Short answer is, yes, they are dependent on Microsoft....

Short answer is, yes, they are dependent on Microsoft. Particularly Microsoft Share Point.

You have to look at it from Microsoft’s point of view as well. They see Livetiles as a significant partner and one that adds value to their Share Point. It is another feature they can use to sell Share Point to their customers and get them deeply rooted into Microsoft’s ecosystem.

Microsoft Share Point is in a very, very big landgrab phase at the moment. It may not be known to laymen but Microsoft is waging war against many other tech companies big time for market share in the working phase. They slacked in the years of 2009-2013 and allowed their competition to catch up, and recently they’ve picked up their game and are in aggressive defence mode.

I see Livetiles and Microsoft as co-dependents right now. It is a symbiotic relationship where each one is currently mutually benefiting from each other.

My view is one day, Microsoft will simply swallow Livetiles up as it grows too precious to be an “external” entity that Microsoft only has influence over but not total control of.

For this reason, I have invested some good money into what many investors would call a company that’s burning cash and one that doesn’t yet have a solid plan to stop.

I liken them to Atlassian, Xero, they’re in that land grabbing phase. They need to win customers. Once customers stay, they stick. Sticky revenue is what will tip is over into profitability. They are spending big to get these sticky revenue. Convincing a company to pay you money every month or year is not easy, so they need to really work hard and spend hard to win sticky revenue.

Disclosure: My investment timeframe is long, at minimum 4 years. I can stomach total (100%) losses. My appetite for risk is thus extremely high. My investing views may not apply to your situation.