The Team's Thoughts On The Microsoft GitHub Acquisition
With the news that Microsoft is acquiring GitHub, I thought I would ask the team what their thoughts are on the topic. We utilize the .NET stack and also are users (and fans) of GitHub and wanted to gauge if the purchase changed any minds. Below are some quotes from some of our team members.
I am still thinking about Nokia. — Cheng Y.
I think it is highly likely MS will use GitHub code/data indirectly for learning/prediction/people analysis/money making. Github was probably already doing this to a lesser extent. Overall I trust Microsoft and think this should improve the quality and security of Github. One day Github will be part of the Office Suite. I see a parallel to Teams… instead of buying Slack, they built Teams, which isn’t as good (at least yet)… just buy the company that does it well, right? — Kevin R.
How can we have an educated opinion? Any opinion right now is simply speculation on possible changes. They didn’t officially buy it yet, and I didn’t see any proposed changes for after they do buy it. So, I think until something happens we should all assume it will be business as usual. — Scott S.
I have no more concerns about Microsoft purchasing GitHub than I do on Facebook, Twitter, Google or any other company abusing the level of access I grant them to my sensitive information. If you use a service that is offered by a company that exists to make a profit, the reality is at times; they may do things you don’t like with that the data you give them to make more money. It’s our jobs as consumers to push back when we spot it and use alternatives when we are dissatisfied. If you are a company where it’s critical to your existence that your proprietary information stays secret, you are either already running your own in-house SCM or should do so, its very inconvenient BUT its critical for you and you were one GitHub security vulnerability away from being in a bad place anyway. — Chidozié O.
I believe it’s a good thing overall. Microsoft is purchasing GitHub for the community and users. To jeopardize that for anything would make the purchase null and void. I don’t think we need to start planning on moving our repositories any time soon. — Khalid A.
Should be indifferent, hopefully Microsoft doesn’t kill it and business operates as normal or gets better. meaning companies buy companies all the time either for the better or for the worse, I think it is a little early to tell what Microsoft has planned for our beloved GitHub but we shall see and I hope for the best Brent H.
This may spur investment in .NET in the GitHub space. — Ken D.
Conclusion
Most opinions landed between positive to indifferent on the reaction scale. We have to wait and see what the future holds, but within our team, optimism seems to be winning out.
