Microsoft bets heavily on LinkedIn to secure its place in a world after Windows

At $255 per active user, the social network is an expensive buy, but the tech giant is confident that access to so much personal data will soon pay off

As news broke of Microsoft's $26.2bn acquisition of LinkedIn last week, one wag took to Twitter to quip: "Satya Nadella makes bold final attempt to stop LinkedIn from emailing him."

Many people worn down by the site's relentless emails will have echoed that sentiment. But Microsoft's chief executive is in fact taking a bold and optimistic gamble in buying LinkedIn at a 50% premium to its share price. Nadella is betting that social networks will be at the centre of our professional lives, while bolstering Microsoft products that must take over from fading mainstays such as Windows if the company is to ensure its long-term survival.

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