adCenter Analytics: Beta Off Dead

Poor adCenter Analytics. Never even made it out of beta. Microsoft (MSFT) today announced plans to scuttle the Web publishing metrics service, which was being developed as a rival to Google Analytics. Scheduled to shut down on Dec. 31, it will never go head to head with the search behemoth’s offering now. The company announced its decision in a post to the adCenter Analytics blog. “You’ve helped us work towards making an informed decision about building a general Web analytics solution, and despite the end of life plan, the beta was very much a success,” the adCenter Analytics team said in its blog post. “It enabled us to confidently determine that we can be of most value to advertisers and publishers by offering a tailored solution that meets more specialized needs.”

Just why Microsoft made that determination is unclear. What could have possibly happened to make it not just abandon adCenter Analytics, but to refer clients to rival services, including Google Analytics?