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Lync and Yahoo! Federation End-of-Life

April 2013 Update: Service shut down date confirmed as June 30, 2014.

As of September 1st, 2012, the Microsoft Lync Public IM Connectivity User Subscription License (“PIC USL”) is no longer available for purchase for new or renewing agreements.  Customers with active licenses will be able to continue to federate with Yahoo! Messenger until the service shut down date (exact date TBD, but no sooner than June 2013).

The PIC USL is a per-user per-month subscription license that is required for Lync Server or Office Communications Server to federate with Yahoo! Messenger.  Microsoft’s ability to provide this service has been contingent upon support from Yahoo!, the underlying agreement for which is winding down.

More than ever, Lync is a powerful tool for connecting across organizations and with individuals around the world.  Federation with Windows Live Messenger requires no additional user/device licenses beyond the Lync Standard CAL.  Next year, Skype federation will be added to this list, enabling Lync users to reach hundreds of millions of people with IM and voice.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    IMPORTANT: Please note the April 2013 Update: Service shut down date confirmed as June 30, 2014.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    I'm talking with folks on the Lync team this morning, and they wish to convey that the shut down date mentioned here is NOT ACCURATE.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Just to confirm: The effective date is Sept. 1, 2012? So customers have not been able to buy licenses since last September? Can customers with existing agreements add users to their deployments between now and the retirement date of the service in 2013? If an agreement expires between now and the service shutdown date, are the relevant customers unceremoniously shut off? If there any option to extend service temporarily?

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    thank you nice job

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Lync and Yahoo! Federation End-of-Life

  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2012
    Yawho? Is anyone still using that service?

  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2012
    So the way I'm reading this is that the PIC license was only ever needed for Yahoo federation (not AOL & MSN/Live/whatever) and because Yahoo are pulling out of that agreement the license is no longer needed...... and by that token because MSN/Live/Whatever is being merged into Skype then all users who have a properly configured Edge will get Skype interoperability at no extra cost (on OCS and Lync 201x)?

  • Anonymous
    November 30, 2012
    @ Rob Helm: Yes, the Public IM Connectivity (PIC) SKU is no longer available for new customers.  Customers with existing agreements should work with their Microsoft account teams or customer support to determine their options to expand or continue service between now and when the overall service is discontinued.

  • Anonymous
    April 03, 2013
    Do yo have de exact shut down date?

  • Anonymous
    April 03, 2013
    unofficial news :  Its over already, starting 1st April 2013

  • Anonymous
    April 22, 2013
    Looks like the service shut down date was moved up as I have already lost ability to IM with yahoo contacts.  We had one day where we could not communicate with any Yahoo accounts in Lync then for a brief moment it worked and then it stopped.  We had them move over to Gmail/Gmail Talk.

  • Anonymous
    April 23, 2014
    Users opened tickets today with our help desk. Looks like the service shut down date was moved up as I am unable to connect yahoo messenger with our company. It would be nice to get an announcement about these things since we are using IM in business. Business is affected around the world because of this decision and no communication. So frustrating for IT professionals which have to explain to their IT director what happened. No notice from the TAM either.

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