing its user base and earn the respect of the developers. After the failure of the Windows phone and the Universal Apps Windows platform, Microsoft also open sourced PowerShell, Visual Studio Code, and the Microsoft Edge JavaScript engine.
10. GitHub’s major chunk of income comes from paid accounts which amount to $7-$21 per month. Despite being the biggest code repository, It becomes excruciatingly hard for Github to turn its income into profits. It also faces a cut-throat competition from other platforms like GitLab and BitBucket. In such a scenario, this acquisition can be seen as a mutual transaction where GitHub gets to eliminate its competition and allows Microsoft to be the go-to platform for every developer.

Also Read: 10 Steps To Starting A Business While Keeping Your Full-Time Job
This sudden alliance between Microsoft and GitHub has certainly stirred the world of developers and the entire open source market. The next few months will be extremely crucial for Microsoft and it’s each and every move will be carefully scrutinized by the tech world.
Satya Nadella announced the acquisition the following note: “We recognize the community response we take on with this agreement and will do our best work to empower every developer to build, innovate and solve the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Source: Bizztor