Information technology companies are branching out, splitting up marriages and forming new ones as they seek to fiercely compete in the marketplace. If you need proof, take a look at two articles we highlight this week.

In one, we put the spotlight on the decisions by the Justice Department and the European Union to allow sometime rivals and enemies Microsoft and Yahoo to partner together in a search engine deal likely to increase competition with Google.

In a second case, the Federal Energy Commission granted Google Energy the power to buy and sell electricity in bulk like any other utility. This will allow Google to enter the energy business and provide itself with access to cheaper energy that it needs to fuel its huge search-engine enterprise.

If you add Google's latest energy move to its recent phone, its Buzz social networking effort and other product developments, you find a giant company that is not stagnating or satisfied with the status quo.

We also have Apple challenging leader Adobe Flash; it's hitting the market with its iPad to take on Kindle and other tablets.

HP is branching out into the networking, data centers and overall enterprise space. And most likely, there will soon be tough competition between Cisco and HP, which is looking to acquire technology company 3Com in the coming year.

If you look at the Microsoft and Yahoo combo, you will see rivals creating partnerships to boost their economic interests. In other cases, former partners Cisco and HP now will find themselves at odds with each other.

The combinations and splits are all part of the hard scrabble business environment and the quest for greater profits. Hopefully such changes will mean innovation and better deals for the businesses that use the equipment, software and the support services provided by these companies.  - Judi