RSSThe whole Microsoft-Yahoo thing
I feel like I should say something about the whole Microsoft proposing to buy Yahoo today thing, but honestly I'm not sure that it ultimately will matter much to the average CIO. Certainly, as many observers have already suggested, it provides a ready-made platform for Microsoft to seriously bash on Google with, but let's face it, neither Yahoo nor Microsoft were giving Google much grief as it was, and I don't think it's a problem that throwing money (or an old company with new money behind it) at will help. Although I have often noted that I don't believe Google really is trying to compete with Microsoft, I don't think the reverse is true, and this move seems like an obvious expression of that. This comment, on Mini-Microsoft's post on the topic, about sums up my feelings on the matter as well.
The one effect that springs immediately to my mind is that this takes Zimbra effectively out of position to compete with traditional Exchange deployments, a role I had expressed some hope that it might fill eventually.
Mini expresses some worry that the deal, if completed, might threaten certain jobs at Microsoft, but I think that's probably unfounded, at least in the short-term. As Dana Gardner suggests, this offer smacks of failure, and the ensuing merger of two losing divisions would be neither rapid or smooth. It does suggest a loss of focus and there may be some peripheral effects at Microsoft's core business software divisions as a result, but some of us have been predicting that outcome as a byproduct of Chairman Bill's impending departure this summer anyway.
At any rate, I'm sick of typing about it already, so if you really care, go comb Techmeme for insights.
