As the the area of Business Collaboration is maturing some interesting developments have gotten me thinking more and more about where the money is going to be made. Earlier this year, Microsoft buys Groove -- that says Redmond sees money. But we don't exactly see Redmond making a big money play with Groove yet. Is this Office 2007? If so, I see the money. If not, then what little niche does this fill?
Now we see Intranets getting bought by WebEx. WebEx has been good at making money and Intranets has been profitable. Is this consolidation, line extension, or ramping up to a new level of play? I'm seeking the money angle here and don't quite get it yet.
Even more now, we see LinkedIn actually charging (!) customers for premium services, called "Business Services." My feeling is "about time". As a customer I've been itching for more. There have been a few times I would have paid on the spot to get more of what I wanted. (In that case, more requests -- I chafed at the 5 request limit.) So I'm encouraged by their play for the money -- and I'm interested to see where it goes.
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