Is the deal good news for Yahoo!?
“Very good news. It provides strategic clarity and focus for the business going forward and significant additional financial resources compared with the status quo. I was a strong proponent of this when I was at Yahoo!.
Can Microsoft and Yahoo! now take on Google in search?
“Yes. The combined advertising marketplace creates a much more vibrant and attractive place for advertisers to reach their target audiences compared with two separate marketplaces. It also allows a greater investment in both the underlying algorithmic and advertising technology platforms by Microsoft and gives a much higher return on investment in them. Advertisers want a stronger alternative marketplace and this clearly addresses that need. In terms of whether this will lead to capturing consumer search query share from Google, it does not directly, but having worked at Yahoo! with the person now in charge of search, Qi Lu, I have no doubt that there will be some tremendous innovation coming from him and his team.”
Have you spoken to anyone at Yahoo! since the deal?
“I am very close to quite a number of people — we were like a big family. I think everyone is pleased with the focus this now provides and it will allow them to channel their energies into building
world-class products and delighting their customers.”
