Yahoo Dumping Zimbra

When Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350M in 2007 I wrote that it was the result of badly managed innovation following the 2004 acquisition of Oddpost for $30M.

And now, Bartz is dumping Zimbra:

[via Yahoo to Sell Open-Source Email Service Zimbra | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD]

According to numerous sources, Yahoo has been shopping around Zimbra, the open-source email company it bought in late 2007 for $350 million.

Zimbra is only one of the many assets of Yahoo (YHOO) that are now on the block, including its personals business, its HotJobs online classified unit and many more to come, said sources.

The effort to unload Zimbra is yet another sign that the company is trying to slim down its diverse portfolio, even as it strives to redefine itself this week with a new, pricey marketing campaign that seeks to position Yahoo primarily as a consumer company.

Dumping all the enterprise-ish software will clear the decks, but can they meld the remains together into something awesome?

Back in 2006, I wrote the following, based on Steve Rubel giving up on Yahoo:

[via Steve Rubel on Yahoo Gives Up On Search]

I think most of us had already given up on Yahoo, which is why Yahoo has given up on Yahoo.

And the answer to his question — if they aren’t search, then what are they? — I think that’s obvious from the companies they are buying: they are trying to develop leadership in social architecture/media, based on melding Flickr, Yahoo Groups, etc., with new entertainment media stuff, and they have hopes they will be the market leader.

I still don’t see what they plan to be, just the inventory of things they are buying and selling.