Windows Phone Thoughts: Bringing IM Together: Interoperability Agreement Between MSN and Yahoo!

"Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: "MSFT") today announced a landmark agreement to connect users of their consumer instant messaging (IM) services on a global basis. The industry’s first interoperability agreement between two distinct leading global consumer IM providers will give MSN® Messenger and Yahoo!® Messenger users the ability to interact with each other, forming what is expected to be the largest consumer IM community in the world, estimated to be more than 275 million strong. Being able to instant message between IM communities is one of the features most requested by MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger users, and Microsoft and Yahoo! share a commitment to provide IM interoperability while keeping consumer security and privacy first and foremost. In addition to exchanging instant messages, consumers from both communities will be able to see their friends' online presence, share select emoticons, and easily add new contacts from either service to their friends' list, all as part of their free IM service."



Yesterday saw two major players in the IM industry come together to reach an interoperability agreement that will come into effect in the second quarter of 2006. This major move in IM interoperability will enable users of the MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger services to engage in cross-network communication. Such a move will probably add pressure on the successful AOL Instant Messenger service, which according to sources, currently has the biggest market share. Coming to a mobile device near you: MShoo!?