If Microsoft is tired of its billions of dollars in loose change, there are a number of companies in the industry that Microsoft should consider buying – even if Yahoo is out of its reach. Kevin Kelleher of TheStreet.com has suggested five companies that the software giant should woo:
1. iRobot: Don’t laugh. Microsoft doesn’t talk a lot about robotics, but it’s deadly serious about it. It sees the PC boom reoccurring in the nascent robotics industry, and it wants its software to be the standard that unites all robots, just as Windows united most PCs.
2. Cerner: If Microsoft wants to fast-forward to a coherent, robust presence in the health care information industry, it could buy out a company like Cerner.
3. Salesforce.com: Microsoft’s CRM Live, unveiled last year, strayed onto Salesforce.com’s turf. But under the guidance of CEO Marc Benioff, Salesforce is veering into a collision course with Microsoft in one of the hottest areas of enterprise software: online collaboration.
4. Intuit: A purchase of Intuit would provide Microsoft with instant credibility among the many small businesses that use QuickBooks and would turn Microsoft Money — which, aside from Hotmail, is the most useful thing Microsoft has to offer on the Internet — into a robust personal finance site.
5. Adobe: OK, this would deplete nearly all of Microsoft’s stash of cash, but it could also provide the company with its last best shot of controlling something close to an Internet platform.
What companies do you think Microsoft should buy?
