confirmation of Microsoft’s acquisition of GitHub, we’ve gathered some views of developers around the web.
GitHub is quite universally beloved in the developer community, but the same cannot quite be said for Microsoft. The company remains divisive; with many either being fans, or believing it’s poison to all it touches.
Looking at the declining popularity of some of Microsoft’s past acquisitions from once-great companies — like Skype, Nokia, and Wunderlist — it’s not hard to see why some have such concerns.
Since rumours of the acquisition began circulating, GitHub alternative GitLab has seen a huge peak in developers using its import tool. This suggests many are jumping ship.
There’s also the strength of Microsoft’s long-standing developer tools to consider:
As for its recent acquisitions, under Nadella they’ve fared much better. The company’s acquisition of LinkedIn raised similar levels of concerns to what we’re hearing about GitHub, but — for better or worse — little has changed.
Microsoft confirmed the rumours in a blog post published on Monday, adding GitHub will be led by Nat Friedman, CEO and founder of Xamarin. Nadella wrote that Microsoft will be “committed to being stewards of the GitHub community, which will retain its developer-first ethos, operate independently and remain an open platform.”
Undoubtedly, developers will continue having strong opinions about this controversial acquisition. Only time will tell whether it was good or bad for GitHub and its users.
