Microsoft Purchases GitHub for $7.5 billion
What does Microsoft’s purchase of source code repository GitHub mean for cryptocurrency and blockchain development?
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced Monday that it would be purchasing software development platform GitHub. According to industry sources the deal will see Microsoft exchange $7.5 billion worth of their companies stock to secure the deal.
GitHub is currently used by both closed and open development teams to provide version control and source code management in the cloud using the Git version control system.
Established in 2008, the GitHub repository quickly became one of the leading names in cloud-based code repositories. As the cryptocurrency movement developed, GitHub grew simultaneously. The GitHub team proved to the world that they offered the ideal solution for international development teams seeking to collaborate on software development projects and ensure secure, up-to-date central repository for committing code changes.
GitHub has since engendered a decade’s worth of trust within the open source development community, a community which is known for its trepidation when working with multinational corporate entities.
Microsoft discontinued their original code repository solution VSS (Visual Source Safe) in 2005, with the final version being released to the public in January of 2006. Since the site launched in 2008 the cloud based solution offered by GitHub has taken off, with the site hosting 46,000 public repositories in 2009, by 2013 that number had exploded to over 5 million repositories.
“Our entire business model is all about being custodians of data and providing services to both consumers and organisational customers and trust is everything.” — Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft.
The crypto community expressed its concerns over the acquisition immediately. Source code for the vast majority of popular blockchain projects is currently stored on the GitHub code repository. Some have been concerned that any changes to the management of the site could potentially affect the open nature of the repository. For years GitHub has offered open source development teams a no-cost option for web-based development collaboration.
Social media posts regarding the buyout indicate that the community fears this model may be eroded in an attempt to monetize the service further. Currently the site uses a ‘freemium’ business model which aims to direct users toward paid service offerings if they wish to leverage the sites more advanced features, mostly targeted at their enterprise customers.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft confirmed that the purchase represents a natural progression of Microsoft’s desire to be the go-to solution for developers worldwide.
“Every company is becoming digital and that world is being built by developers…There’s a LinkedIn stat which shows that development in non-tech companies … is growing by double digits, 25% higher growth rate there than even in the tech companies.”
Responding to the trust issues raised by the recent privacy breaches at Facebook, Nadella added “our entire business model is all about being custodians of data and providing services to both consumers and organisational customers and trust is everything.”
It remains to be seen whether the blockchain development community will agree.
