Microsoft and Yahoo the Tie-Up

Microsoft Corp., an American multinational computer technology company, develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. On the other hand, Yahoo! Inc., an American public corporation, is capable of providing Internet services worldwide as a search engine and Web portal. In order to dominate the market share in online search, both companies have finally reached a merger after more than a year of negotiations.

Both companies seek search engine leadership by becoming partners. This deal allows Yahoo to receive 88% of the revenue from Microsoft it has acquired form searches on the websites of Yahoo. Likewise, Microsoft will also have the rights to integrate the search technology of Yahoo into its own existing Web search platforms. Although the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010, forecasts regarding future success have already been given attention.

According to analysts, their partnership is forged to mount a better offence in the sector against the dominant Google Inc., which has acquired the popular video sharing website YouTube in 2006. Experts believe that the searches made by Microsoft will have broader reach and become more lucrative compared to its previous status. With many speculations and scepticisms, the partnership remains hopeful that people will shift from their current choice.

The long-awaited deal between two of the most powerful players in the Internet arena has yet to be seen. Nevertheless, it will surely be a significant merger because they are both massively influencing a large share of the market. It is up to the online users to decide which search engine is the most appropriate that should offer them greater flexibility and faster search ability.