Microsoft Corp. will replace its popular TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network support forums with a new service called “Microsoft Q&A” that’s likely to be up and running by the middle of next year.

The new forum was launched earlier this week in preview, according to a document posted by Microsoft this week that was first spotted by ZDNet. The forum currently provides moderator support only for a few Azure cloud services, the Universal Windows Platform and Partner Center API, and has an interface that’s similar to the Yammer format used in the Microsoft Tech Community forums.

TechNet is Microsoft’s web portal for information technology professionals. It offers a library of documentation and technical resources for various Microsoft products, as well as a learning center that provides online training, discussion forums, an evaluation center for downloading trialware, plus blogs for Microsoft employees and a wiki. MSDN offers a similar collection of resources, tutorials, discussion forums and software downloads specifically for developers.

Existing content on the TechNet and MSDN forums will remain where it is, saving Microsoft the trouble of migrating it to the new website. However, those forums will no longer allow new posts or comments once the new Microsoft Q&A is fully up and running. To help users find the answers they need, Microsoft plans to implement a new machine learning algorithm for Microsoft Q&A searches that will sometimes redirect users to posts on the older forums.

Microsoft said it wants existing TechNet and MSDN forum moderators to take part in the new site, though anyone will be able to post an answer to a question. Those who ask the questions will then be able to approve each answer they like, and the respondent will get “reputation points” added to their profile.

Microsoft said in its document the new Q&A will provide better support than Stack Overflow, which is a popular but independent information technology support forum it regularly participates in.

“It is hard to get a full picture of the customer who is asking a question on Stack Overflow,” the company said. “But on Microsoft Q&A it will be possible to connect the asker to their actual product usage and support contract. This will enable new opportunities to offer the highest quality support.”

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE this was actually an important move by Microsoft because its online support communities are vital for educating users about its technology, helping users adopt its tools and services more easily and foster greater collaboration.

“It’s good to see these coming together under a single umbrella,” Mueller said. “With a fast-evolving technology stack, it’s critical for technology providers to help users get answers to their technical challenges quickly, rather than letting them figure it out themselves.”

Image: Microsoft