Skype for business end of life8/12/2023 Ten years later, during a global pandemic where all human contact happened over video, Skype is basically irrelevant. The brand was strong: "Skype" was more or less the internet's official verb for video chatting. Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, in no small part so they could sell a business version of the video service. The Skype brand just isn't what it used to be. Plus, it's a solution that integrates deeply with all of Microsoft's tools (and thousands of other tools using Zapier's Microsoft Teams integration). Teams has video conferencing, but it also offers much more than Skype for Business ever did when it comes to text chat. Microsoft built Teams to be the alternative to both Slack and Zoom-it wants Skype for Business owners to migrate to that service. It's not obvious what that means at this point, but it doesn't bode well for Skype's future. Heck, Microsoft Teams will be built into the Windows 11 toolbar. I don't work for Microsoft, but it's clear the company is slowly moving on from Skype and pushing Teams instead. This is what Microsoft recommends Skype for Business Online users switch to. This version will keep working and will be officially supported by Microsoft until October 14, 2025.įinally, Microsoft Teams is a team chat app that also offers video conferencing. Skype for Business Server 2019 is software your business can purchase and install locally on a server. Skype for Business Online came with Microsoft 365, is hosted on Microsoft's servers, and is the version that is shutting down. There are two current versions of this app, only one of which is shutting down. Skype for Business is an entirely different app aimed at the business market and isn't available for free. Skype is the consumer video chat service that anyone can download for free. It's understandable if you don't know which version of Skype your company is currently using, so let's break this down. Microsoft, like some other big companies, loves nothing more than offering several versions of the same product with confusing names. You could do that, or you could use the opportunity to check out other video conferencing apps. Microsoft would like it if you switched to Microsoft Teams, a team chat app that also offers robust video conferencing. To summarize: if your business pays for Microsoft 365 and uses the version of Skype that came with it, you'll need to switch to another video and messaging service. But the consumer version of Skype, which you can download for free, isn't going anywhere. When instances of Slack exist, the upgrade from Skype to Teams is the perfect opportunity to review how your teams collaborate.įrequent users of Slack will be used to the team-based chat platforms more so than your Skype only users.Microsoft recently announced that Skype for Business Online is shutting down on July 31, 2021. This doesn’t instantly mean they will want to adopt Microsoft Teams, however. Slack is famed for its favorable UI and it’s likely users will petition the need for Teams when Slack is already in use. There are a few options on how to deal with this conundrum: Option 1 – block Slackīlock Slack and force all users to use Microsoft Teams. You may also like: The Ultimate Guide to External Federation in Teams What about Cisco endpoints when Skype for Business is end of life? Connect Microsoft Teams and Slack with an interoperability tool that lets you message, file share, thread, edit and delete messages across platform.Survey users to see who already uses Slack.Allow your teams to choose their platform of choice and work disparately, resorting to emailing when you need to chat across platform.Roll out Microsoft Teams to each user that doesn’t have Slack as the ready-made replacement to Skype for Business.Sanction Slack within your business to those users that already have it or want it.Cross-reference those users against the number of Skype for Business licenses.Survey users to see who already use Slack.Use the guidance provided by Microsoft – or the auto-upgrade facility when your time comes. Take a look around your desks, meeting rooms, and flexible working areas. If you have Cisco endpoints like VoIP handsets, conference phones or a Cisco Webex board, you may also have instances of Cisco Webex in your business. Naturally, when deploying these devices, you’d look for the best-integrated collaboration apps to get the most out of your investment.
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