The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy likes writers who buck conventional wisdom. In recent weeks, most pundits have been bashing Microsoft’s proposed Yahoo! takeover. But James Nicholson, a CNet veteran, has an interesting take on the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo! combo that caught The VAR Guy’s eye.

When Yahoo acquired Zimbra in September 2007, some Zimbra backers worried Yahoo would mismanage the open source email asset. Fast forward to the present, and some Zimbra proponents have gone from concern to outright panic over Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo (and, by attachment, Zimbra).

The VAR Guy had mixed emotions today when he heard Yahoo acquired Zimbra, a provider of open source email and collaboration software. Over the past year, Zimbra has been on The VAR Guy’s radar multiple times. Some service providers and universities have aggressively embraced Zimbra as a reliable, cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Exchange in recent years.