With Facebook’s disappointing IPO still making headlines, there’s another ripple in the social media pond: the news that Microsoft is acquiring Yammer, a business social networking tool, for $1.2 billion. The acquisition  points to wider-reaching changes in the world of enterprise software. 

The worldwide enterprise software market is valued at $280 billion, according to a column in Fortune that heralds the “silent revolution in enterprise IT.” More companies see the value in cloud-based, easy-to-use software that allows employees to be more mobile and collaborative, and traditional enterprise software providers like Microsoft are struggling to play catch-up to young companies like Dropbox and Yammer. 

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