Lync and Skype Overview

The next major version of the Lync software is planned for the second half of 2014. Current and upcoming versions of Lync, Lync Server, and related services are shown above. Updated mobile clients and improved conferencing capabilities arrived in 2013, as did updates to enable presence exchange, instant messaging, and voice calls with Skype. Microsoft partners also released conference room systems based on a specialized client (not shown). The company migrated Lync Online customers to a new version of the service based on Lync Server 2013, and the service receives frequent updates.

In 2014 and beyond, Microsoft is expected to provide further compatibility in the user interfaces for Lync and Skype clients and improve Lync Online features to include enterprise voice services to connect to public telephone networks and support for large online meetings that can handle thousands of attendees. New Lync versions have typically appeared every 18 months to two years. Microsoft has said it intends to speed up the pace of releases, so a new version in 2015 is possible, but Microsoft might just release feature improvements between versions, as it has already done in 2013.