After the 2,000 lay offs last week at Yahoo it was just a matter of time before more clearness would come regarding the future of Yahoo!. Today Kara Swisher got hold of an internal e-mail sent by Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson which explains where Yahoo is going: three primary divisions.
The memo was sent today to all Yahoo employees and shows that Yahoo is not being sold to any company but is simply restructuring and refocussing. The memo also makes clear that search is not a focus on Yahoo anymore, but that is nothing new.
Thompson addresses the issues and the future.
From the memo (full version here):
“It’s time for Yahoo! to move forward, and fast. And as we do, I want every one of us to keep one thing top of mind: what we do is about our customers, not about us. For Yahoo! to win in our core business, every one of us must put our customers first. Specifically, we must focus all we do on the users who trust us to give them personalized content and communications, and the advertisers who want to connect with our users. To be very clear, our highest priority is winning in our core business and that will earn us the right to pursue new growth opportunities.”
Three divisions for Yahoo
Thompson explains that Yahoo will be restructured in three primary divisions: Consumer, Regions and Technology.
Consumer
The ‘consumer’ part of the company will focus on three elements:
Media (which includes for example all the news and the connections with Eurosport and other partners)
Connections, which are the Yahoo properties like Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Flickr and Yahoo Answers.
Commerce, which is focussed on advertising, one of the more successful elements within Yahoo.
From the memo:
“Our Consumer group will include three units — Media, Connections, and Commerce — and each will provide users the uniquely relevant and personalized content and services they expect and deserve, leveraging Yahoo!’s vast consumer interest data. “
Region
The ‘region’ part is focussed on advertisers and agencies and sees Yahoo employees focussing on specific regions in which they have to “connect with users and generate the best, measurable ROI on their ad spend.”
The regions are divided in Americas, APAC and EMEA.
Technology
The ‘technology’ part finally focusses on Core Platforlms (research and development) and central Technology, a section which is not changing.
From the memo:
“Our Consumer group and the Regions will continue to be supported by some of the most talented technology professionals in the industry, providing the advanced platforms and technology that allow Yahoo! to deliver great customer products.”
The Future
The changes seem to have been thought through pretty well, but usually in business changes like this do not directly mean there is a bright future ahead for the company. But the focus Yahoo is seeking is a good thing. Even though we can say goodbye, although not officially yet, to Yahoo as a search engine.
