The long collision course between Microsoft Lync and Skype will end next year in a fiery crash, with Lync perishing in the flames. Like a phoenix, however, Lync will emerge—reborn as Skype for Business.
Giovanni Mezgec, the general manager of product marketing for Skype, said that in the first half of 2015 Microsoft would release a new version of what it calls Skype for Business, complete with a new server option. At that time, Microsoft will phase out the Lync name, he confirmed.
Since 2013, customers have wondered why Microsoft kept both Skype and Lync around, since the overlap between the two products was so great. In May 2013, Microsoft linked Lync and Skype, meaning that the two platforms could talk to one another. Earlier this year, Microsoft allowed both platforms to make exchange video calls, and executives hinted then that the two platforms would eventually converge.
