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Core Communications
By
Greg
Plum
It is accessed across the Internet typi-
cally using software that is installed on
your device. Software is available for PCs,
MACs, iPads and most mobile platforms.
Here, we will continue to refer to the ser-
vice as Skype for Business, assuming the
access is via Office 365.
Skype for Business is a Microsoft
product that is available
either on site or from the
cloud. It is an integrated
solution for instant mes-
saging, presence, confer-
encing and voice commu-
nications. It also provides
direct integration into other
Microsoft products such as
Outlook, SharePoint and
Office desktop applica-
tions including Word and
Excel, which permit you to
communicate with team
members without leaving
your document. With Skype
for Business, you can share
desktops, files, whiteboards, presenta-
tions, online polls and more.
With the Skype for Business pres-
ence feature you can see the status of
other members in your team; are they
available, busy or away? By the way,
your “team” can extend beyond the
walls of your company. You can add
contacts from different companies all
over the world and even add someone
who prefers “consumer Skype” for
their communications (more on this in
a bit). Skype for Business also allows
you to control how your own status is
presented to others. When you collab-
orate with people, you can do so using
integrated video to make communica-
tions more personal.
You can use Skype for Business
with others who don’t have the Skype
for Business software installed, via a
free Skype for Business client attendee
software download, or directly from a
web browser. This allows team members
to join a meeting or a presentation with
nothing more than a browser.
SfB vs. Skype
Microsoft purchased the consumer
version of Skype a number of years
ago. It has been working to align its
business communications tool, previ-
ously branded “Lync,” together with
the consumer version of Skype. The
re-branding of Lync to Skype for Busi-
ness in 2015 is part of that process.
As mentioned, Microsoft also has
taken steps to integrate Skype, which
is now often referred to as “consumer
Skype” or “Skype consumer,” and Skype
for Business together. You can now di-
rectly connect with users on consumer
Skype using Skype for Business. This
removes the need for multiple commu-
nications clients and allows businesses
better compliance while still maintaining
connectivity with a massive, global audi-
ence. Imagine adding the 300-million-
plus consumer Skype users to your
Skype for Business contact list.
Consumer Skype is a free service with
a few commercial add-ons. Skype for Busi-
ness, however, is a commercial product and
the online version is part of the Office 365
group of services. To use Skype for Business,
you will need to have a standalone Skype
for Business account, or an Office 365 sub-
scription that includes a Skype for Business
license. The future should see tighter inte-
gration between consumer Skype and Skype
for Business, but, for now, they remain two
separate and distinct products, with Skype for
Business providing a higher
level of security and compli-
ance being aimed directly at
business users.
In essence, think of
Skype being the brand with
two distinct products, con-
sumer Skype, which is free,
and Skype for Business,
which is a commercial, paid,
service. These products
can interoperate, but Skype
for Business has more fea-
tures, enhanced security
and stability, as well as bet-
ter administrative control.
It should, therefore, be the
natural choice for any business as a com-
munications platform.
o
Greg Plum is the VP of U.S. chan-
nels for OBT Anywhere, a cloud solutions
company with a focus on
helping partners provide
enterprise voice services
for their customers lever-
aging Skype for Business.
This content is based on
an excerpt from “Getting
Started with Skype for Business Online,”
a guide for Microsoft partners and end us-
ers, written and published by Greg Plum
and Robert Crane.
SfB ABCs
First in a series on partner opportunities
in leveraging Skype for Business
S
kype for Business Online is a component of Microsoft
Office 365 and is a hosted version of Skype
for Business Server in Microsoft datacenters.
Skype for Business meeting with desktop sharing and chat
in Windows; courtesy Microsoft
Channel
Vision
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March - April, 2017
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