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Bye-bye Buddy List?: Page 2 of 2

Continued from Page 1

Fall of Corporate IM?

This admittedly selective retelling of corporate IM's genesis highlights many of its similarities to these early days of team collaboration. Like IM back in the day, persistent messaging:

  • Started as shadow-IT technology that employees introduced to the workplace, often without the IT department's knowledge or approval
  • Is poorly understood by many workers, in part because they've never used nor even been exposed to it
  • Was initially used by small groups of employees, then spread organically within organizations
  • Was initially developed by companies with no background in developing business apps
  • Delivers a collaboration experience that users want and that IT-sanctioned tools don't provide
  • Raises the hackles of security- and compliance-conscious IT folk
  • Has been difficult for IT to ban and/or stamp out
  • Has undeniable productivity benefits, at least for some employees
  • Is promised as a way of reducing time spent dealing with email
  • Was made "IT friendly" as enterprise versions add in security, compliance, and other features

This is to say, many of the factors that spurred the rise of corporate IM apps years ago are working the same magic on team collaboration apps today. And, once again, Microsoft's offering appears to be the clincher.

Microsoft's move to replace tried-and-true Skype for Business Online with new-fangled Teams will not just put a team collaboration app in front of millions of Office 365 users, it will require them to use it for pretty much any type of communication. This is because the Skype for Business client -- with its familiar buddy list metaphor and presence bubbles -- will eventually disappear, at least for folks on Office 365. Teams will be their interface not just for team collaboration and persistent messaging, but all the voice, video, and IM capabilities that Skype for Business currently delivers.

So back to my original question: Is corporate IM on the way out?

For millions of Skype for Business Online users, the app they have long used for IM will certainly disappear. But the ability to send IMs will not. Rather, both chat and presence will roll into the Teams app. At Microsoft Ignite last month I saw an early version of this -- the Teams client with a "chat" button on the left that lets users message each other without the rigmarole of setting up a persistent collaboration workspace. So traditional IM functionality will still be available to Office 365 users. Only it will be in an app with a different look and feel.

The big question is how the rest of the UC vendors will respond to Microsoft's move. Portfolio conformity and copycat product development are hallmarks of the UC industry. When one company has a bright idea -- whether it's IP instead of TDM, software instead of systems, seamless call handoff between desk and mobile phones, session managers, hosted services or communications platform as a service -- the rest are usually not far behind.

But following Microsoft in this particular direction is going to be difficult. This has more to do with business models than technology because, when it comes to team collaboration, Microsoft is playing a different game. For others -- whether we're talking about the developer of a standalone app like Slack, the developer of an ancillary app like Unify, or a developer whose next-gen UCaaS platform hinges on team collaboration like Cisco -- the goal is to make money. And not just make money, but make it via a recurring revenue stream. Team collaboration -- delivered as SaaS and offered in a freemium model -- is a key part of this strategy for many UC vendors.

Not so for Microsoft. Microsoft is already doing great with this recurring revenue stuff, evidenced by Office 365 and Skype for Business Online's massive installed base. The company can afford to "give away" its team collaboration app, since it's goal isn't to make money directly from the app but rather to convert E1 customers to E3 or E5. That's to say, the online application suite, not the team collaboration app itself, is the money maker. This gives Microsoft license to position Teams in whatever way adds the most value to the larger suite.

Other UC vendors don't have this luxury. For them, replacing their corporate IM apps will be difficult, involving significant changes to the way they sell UC software. Until they decide to make those changes, their customers will not be saying bye-bye to their buddy lists.

Learn more about Team Collaboration at Enterprise Connect 2018, March 12 to 15, in Orlando, Fla. Register now using the code NOJITTER to save an additional $200 off the Advance Rate or get a free Expo Plus pass.

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