Microsoft operates the Azure cloud platform and bought LinkedIn in 2016. Microsoft announced the LinkedIn acquisition in June 2016 and completed the transaction in December of that year for approximately $26.2 billion.
LinkedIn remained a professional networking service within Microsoft, while Azure became a central part of Microsoft’s cloud-computing business. Azure competes with platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud by providing computing, storage, databases, analytics, and artificial-intelligence tools.
The acquisition showed Microsoft’s strategy of combining enterprise software, professional data, and cloud infrastructure. It also helped distinguish modern Microsoft from its earlier reputation as primarily a Windows and Office company. Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Azure, gaming, search, and business applications all contribute to the company’s position among the world’s largest public companies.