Microsoft made maximum acquisitions in tech space in 2015
To pursue its mobile-first, cloud-first strategy, Microsoft (MSFT) has announced some noteworthy acquisitions, namely Xamarin and SwiftKey, in 2016. Microsoft is rapidly acquiring companies in the cloud, mobile app, and unified communications spaces to find various avenues of revenue growth.

According to CB Insights and as the graph below shows, Microsoft made the most M&As (mergers and acquisitions) in 2015 under the guidance of CEO (chief executive officer) Satya Nadella. It made 18 acquisitions in 2015 compared to ten and four acquisitions in 2014 and 2011, respectively.

Microsoft was followed by Google, which made 16 transactions in 2015. The report further stated that since 2011, tech players such as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG) GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), Twitter (TWTR), and Yahoo! (YHOO) have made 23 acquisitions that were each more than $1 billion.

Tech giants are aggressively looking for growth avenues and niches
It looks like Microsoft’s effort to make a mark in the cloud space is bearing fruit. Amazon (AMZN) continues to rule the cloud, but it was Microsoft that achieved the highest growth in the cloud space in 2015.

Microsoft’s peers IBM and Oracle are also seeking growth in the cloud space. So far in 2016, as of February 24, IBM has announced seven acquisitions. They include IRIS Analytics, Ustream, Resource/Ammirati, Aperto, Ecx.io, and Truven Health Analytics. Oracle’s (ORCL) acquisitions in 2016 include Ravello Systems and AddThis. They show the company’s deep interest in the cloud space.

To know more, you can read Why Tech Companies Like Oracle Are on Acquisition Sprees in 2016.

Investors who want to gain exposure to Microsoft could consider investing in the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW). While IYW invests 12.2% of its holdings in Microsoft, it also has an exposure of ~40% to application software.