Microsoft is retiring Skype for Business online on July 31, 2021, and the service will no longer be available. 1 Customers with Office 365 subscriptions will not see any changes until the end date, but new subscribers will only be able to use the Teams app.
Teams, the power of the team
Fortunately, the familiar Skype features will not be lost, but will be integrated into Microsoft Teams, which has been growing since 2017. The new application is the result of a multi-year development process based on customer feedback and is ready to serve high-level business needs.
Teams is not only capable of replacing Skype for Business, but will become the “hub of teamwork” 2 : chat, meeting organization, voice and video calling, real-time collaboration on shared documents, integrated applications and file sharing, all on a single platform. Because everything and everyone is in one place, Teams further reduces the time of information flow and shortens the time needed for decision-making. And thanks to the increasingly tight Outlook integration, it also becomes easier to organize and conduct meetings. With Teams, not only does work become more innovative and efficient, but it also reduces the infrastructure costs of collaboration. 3
The benefits of the transition are not only felt within the organization: by adding guest users, collaboration with external partners also becomes easier, as in addition to the communication tool, we also get a common workspace.
The range of available services is constantly expanding: the Microsoft Teams development roadmap 4 foresees many new, exciting features that will be gradually integrated into the application.
When is it worth switching?
The answer to this question is simple: as soon as possible! To ensure a smooth transition, it’s worth starting planning today. Keep in mind that the transition process can take a significant amount of time for any organization. In addition to the IT preparation that takes place behind the scenes, employees need to be given adequate time and opportunity to learn Teams features and revamp their workflows.
We help!
Our targeted training courses will help you learn about the possibilities of Teams and master its most important features.
| 1 | The change does not affect Skype (home), Skype for Business Server, and Skype on-premises services. |
| 2 | “the hub for teamwork”, Skype for Business Online to Be Retired in 2021 |
| 3 | The Forrester Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams |
| 4 | Microsoft 365 development roadmap |