Microsoft Tags Now Support QR Codes, NFC

A few months back, we reported that AT&T has given up on its proprietary datamatrix code and embraced QR codes. AT&T has been using their own codes for quite some time and we said that the need for a different code scanner, as well as having to pay to get the scanner was more of a hindrance than an advantage for AT&T. QR codes follow a certain standard and are free to create and develop. So as a marketer, why do you need to spend time and money in coming up with a new type of code? It seems that we were right in thinking that with the popularity of QR codes, other type of datamatrix codes would not be necessary. Even Microsoft seems to agree now that they have included a QR code scanner into their tag feature. The technology giant also announced that on top of QR codes, they will also support near-field communication technology. With Microsoft’s support, BeQRious thinks that more and more people would be using QR codes. Microsoft indicated that they currently have around 200,000 accounts that have used Microsoft Tags, so that means that some of these would soon migrate to QR codes. If you don’t believe us, there is already a high profile business that crossed over from Microsoft Tags to QR codes: USA Today. USA Today has been using Microsoft Tags for its print edition, and starting this week, these tags were replaced with QR codes! Take note that Microsoft DID NOT shelve their Tags, but added QR code and NFC support. We figure that Microsoft has noticed that both QR codes and NFC are gaining popularity and if they do not give their support now, it will be too late for them to become a player in both technologies. It may be too late in the game because there are a lot of QR code scanners available. Imagine if Microsoft had supported QR codes around the same time they launched their Tags service around 18 months ago, they would have benefited from the rise of QR codes!