Cisco Buying Yahoo? Hmmm...

Rupert Murdock’s bid for The Wall Street Journal hasn’t been accepted (at least not yet…), but The Journal is already peddling in sensationalism. Skeptical? A Journal blogger speculates that Cisco might want to buy Yahoo. It sounds far-fetched, but…

…Cisco CEO John Chambers did say last month that Cisco will compete more directly with Google and Microsoft over the long haul. The VAR Guy in April was the only blogger to note Chambers’ comments about Google as well as Microsoft. (Pardon him while he pats himself on the back.)

But buying Yahoo? That sounds far-fetched. Cisco needs more applications for its unified communications push. Video applications like TelePresence, in particular, will drive Cisco forward. And the last time The VAR Guy looked, Yahoo wasn’t exactly a corporate or consumer video powerhouse. Does Cisco really want to become a digital media company? Doubtful. More likely, Cisco wants to provide the pipeline and video applications for digital media partners.

Still, there’s no doubt that Cisco is reinventing itself. Within the company, there are two big projects that highlight this transformation, The VAR Guy hears. One of the projects mirrors Monster.com, and seeks to develop a greater talent pool of Cisco certified technology professionals. The other project mirrors Amazon.com, and will allow Cisco partners to pick-and-choose marketing and promotional materials based on their interests and previous online selections.

If Cisco buys Yahoo, The VAR Guy will eat a healthy serving of humble pie. In the meantime, he thinks speculation about a potential Cisco-Yahoo combo is nothing more than The Journal looking for more web hits from investors. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…