Since its initial release in 2003, Skype has helped hundreds of millions of users stay connected every month. After Microsoft purchased Skype in 2011, the platform became a trusted video and chat tool for businesses of all sizes. Despite all that success, for some it was shocking to hear in mid-2019 that Skype for Business will be retired on July 31, 2021. After that date, the service will no longer be accessible.
If you’re a Skype for Business user, you may wonder why Microsoft made this change — and what that means for you. You may also be considering alternatives to fill the gap and thinking about your timeline. Let’s address and answer all of these important questions in order to prepare your business for life after Skype.
Consumer Version Remains Intact
The consumer version of Skype will remain intact and supported by Microsoft. That means you can still use Skype if it’s your preferred means of chatting with friends and family. If you use Skype for Business, you can continue to use the tool until July 31, 2021. You have plenty of time to make a change or explore alternatives, but on that date, it goes away forever.
Transitioning from Skype to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft decided to “sunset” Skype for Business in order to further promote Microsoft Teams. If your company is an Office 365 user you may already use Teams in your day-to-day work. Teams takes the best of Skype, chat and videoconferencing, and adds more collaboration tools. Microsoft built Teams as an alternative to tools like Slack, which foster file sharing, chats and video communication, or as they call it a hub for teamwork.
If you’re familiar with Teams, the transition should be easy since Skype’s functionality is already built in. Teams has most of the capabilities of leading videoconference platforms: high-quality video, screen sharing, whiteboarding and integrations with other tools. It would be easy to shift directly from Skype to Teams, but with so many other videoconferencing options available, now may be the perfect time to consider a different option.
Alternative Videoconferencing Options
There are many videoconferencing options — we’ve even talked about seven of them in this previous post. Having served AV solutions to thousands of businesses, we have worked with many videoconferencing platforms, and our favorite for videoconferencing is Zoom. Zoom’s image quality, sound and functionality exceeds all competitors, and we’re offering a free trial for DGI customers and site visitors.
If you’re a Microsoft customer and haven’t already switched, know that you can transition easily to Teams. But if you’re considering other solutions, Zoom is worth a look. Regardless of your company size or industry, Zoom is a streamlined, proven videoconferencing replacement for Skype.
