If a company owns a business for 13 years and then acquires a very similar business, the writing is on the wall for the incumbent business, right? Well, Microsoft seems to be of that opinion and in the coming months will be retiring Windows Messenger and moving all the users and usage to Skype.
It is clear that the Redmond, Seattle business is getting more streamlined. They have flown under the radar for years but have made some big changes the last few months. First came the partnership with Nokia for Windows Phone 7. They then acquired Skype and have recently launched Windows 8. The biggest wave of change is without a doubt Windows Surface, the tablet that Microsoft built without any partners.
Windows Messenger is a part of Microsoft that will go into the record books when the company was the dominant software business globally. Retiring the business in favour of moving to Skype is a sign of the value that has been placed on Skype by Microsoft. I believe that the move to Skype is indicative of the fact that Skype is more functional than Windows Messenger. Being able to call real phone numbers from a voice over IP service is a huge potential opportunity for long term business.
Thank you Windows Messenger, you served the people of the Internet well. Unfortunately another business has just become a bigger part of online communication.
