On July 29, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a 10-year technology and sales sharing agreement.
Microsoft will have a 10-year license to Yahoo's core search technology, with the ability to integrate those technologies into its existing web search platforms. Yahoo is stopping R&D on their search engine and ad selling software. Microsoft will provide the search and sales technology. Yahoo will own the sale of advertising to major corporations. Microsoft will own information on the user experience.
An interesting announcement. Was it only 18 months or so ago that Microsoft was trying to buy Yahoo outright? When that fell through, Google tried to make an arrangement with Yahoo which was dropped under the threat of intense antitrust investigation.
While no one knows if the Microsoft/Yahoo deal will make it through antitrust scrutiny, neither Microsoft nor Yahoo have the market share for search or advertising that Google does.
This reminds me of another occasion when Microsoft licensed someone's technology - that being NetIQ's. In 2000 Microsoft and NetIQ announced a technology licensing agreement and partnership in operations management. Microsoft licensed NetIQ's (previously Mission Critical Software's) Operations Manager technology, with a technology sharing agreement for five years. This left NetIQ free to continue promoting their flagship product, AppManager, and the NetIQ/Mission Critical Software application evolved into Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2000 and later MOM 2005.
When the five years ended, the companies parted ways. Today, NetIQ is owned by Attachmate, and Microsoft's operations management software is in its third major release - System Center Operations Manager 2007. With OpsMgr 2007, Microsoft removed the last remnants of the NetIQ code they had licensed in 2000.
What does the crystal ball have for Microsoft and Yahoo?
Kerrie Meyler, MVP, MCSE, MCTS, CNA, MA, BA, is an independent consultant and trainer with over fifteen years of experience in IT. While at Microsoft in Field Technical Sales for four years she focused on infrastructure and mangement, presenting at numerous product launches. Kerrie has presented Operations Manager 2007 at TechEd 2007 and MMS 2009 and at internal Microsoft conferences, receiving company recognition and awards including a SPAR MGS award. Kerrie worked with Microsoft Learning to develop functional specifications for the original Operations Manager Microsoft courseware, 2550: Implementing Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 and did the beta teach for that course.She also participated in the alpha walkthrough for the 70-400: Configuring Microsoft System Center Operations Manager certification exam.
She is the lead author of Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Unleashed, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed, and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 Unleashed. Kerrie is currently developing an eBook on Operations Manager 2007 R2.
Check out an excerpt from System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed, Chapter 3: Looking Inside OpsMgr.
Kerrie's latest book, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 Unleashed by Kerrie Meyler, Byron Holt, and Greg Ramsey has been selected as the August, 2009, Microsoft Subnet book giveaway (a $59.99 value). Check out an excerpt from System Center Configuration (SCCM) Manager 2007 Unleashed, Chapter 3: Looking Inside ConfigMgr.
Visit the Microsoft Subnet home page for giveaway details and entry forms.
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Post new comment