Very interesting indeed. From the Journal (my linking mechanism is down at the moment, I am traveling):
Microsoft said it plans to buy Norwegian data-search company Fast Search & Transfer for 6.6 billion Norwegian kroner, or about $1.2 billion. The offer is a 42% premium to the target company’s most recent closing share price. Fast Search & Transfer’s board of directors has unanimously recommended the offer, and shareholders representing 37% of the outstanding shares have accepted it.
Historically you haven’t expressed much excitement about enterprise search – given FAST’s limitations on playing on web search (thanks to the Alltheweb sale) does this indicate that you’re now more excited about enterprise search or that now, a couple of years down the road, you see a degree of convergence between search in closed environments and search on the web?
Microsoft, yahoo and google acts like black holes! It’s impossible create independent tecnologies: everybody will be attrackted by their gravity.
I think Fast is only prevented from playing in the web search field for a certain number of years after the sale of AllTheWeb. It could be you will see them playing again.