Gartner analyst Allen Weiner believes
the Microsoft/Yahoo tie-up will prove Microsoft's Bing search
technology is a viable alternative to Google.
In a
blog posting he said: "For Microsoft, the deal is a positive
indication that its investment in search and launch of Bing in June
will pay off."
Weiner warns that the deal may not be good news for businesses
that have tied into Yahoo's search platform. "Yahoo has put a
significant amount of time and energy into its open search
strategy, namely BOSS and Search monkey. According to Microsoft,
that platform will fall under its umbrella which leaves developers
and publishers to question the future of both efforts as well as
their desire to work with Microsoft," he said.
As far as whether the deal is good for advertisers, he notes:
"By dividing the search advertising market between premium buyers
and self-service "long-tail" advertisers, Microsoft achieves a kind
of pincer move around Google, challenging it directly on its home
turf of self-service AdWords (its primary source of revenue) while
empowering Yahoo! to block its expansion into the higher end of the
market, the premium advertisers, where search and display
convergence (along with mobile and social and online video and
next-generation television) are important.
"In other words, this sharpens the distinction between
Microsoft's "technology company" role and Yahoo's "media company"
role, making it harder for Google to play both against their
alliance."