Bye-bye, Microsoft adCenter Analytics

In a blog post over the weekend Mel Carson, community manager for Microsoft's adCenter Analytics, announced that the project will not be leaving beta. The project, which began its pilot stage in France back in 2005, will remain online through the end of the year, and the associated blog will continue as "Insights & Analysis" -- indicating that perhaps Microsoft's not entirely done thinking about the Web numbers problem.

Carson called the beta program a success, despite the failure to launch. "The insights you've contributed through your feedback and your use of the tool have served an invaluable purpose in shaping Microsoft's future in this space. You've helped us work towards making an informed decision about building a general Web analytics solution," he wrote. He added that Microsoft in this case is now looking more closely at addressing specialized markets, as opposed to the more general small- and medium-sized "self-serve" clients that adCenter Analytics served.