Yahoo buys e-mail software firm Zimbra

Yahoo is buying e-mail software provider Zimbra for about $350 million, the companies announced on Monday. Zimbra offers branded e-mail with calendar and mobile features as well as the ability to work offline. The company has more than 200 educational, business and ISP partners, including Comcast, that offer branded e-mail service to roughly 9 million subscribers.

What differentiates Zimbra are the "Zimlet," Web service mashups that offer richer functionality in e-mail. For instance, people can simply mouse over airline flight information in an e-mail to check on flight status. Users are also able to track FedEx deliveries and get maps, stocks and other information in e-mail too.

The Zimbra acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and Yahoo's $300 million purchase earlier this month of display ad provider Blue Lithium are an indication of the future direction of the company as it redefines its place in the market, says Brad Garlinghouse, senior vice president for communications and communities. "They illustrate the commitment to areas we feel are core strengths," he said in an interview on Monday.

[SnidleyWhiplash]

Amazing...

Wow, that investment in Oddpost is really paying off now isn't it?

[TheNickster]

Yahoo!'s take on it

Head over to Yahoo!'s corporate blog (Yodel Anecdotal) to hear more about the deal from SVP Brad Garlinghouse.

[aloredo]

BlueTie is another email app that embeds Web services

Another company to check out in the space is BlueTie (www.bluetie.com), whose email and calendar app embeds common Web services for small businesses, like travel booking.

[skillingssucks]

How long before Yahoo! ruins it?

How long before Yahoo! ruins it and no one wants it? Well, at least Microsoft didn't buy it.

[Dowlapalli]

Google Search

Ironically they still seem to use google search ;)

[Solaris_User]

Will this cause more intrest in Bongo?

The Bongo project (Formerly known as Hula) is still out there. Wonder if it will see a spike from this.

After Yahoo ruins Zimbra what will happen to enterprise level open source communication apps?

[flickrz]

solaris user?

Who in their right mind uses solaris? No matter how much you use it; nobody would still buy Sun Microsystems. Ironic, sun rocket closed down unannounced. Next is sum microsystems.