Re: There are no...
I'm sure MS has some talented developers. What it doesn't have is competent management.
I think that's close to the real explanation - the acquisitions were made by clueless people who have no idea what they're doing, or why.
Product X looks sort-of-competitive to something MS already makes, so MS buys it.
Why? Not because it's great. Not because it has a future. Not because it has incredible market presence or the most amazing management team this side of a combined Tesla-Edison-Brunel startup.
But because on Planet MS, it's better than what's happening in-house, and Corp Dev need to justify their existence.
So.
MS has become the IT equivalent of that joke about Stephen Fry - a stupid person's idea of a clever software company.