Microsoft set to phase out its Kaizala messaging platform next year

Microsoft Kaizala, a messaging platform for the mobile-first workforce unveiled by Microsoft Garage back in 2016 is set to retire on August 23, 2023, says Microsoft.

That said, users will be able to still make use of the platform up until Microsoft cuts its support. However, if you weren’t already on the platform but intend to do so, it will not be possible as Kaizala is restricting new tenants from joining starting today as spotted by the folks over at ZDNet.

Interestingly enough, the users trying to join Kaizala will instead be redirected to Microsoft Teams. Though this does not come as a surprise because there were plans already in play to bring Kaizala together with Microsoft Teams in 2019. “The capabilities of Kaizala complement the robust communication and collaboration capabilities of Teams, the hub for teamwork in Microsoft 365”.

According to Microsoft, “Many Kaizala users have Office 365 or Microsoft 365 licenses and haven’t fully enabled them.” Microsoft is positioning the discontinuation of Kaizala as “an opportunity for our partners to move Kaizala users to Teams.” What’s more, all Azure Active Directory (AAD) customers of Kaizala will get Exploratory Teams license, a bid by Microsoft to onboard them to Teams by letting them try it out for free for a whole year.

In the future, we are likely to see Microsoft Teams bundled up with a couple of new nifty features. Some of them are likely to be Microsoft Kaizala-themed features in an attempt to make the transition easier.  In other related news, Microsoft recently announced that it will soon be easier for users to leave Teams meetings on all devices.