Microsoft renames SkyDrive to OneDrive

SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, is no more. At least from a naming standpoint, that is. SkyDrive has now been renamed to OneDrive by Microsoft, after a U.K. judge forced Redmond’s hand due to a naming issue brought to the attention of a court by British firm Sky.

According to Sky, 17 customers reached out to the company, mistaking it for the same firm that operated Microsoft’s cloud service. Of course, that wasn’t the case, and so a U.K. court heard Sky’s case and ended up ruling in its favor. The judge noted that because Sky and Microsoft’s SkyDrive service shared commonality with respect to naming, “there was a likelihood of confusion in the average consumer.”  The judge also ruled that Microsoft would be granted a “reasonable” amount of time to rename SkyDrive to something else.

Despite the name change, if you head over to skydrive.com right now, you’ll find that you’ll still be taken to the familiar SkyDrive login page. Once logged in, the service itself is still referred to as SkyDrive. 

However, if you mozy on over to onedrive.com, you’ll be taken to a “Coming soon” page which includes a link to Microsoft’s official OneDrive blog, as well as the ability to sign up for “promotional” emails. 

In case you were wondering or concerned about whether the service itself would change at all, fear not. According to the latest post on the official OneDrive blog, written by Microsoft’s Ryan Gavin, who is the General Manager of Consumer Apps & Services, SkyDrive/OneDrive “will continue to operate as you expect and all of your content will be available on OneDrive and OneDrive for Business respectively as the new name is rolled out across the portfolio.”

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.