Microsoft has broken through the red tape of European regulation and acquired Nuance Communications. In this post, I will discuss the potential impacts of this acquisition on hard-core Dragon NaturallySpeaking users like myself and folks with RSI or other hand disabilities.

Acquisitions in the software world usually contain a mix of both good and bad changes from a user perspective. For example, let’s consider what happened when Google bought YouTube: users benefited from improved search functionality, recommendation algorithms, reduced buffering, and a streamlined desktop and mobile device experience. However, we are all now subjected to advertisements (or paying for Premium).

Here’s my list of potential consequences of the Microsoft/Nuance acquisition:

  • The monetization strategy will change from perpetual license to a Subscription model. This is neither good nor bad but has implications for us as users.
    • Dragon NaturallySpeaking could become more expensive in the long term. The subscription model generates more revenue over time, which is why so many companies have already done it.
    • Dragon NaturallySpeaking will become easier for new users to acquire. They may even offer a stripped-down free version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
    • Subscription monetization models have the benefit of free software updates! Currently, upgrading to the latest version of Dragon requires a big purchase.

Besides the impact of the monetization strategy, I also want to speculate what will happen to the software itself:

Possible negative outcomes

  • Dragon NaturallySpeaking might change in ways that disrupt current users’ habits and workflows. Any new features or a new user interface could require some relearning.
  • Apple/Mac users might be having a different experience – I am unsure how this will affect the Apple audience.

 

Possible positive outcomes

  • With the help of Microsoft, Dragon NaturallySpeaking will hopefully become more accurate and include some new features or functionality.
  • Dragon NaturallySpeaking could become packaged with Office 365 applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Thanks for reading! Dragon NaturallySpeaking is an absolute necessity in our careers and daily life. How are feeling about the acquisition of Nuance by Microsoft? Do you expect overall good results or see this as a setback?

 

Link to the press release: https://news.microsoft.com/2022/03/04/microsoft-completes-acquisition-of-nuance-ushering-in-new-era-of-outcomes-based-ai/#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20March%204%2C%202022%20%E2%80%94%20Microsoft,financial%20services%2C%20retail%20and%20telecommunications

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