So just why has Microsoft paid a whopping $8.5 billion (or ten times earnings) to acquire Skype today? In my view it’s a canny move simply because of the amount of platforms that Skype can be use and integrated with.

It’s a ready-made competitor to Apple Facetime which will surely help it shift Windows mobile handsets – something it has struggled to do. Want to make cheap video or voice calls direct to your Outlook contacts with one click? No problem Microsoft will integrate the functionality as soon it’s able. What about video chats from your Xbox 360? Again, this will be easy to do and will also keep out of reach of competitors such as Sony and Nintendo (if it chooses to do so). Microsoft software is also used extensively within personal video recorders so there’s every chance Skype will be bundled within there too.

So in short, it’s a platform grab which is likely to have massive ramifications. Apple and Google are unlikely to be pleased but Nokia, HTC and other Microsoft partners are likely to be pretty chuffed.