Next version of Lync is called Skype for Business

News for all Lync users and developers: Microsoft has decided to change the branding of Lync into a Skype-merged identity: the next version will be called Skype for Business. The current estimate that the first Skype for Business will be available in the first half of 2015.

For more information, see the latter half of this blog post on the Office blogs.

What will happen to the Lync SDK APIs that are used in many applications, is an open question. Microsoft has been building many web-based (HTTP REST, etc.) APIs for Office 365, so I'm thinking that perhaps the Lync APIs will convert into Skype for Business web APIs. But let's see what the next year will bring.