Microsoft to resume Skype operation in China MSN will become history

Yesterday morning, Tom Online published a bulletin on his Tom page saying that Tom will formally return the Chinese mainland Skype business to Microsoft on November 24, and yesterday afternoon, Wan Zhuo Global, which is responsible for Microsoft's Bing PR business, officially sent the first news article about Skype Dynamics to the media.

According to the information of the company, the company's joint venture in Shanghai, which is responsible for MSN and Bing Business, will take over Skype's business in China. But Microsoft's official refusal to make more notes on the Skype business only admits that Microsoft will indeed take over Skype's future operations in China.

In the early hours of November 7, 2012, Microsoft officially announced that it would shut down the Windows Live Messenger Service (abbreviated as the Chinese custom MSN) and transfer users to Skype, "but not mainland China." Since the VoIP service provided by Skype does not conform to the Ministry of Industry's policy on basic telecommunications services, Tom has been the partner of Skype in China since 2004.

It is hard to know the details of how Microsoft operates the Skype business until 24th, when Microsoft officially took over, but it is certain that the only "MSN zone" in China is about to die, and that MSN will eventually become history.

MSN Fading Rome

In the early hours of November 7, 2012, Microsoft officially announced that MSN would stop using (outside China) in the first quarter of 2013, and that its original business would be incorporated into the Skype business.

According to Tencent Science and technology, market share of the rapid loss of MSN is the biggest reason for the replacement, MSN at the peak has once occupied more than 60% of the global market share. But when the announcement was closed, the actual active users of MSN services were only 100 million, far below Skype's 280 million monthly active users.

It is reported that in the past few years, Microsoft has limited investment in MSN, Software has not been greatly improved, since 2005, only the introduction of three generations of 8/2009/2011 products, and there is no clear difference in function, compared with competitors, MSN not only lack of innovation, in such as virus, network fraud and other issues of governance Microsoft has been short of strong regulatory measures.

In addition, the user for the basic functions provided by MSN are also more complaints, such as offline delivery, breakpoint continuation, screenshot function, group functions and other specific product experience, software companies from Microsoft has been unable to compete with internet companies, long-term lack of innovation and experience optimization.

Although the product is not good, but Microsoft is keen to interconnect, in 2006, Microsoft MSN and Yahoo access to achieve interoperability, although interoperability is limited to the text and contact list, but this behavior still caused a certain number of MSN users single direction loss, The end result is Yahoo to the United States 2007 real-time Communications market share ranked first.

In addition to the loss of Yahoo, Microsoft in the relevant business is also out of time, the 2010 Microsoft announced the closure of the same MSN services under the MSN, at least 30 million users for many years of personal records due to Microsoft's hasty decision has to rush to shift, but also greatly damage the image of Microsoft's Internet business.

According to Tencent Science and technology, the current role of Skype in the Microsoft product system is not only a VoIP (voice telephone business) products, but also with a number of Microsoft's core business such as Xbox and Office products through to provide a wide range of services.

VoIP facilitates MSN China SAR

Why in the past year, the Chinese region has long retained MSN and Skype coexistence, become the only MSN "SAR"? MSN China Public Relations director last year said to Tencent technology, MSN in China to maintain the status quo, the main reason is based on the user experience and special market decisions made.

But Microsoft insiders say this particular approach is not a compromise on China's huge market, but that Skype's VoIP (Voice over the Internet Kyoto, which transmits sound to the IP data network in real time) is still in the grey zone.

Skype's success lies in not only realizing PC voice communications to PCs, but also using computers to make phone calls and landline phones. In this way to call domestic and international long-distance, in tariffs, access convenience and privacy are more advantages.

However, according to the regulations of the People's Republic of China on Telecommunications Management regulations seventh and Nineth, operating VoIP business needs to obtain "basic telecommunications business license." So far, the Ministry of Industry only to China Mobile (micro-blog), the Chinese Unicom (micro-blog), Telecom (micro-blog), such as a few domestic operators and some industries companies.

Eventually, Skype entered China through legal co-operation with Tom Online, but last July it was rumored that Tom's online operation with Skype had expired at the end of 2011. Even though Tom was online, he said he was negotiating with Skype. But today it appears that Microsoft has decided to take back the right to operate from Tom.

MSN will eventually disappear Skype challenges China's market is still tough

It is hard to know the details of how Microsoft operates the Skype business until Microsoft officially takes over this month 24th, but one thing is certain that China, the only "MSN Zone", is about to die, and that MSN, which has been operating for years, will eventually become a history when MSN users in China move to Skype.

But for Microsoft, even if Skype is withdrawn, Skype's growth in the Chinese market is still tough, first with voipvoip regulatory issues, and known news that Shanghai's Kurtzmann, which is responsible for MSN and Bing Business, is not licensed for basic telecommunications services, That means Skype either abandons its Voipvoip business or sets up a joint venture with a company with the relevant qualifications.

But the problem is not the biggest problem Skype has encountered, Rochuan, the former MSN Chinese head, said that Microsoft's rigid system is another objective factor in the demise of MSN. According to media reports, in the "Microsoft-msn Division-MSN Overseas Headquarters-MSN Asia-Pacific Headquarters-MSN China" system, Microsoft is difficult to adapt to the fast pace of the Internet.

Another former MSN Chinese executive, speaking on the subject, said MSN in China is also under the dual management of Chinese law and Microsoft legal Department, a typical example is that MSN China has envisaged to send users text messages, but after a lap of Microsoft application, Microsoft Legal department granted down, But insist on the message content after adding a statement and so on, the result of this statement is lengthy and complex, more than the content of text messages, eventually MSN China gave up the plan.

Many of the businesses, including Bing, have actually encountered similar problems, according to Microsoft insiders, and how to get Skype to succeed in the Chinese market will be the biggest and toughest challenge for the future Microsoft-related team.