Adios, Microsoft Lync. Hello, Skype for Business

Soon, Skype will be the only name in Microsoft videoconferencing software. Microsoft is rebranding its Lync videoconferencing service as Skype for Business, effective in 2015.

The rebranding fits with Microsoft's strategy to "re-invent productivity" for all, not just business. To that end, it wants to offer a unified experience across services, so consumers and businesses have similar experiences.

"Large enterprises know Lync, and consumers all know Skype," Gurdeep Pall, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Skype, told Mashable. "If you're a small or medium business, you're kind of lost. You feel, 'Is Lync for me? Is it too heavy duty? But Skype definitely feels too light for me.' We think that by having this one consistent brand, we are able to reach all the constituents in that spectrum."

Users of Skype for Business will see the same Skype user interface from the consumer client, although they'll be two different apps (if a user also has the modern version of Skype installed, too, that would make three). Moreover, users of the Skype and Skype for Business will have two different usernames on the same service.

"We thought the most important convergence path was to feel familiar," says Pall"We thought the most important convergence path was to feel familiar," says Pall. "We have not yet landed on the right model for when you have two identities, and you're trying to juggle them on the same experience. We are finding our path."

The rebranding extends to the back-end service and on-premises business servers. Microsoft says the service will have the same "security, compliance and control" that Lync users are accustomed to, just wrapped in the Skype experience. Notably, users will have access to the Skype directory from the app, being able to look up anyone on the Skype network — not just business customers.

The unification of videoconferencing apps under the Skype banner mirrors Microsoft's approach with most of its other services. The company rebranded Hotmail as Outlook.com in 2012, giving the web mail service the same name as its ubiquitous email app. Microsoft's cloud storage services also carry similar naming to Skype: OneDrive and OneDrive for Business.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011. At the time, it was unclear what the long-term strategy was behind having two separate services that could both do video chat. When it came time to consolidate the brands, Skype's large consumer footprint and instant familiarity made it the easy choice over Lync.