back to article Yell and Microsoft ink SMB deal

Yell and Microsoft have signed a "broad strategic alliance" aimed at small and medium businesses. The directory company, which claims 1.3 million SMB customers, will flog MS products that include Office 365 and small business comms packages. Microsoft will help with Yell's move to the cloud and will include its results on the …

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  1. Frosty840

    SMB?

    I've seen this term used quite a bit, lately. I can only assume it means "small and medium business".

    Can anyone confirm this?

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Yes, correct

      I had that initial confusion too, but yes, that's the correct meaning in this context. It's got nothing to do with the Server Message Block/CIFS protocol MS + planet uses for connectivity.

      As an aside - it's that risky for Yell? AFAIK anything that MS touches tanks like a lead balloon under double gravity..

    2. GeorgeTuk

      Correct!

      SMB - Small to Medium Business

      SME - Small to Medium Enterprise

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    The long drawn out death of

    Yell

  3. GeorgeTuk

    Don't understand

    How is Yell going to sell me Office365? When/If I go on there their website to lookup phone number or some other way.

    1. DanX

      Yell, kind of sell websites to LOADS of small businesses.

      They charge an outragous fortune for space in their directory, and offer to throw in a website for free too.

      Nearly all small businesses I know of would be better off not bothering with Yell, and pooring the money into other Adverts (google adwords?) or just designing a decent website themselves and keeping the balance of the money.

      But still people like being in the big yellow book for a few grand a year.

      I guess they could also sell a bunch of Microsoft IT services too to this quite big market.

      1. Bram

        SMBs...

        on the internet get drowned very quickly. and would end up having to spend probably the same amount on adwords and website optimisations.

        Lets face it most SMBs find it easier to just use YELL as it gives them a complete print and web foot print and it is easier to find a local plumber on Yell then with blind internet searches

    2. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: Don't understand

      When their sales monkeys call you every other day to sell you space in the directory, and try to get you to "upgrade" your listing by paying to have it in bold letters and in a different colour background, they will also try to sell you this new fangled email thing that lets customers contact you directly from their site even outside office hours. They already try to sell you a single page "website", so I guess it will be an addon to that package.

  4. jonathanb Silver badge

    Re: SMEs

    If you search for "plumber" on google maps rather than google web search, you get plumbers near you

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