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Skype for Business integrates with Office 365

Michelle Avenant
By Michelle Avenant, portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 11 Feb 2016

Microsoft SA on Tuesday announced that Skype for Business now integrates "naturally" with Microsoft's Office 365 suite, enabling more seamless communication and collaboration in the workplace.

Users can initiate chats, calls and virtual meetings from within the Office 365 platform, according to Skype.

The Skype for Business platform allows up to 250 people to collaborate online at one time using video, audio, instant messaging, and content or screen-sharing. The platform also allows all aspects of a Skype session to be recorded for archives or later sharing.

Having an intuitive and widely used video conferencing system that can reliably replace face-to-face meetings helps companies and their clients reduce reliance on the physical branch network, says Skype.

The platform can also replace legacy PBX systems, and in so doing allow users to make and receive business calls outside the office.

Skype for Business also allows users to call others into a Skype meeting using traditional mobile phone call functionality. A Skype for Business user can enter a mobile phone number to phone somebody into a Skype for Business meeting, and the person being called will receive a traditional mobile phone call and be able to participate in the conversation without needing to install any software on their device.

"Our vision is around empowering productivity. We believe that the heart of productivity is great teamwork, and with great teamwork is great communication," said Chantal De Menezes, Skype for Business product marketing manager at Microsoft SA, in a promotional Skype for Business call.

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