Deal between eBay and Skype opens up possibilities

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND LARRY HETTICK ON
CONVERGENCE
09/19/05
Today's focus: Deal between eBay and Skype opens up
possibilities

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Analysis of eBay's offer for Skype
* Links related to Convergence
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
FROM THE NETWORK CORE TO THE NETWORK EDGE

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on bandwidth. However ProCurve Networking by HP addresses these
requirements, overcomes the limitations of other solutions, and
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_______________________________________________________________
SPYWARE SHOOTOUT

Need to defend your network from spyware? Lots of tools and
software have hit the market recently, and network executives
are left to decide which weapon works best. Our Spyware Shootout
2005 suggests the gateway approach might be the best starting
point but is it a long-term strategy? Click here for more:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=114669
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Deal between eBay and Skype opens up
possibilities

By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

We've often talked about how applications are driving
convergence and how VoIP is a step along the road to integrating
data applications into a unified communications portal.
Apparently, eBay has been reading our newsletters about the
importance of VoIP because last week eBay announced it would
acquire Skype for $2.6 billion.

The deal includes up to another $1.5 billion for the
acquisition, based on Skype's future performance. Skype offers
voice calls over the Internet, with free calling between PCs and
off-net calls for a modest charge; the company has more than 54
million subscribers who use its VoIP software.

In a statement, eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman said,
"Communications is at the heart of ecommerce and community. By
combining the two leading ecommerce franchises, eBay and PayPal,
with the leader in Internet voice communications, we will create
an extraordinarily powerful environment for business on the
Net."

EBay claims that the acquisition "will strengthen eBay's global
marketplace and payments platform, while opening several new
lines of business and creating significant new monetization
opportunities for the company."

Although we never claim to be financial analysts, we're not
quite sure eBay will ever recover its investment directly from
Skype's VoIP revenue (Skype will bring in an estimated $60
million in 2005 and $200 million in 2006).

However, the theoretical possibilities of bringing a
Skype-modeled VoIP call or conference bridge (by using
peer-to-peer VoIP) to online auctions and other e-commerce
applications is certainly fascinating.

Of course, in addition to making the Skype's founders and
shareholders happy, the acquisition does bring a measurable
endorsement of Skype's technology and business model - with $2.6
billion worth of legitimacy.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. McAfee, Omniquad top anti-spyware test
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence6913>

2. Volunteers rebuild Gulf Coast communications with wireless
nets <http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence7193>

3. Cell phone tossing contests catching attention abroad
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence7194>

4. Supermarket chain freezes Internet access
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence6521>

5. The rise of the IT architect
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence7008>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates
and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed
information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter,
connect to Webtorials <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the premier
site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and
market research. Taylor can be reached at
<mailto:taylor@webtorials.com>

Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of
experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom
Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading
competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at
<mailto:lhettick@currentanalysis.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
FROM THE NETWORK CORE TO THE NETWORK EDGE

Traffic management becomes critical as your network
infrastructure expands to support different types of traffic and
users. Most traffic management solutions have serious
limitations: too expensive, difficult to use, and overly taxing
on bandwidth. However ProCurve Networking by HP addresses these
requirements, overcomes the limitations of other solutions, and
gives you valuable insight into LAN performance. Click here to
download HP's Traffic Management Whitepaper
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=115427
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archives of the Convergence newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/converg/index.html
_______________________________________________________________
Security is no longer about simply keeping the bad guys out

Discover how intelligence and insight can prevent attacks and
unauthorized uses of corporate information. Tune in to take
advantage of new technologies that provide proactive security at
the application layer.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=114704
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

IS IT THE NETWORK OR THE STORAGE THAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Midsize and larger businesses often find their IT topology has
become a complex mix of servers, networks and storage systems.
Many of these companies also route long-haul traffic over
fiber-based networks - metropolitan-area networks, WANs and
private optical networks. Who's responsible when a
storage-related problem occurs on a fiber network? For more,
click here:

<http://www.networkworld.com/nlconvergence7009>
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