If, back in 2011, the year Microsoft bought Skype, you had asked a room full of CIO’s about the likelihood of running their entire comms operations on a Skype-based platform, you would have been offered long odds.
Less than five years later, corporations around the world were starting to do just that. The arrival in 2015 of Skype for Business was much more than a simple re-branding of the famous peer-to-peer messaging app for a business audience.
Microsoft’s ambition was bold - to deliver a complete enterprise-grade UC solution that ran seamlessly alongside its iconic Office, Exchange and Sharepoint software brands.
In realising that ambition, Microsoft has had to contend with a degree of skepticism, not least over the suitability of what most people still see as a peer-to-peer messaging app for running enterprise-grade telephony. Nor did the tech giant help itself with its rather piecemeal approach to rolling out Skype for Business features, particularly for the cloud version, Skype for Business Online.
However, as the platform enters a new phase with the scheduled release in 2018 of a new server edition, Skype for Business Server 2019, and the merging of Skype for Business Online with Microsoft Teams, the majority of skeptics have been won over. Skype for Business now stands as a highly respected option for enterprise UC deployment, both on-premises and via the cloud.
Benefits of Skype for Business Migration
Enterprise comms presents its own unique challenges - mass deployment over geographically dispersed areas, complex company infrastructures, demand for the highest standards of quality, security and reliability.
Not so long ago, these requirements were largely met through hardware-focused systems, such as installing high capacity telephone PBX’s in each business premise to handle calls across the corporation. But in the unified communications era, the focus has switched to software.
Cheaper and more flexible than hardware, software-based telecoms systems have made use of IP network technology to deliver more channels and more features, maximising what can be achieved with standard desktop office hardware.
Given its dominance of the global business software market over the past three decades, it was almost inevitable that Microsoft should become a major presence in this new UC world. Like all Microsoft enterprise products, Skype for Business shows a clear appreciation of what really matters to large companies, and delivers with high quality, robust solutions.
Key benefits of migrating to Skype for Business worth picking out include:
- Integration of telephony, video, messaging, conferencing, collaboration and contact centre tools in one platform
- Compatibility with virtually any telecoms device, including mobile
- Protection of your investment in other Microsoft products, such as Exchange, SharePoint and Office
- Simple migration paths into the cloud, with a wide range of hybrid options
- Attractive UX for younger workers who are increasingly expecting multiple comms channels to be available in one place
Skype for Business as VoIP System
While some small businesses are able to thrive on entirely web- and mobile-based communications, for most enterprises a robust telephone system continues to be an absolute prerequisite.
For any large organisation with customer-facing operations, telephony is the only way to guarantee all customers can get in touch, and still provides the foundation of virtually every contact centre. Along with email, VoIP also continues to be the default option for connecting dispersed business units across the globe. Plus, most enterprises will have invested heavily in telecoms equipment and infrastructure already, and intend to protect that investment by persevering with telephone.
