What's going on with Skype for Business?

Rumors coming out of Skype have it that the company is going to be taking a fresh look at the business market once again.

Skype has long said that a large percentage of its customers are business users. I believe it. I've almost completely switched over to Skype as my main business phone and aside from finding it to be cheap it's a lot easier to use than a handset. And when you're on the road nothing beats Skype. How often do you find yourself stuck in a hotel somewhere and faced with either paying for ridiculously high roaming charges or insane surcharges on the local phone system? Skype is an easy solution.

But for all its benefits for business, Skype has been a tough sell into the corporate market. Maybe it's  the perception that IP telephony voice quality can't match that of the PSTN. Perhaps its the perception that a peer-to-peer system isn't as inherently manageable as a client-server architecture. Or is it the lack of reporting? For whatever reason, business hasn't rushed to adopt Skype.

While large enterprises may not be ready to adopt Skype as their phone systems, SMB's are another matter. Skype took a major step towards addressing this market last September when  the company announced the beta for Skype For Asterisk. The move enabled Asterisk users to place, receive and transfer Skype calls from an Asterisk phone. Here's what Skype's Stefan Olberg had to say about it at its release;

Specifically, the beta version of Skype For Asterisk is an add-on channel driver module that integrates Skype calling with Asterisk-based telephony products. Skype For Asterisk also complements small and mid-sized business users' existing services by providing low rates for calling landline and mobile phones around the world.

The beta version of Skype For Asterisk will enable Asterisk users to:

• Make, receive and transfer Skype calls with multiple Skype names from within Asterisk phone systems, using existing hardware.
• Complement existing Asterisk services with low Skype global rates (as low as 1.7€¢ / 2.1US¢ per minute to more than 35 countries worldwide).
• Save money on inbound calling solutions such as free click-to-call from a website, as well as receive inbound calling from the PSTN throughcreate virtual offices all over world using Skype's online numbers.
• Manage Skype calls using Asterisk applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus and voicemail.

Now it looks like Skype is moving even deeper into the business market. Last month the Skype for Business folk were to meet  to discuss some commissioned research about how to improve the software. The company has also beefed up the sales and marketing team. Skype recently hired a new marketing manager and senior product manager to spearhead the effort.  They have also built -out a new sales team out of the London office to sell to business.

In terms of actual technology changes, little has been said. I asked Skype's Matthew Jordan what's going to change in Skype for Business.  He pointed out that they "There will be a great number of enhancements made available to Skype for Business users," but declined to go into specifics.

With all of the UC plays on the market, Skype might have lost some of its novelty over the years.  Yet with the latest release Skype's great voice quality, fantastic video experience, 15+  million simultaneous users and dirt cheap calling are assets that no SMB should ignore. Throw in the rich set of Skype extras today and organizations can mimic much of the functionality of a corporate PBX.

Throw in the Asterisk capabilities and would that be enough to get your organizations to adopt Skype? I'd be interested to hear what you think.