Opera acquires Skyfire for $150 million for video optimization in its browser

Opera

Web browser giant- Opera Software acquires Skyfire, a company which deals with cloud solutions and mobile video optimisation for a whooping $155 million (8367287500000 in indian rupees). Opera was once the best mobile web browser, but recently Opera has been losing itself to Chrome and Firefox. iOS users have Chrome as their first choice by ditching the default Safari, as Chrome offers a better user experience. But Opera still finds its place in low-end Java phones. The company plans to increase the functionality of its Android and iOS applications by transforming its native web browsers into WebKits. With the acquisition of Skyfire, developers at Opera will now be able to use Skyfire’s Rocket optimisation software to shrink high quality videos and push them over mobile data networks even during high traffic conditions. This is possible by reducing bandwidth consumption and adapting quickly to sudden drops in mobile networks. Opera mobile web browsers will soon gain the power of cloud as the company plans to integrate Skyfire’s cloud servers and applications with its WebKits. Skyfire’s Rocket optimization technology will also increase the responsiveness of Opera’s mobile web browser and solve common issues like minimised audio, stall during buffering, slow buffering speeds , rebuffing and delayed start times while streaming videos online. Skyfire’s Horizon software will also be used by Opera as it allows a lot of scope for personalisation. After a serious analysis, Opera has found that the market for video/media optimisation has a huge potential to woo customers. According to Opera’s reports, by 2015, videos will consume two-thirds of global mobile bandwidth. Opera has planned to take advantage of this and stay ahead in the race by acquiring the leader in this market- Skyfire Labs. Jeffrey Glueck, CEO of Skyfire, will soon take the role of EVP of the Operator Business for Opera, as well as CEO of Skyfire.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *